LongTerm Boat Rental

[Redeye]

Hi guys

 

Just a short question, I have found one company offering longterm rentals and I am considering offering my boat (recent boat respected builder) for long term rental next year (rental term 1 to 6 months) Aside for the issues with British Waterways does anyone one the forum have any veiws as to whether the idea has merit. The main target market would be couples looking to buy a boat for longterm cruising but wanting to try it first.

 

Hope that this post isn't considered to be commercial as that is not the intention.

 

Any views good or bad would be appreciated.

 

Best regards to all

 

Redeye

[Naughty Cal]

One word

 

Que Sera Sera

 

(Well technically three i suppose)

[RLWP]

Hi guys

 

Just a short question, I have found one company offering longterm rentals and I am considering offering my boat (recent boat respected builder) for long term rental next year (rental term 1 to 6 months) Aside for the issues with British Waterways does anyone one the forum have any veiws as to whether the idea has merit. The main target market would be couples looking to buy a boat for longterm cruising but wanting to try it first.

 

Hope that this post isn't considered to be commercial as that is not the intention.

 

Any views good or bad would be appreciated.

 

Best regards to all

 

Redeye

 

Hi Redeye,

 

Welcome to the forum. Which company have you found that will manage the leasing of your boat?

 

Richard

[Redeye]

Hi Redeye,

 

Welcome to the forum. Which company have you found that will manage the leasing of your boat?

 

Richard

 

Richard

 

Thanks for the reply, I planned to do the marketting and management myself, we currently have a motorhome that we rent out and it works OK. The admin load should be quite reasonable as you are only looking for a relatively small number of hires per year, the main challenge is BW and I am working on that. I am mainly wondering if there is likely to be a demand but figure that there must be loads of people looking to take the step into boat ownership but want to try extended cruising before making the purchase.

 

Cheers

 

redeye

[sueb]

A boat that was a private hire was stolen last year so I don't know how you would keep tabs on a long term hire.

Sue

[RLWP]

Richard

 

Thanks for the reply, I planned to do the marketting and management myself, we currently have a motorhome that we rent out and it works OK. The admin load should be quite reasonable as you are only looking for a relatively small number of hires per year, the main challenge is BW and I am working on that. I am mainly wondering if there is likely to be a demand but figure that there must be loads of people looking to take the step into boat ownership but want to try extended cruising before making the purchase.

 

Cheers

 

redeye

 

Well, good luck with this. Don't forget BW will be interested in the mooring you are operating the boat from as well as the boat license, safety certificates, hand-over procedures and insurance. You'll be treated the same as any other hire boat company.

 

Not easy. We had a look at doing this with our boat and gave up.

 

Richard

[Redeye]

A boat that was a private hire was stolen last year so I don't know how you would keep tabs on a long term hire.

Sue

 

Sue

 

Thanks for your comments, I did notice that one was stolen and would be interested to know ehether it was formally hired or done on a non formal basis. I think the big issue is careful confirmation of identity which is an important aspect of the motorhome hire process There are also a number of tracking systems that can be installed for additional security. Does any one use tracking devices on boats?

 

Redeye

[Lady Muck]

I have found one company offering longterm rentals

 

Have you checked with BW that they are kosher, only we've heard of a 'company' out there offering to do this that is anything but.

 

Be careful and make sure you make proper checks, is my advice.

[debbifiggy]

Well, good luck with this. Don't forget BW will be interested in the mooring you are operating the boat from as well as the boat license, safety certificates, hand-over procedures and insurance. You'll be treated the same as any other hire boat company.

 

Not easy. We had a look at doing this with our boat and gave up.

 

Richard

 

If you are planning to do this on the BW network don't do it without a business licence and talking to BW first. There are many many pitfalls and over the last 14 months a lot of owners and renters recently have had a number of problems from boats being stolen, sunk, deposits and equipment disappearing, not being properly insured when things go wrong, being subject to enforcement action etc etc etc. There are a number of threads regarding this so check out the forum and elsewhere on the internet.

 

Best advice is do it properly from the start and talk to the relevant navigation authority and a good insurance company. There is a demand for long term hire and it's a growing market. Great Escapes were mentioned in the Observer this week in reference to long term hire and trying before you live aboard, there's also Sheffield Narrowboats and some others out there. I cannot make any personal recommendations about any of these. Do your research well as it will be worth it in the long run. One company I've heard of that claims to do long term hire is apparently folding due to the difficulties in doing it properly. Another is apparently changing its operating methods to comply.

 

Best of luck,

D

Edited July 29, 2009 by debbifiggy

[Redeye]

Have you checked with BW that they are kosher, only we've heard of a 'company' out there offering to do this that is anything but.

 

Be careful and make sure you make proper checks, is my advice.

 

Hi Lady Muck,

 

I wasn't proposing to use the company I have found as the quality of boats they offer appears pretty shoddy, I have already made contact with my local office of British Waterways and we are working through the issues in trying to arrive at a solution to any concerns they may have, this is taking time but we are now making progress. I suppose the main aim of the initial question was to try and ascertain whether you guys thought there was a market. To my mind buying a boat when you retire to longterm cruise is a big step up from hiring for a week or a fortnight and I figure there must be a place for an intermediate step!

 

Thanks for your advice

 

Redeye

[Naughty Cal]

Im sure there is a market for it, but at the end of the day it is your boat and are you willing to risk losing it.

[howardang]

Hi Lady Muck,

 

I wasn't proposing to use the company I have found as the quality of boats they offer appears pretty shoddy, I have already made contact with my local office of British Waterways and we are working through the issues in trying to arrive at a solution to any concerns they may have, this is taking time but we are now making progress. I suppose the main aim of the initial question was to try and ascertain whether you guys thought there was a market. To my mind buying a boat when you retire to longterm cruise is a big step up from hiring for a week or a fortnight and I figure there must be a place for an intermediate step!

 

Thanks for your advice

 

Redeye

Have you considered the appropriate trade group for hire boat operators ,who will be able to give you chapter and verse on the hurdles to overcome. They are a part of the British Marine Federation.

 

Details are at:-

 

http://www.apco.org.uk/

 

If you haven't spoken to them already, I would suggest they would be a good place to start.

 

 

Howard