Chartering Rules

[Pascal]

This thread came up in conversation at our marina. A question came up whether the same rules apply to a foreign built vessel. Say if someone owned a Nordhavn or such. I am not aware of any distinction but I thought I'd put the question out there.

US flagged Foreign built boats can be chartered but can not be inspected vessels carrying more than 6 or 12 pax depending on tonnage

Foreign flagged boats can only do bareboat

[Passages]

Rules are basically the same except that Foreign vessels cannot get certified as "Inspected Vessel". The can be "Inspected - Uninspected Vessel" They can be used for charter and bareboat. Not sure if that was your question.

OK, got it. I thought the other guy was confusing Charter with Jones Act vessels.

[Freeebird]

We are currently writing a book for publication were boat owners can get all the information they need in one place, to operate legally. Once it’s complete and signed off by each department, I’ll share a link so you can get a copy.

I hope we dummies on this site get some credit in your new book.

I couldn't help but notice you seem to have made some changes on your site, so I'm assuming you have in fact learned something here. Seems to me you're still flirting with disaster in some areas, especially with you running the boat you live on with more than six paying passengers.

Just out of curiosity (yes, I'm a curious kinda guy), given your published rates include the services of a licensed Captain, what would your rates be should a guest hire their own Captain or if they are in fact a licensed Captain?

Is it okay to bring your own strippers, or would that charge still apply?

[Angela]

Just out of curiosity (yes, I'm a curious kinda guy), given your published rates include the services of a licensed Captain, what would your rates be should a guest hire their own Captain or if they are in fact a licensed Captain?

Hey Bird, you wanna bareboat charter this Yachtfish when you’re in town next week? I can bring the Mermaids.

[Freeebird]

Hey Bird, you wanna bareboat charter this Yachtfish when you’re in town next week? I can bring the Mermaids.

Will they be considered as strippers?

[oscarvan]

So solliciting some insight on the requirement of being enrolled in a drug testing program. I am familiar with the consortiums one can join. Can anyone tell me how the "random collection" is handled? I understand there are sites nationwide. How long do you have to report and, what if you're overseas be it business or vacation?

[MASTERPLAN MIAMI]

What’s great for me is that the Coast Guard had that chartering workshop. What’s good for you is that you can watch the whole thing recorded live on Facebook. Search for Coast Guard Sector Miami. You might not have so many questions after that. Just to touch on some notes from the class. The Coast Guard knows that the rules are convoluted and out dated. The Coast Guard also know me that an owner is most likely not going to let just anyone take and drive their large boat. They said that as long as you are allowing the customer to choose the Captain, you’ve met your obligation. Most tourists do not know a local Captain. Nor do they care to have to find one that meets the owners requirements and then have to obtain insurance for the charter with that Captain. So as long as you inform the charterer that they can hire their own captain and provide them with a list of owner approved captains, they can hire one of the owner recommended captains. As long as the owner does not require them to. The Coast Guard said, plain as day, you can see it in the video, if the chartered does not choose the owners recommended captain, the owner is under no obligation to rent the boat. Simple as that. It’s not a secret. It’s not illegal. They said that’s the way to be legal. As long as the chartered has the option to not hire the owners captain. Before a chartered signs a contract or books a charter, I make them aware of the regulations regarding a bareboat charter. I let them know that they can hire who ever they want. They never know a captain. I send them a list to choose from and let them know that I know the boat best. They choose me in writing. Then we proceed. As to the ownership question. Many Captains live aboard the boat they master. On that same note. If you guys really gave a crap about me, you’d stop trying to throw me under the bus. ( that means get me in trouble) You’re acting like your concerned but your not. My charters are all legal. That’s all you need to know. Actually, you really don’t need to know that either. You should just worry about yourself. As far as folks really wanting to know what’s required, my book will relate to US, Florida State and Local laws and will be time sensitive as laws change constantly. If you’d like a copy, it might be a while still but I’ll get you one. This chartering conversation is over for me. I didn’t start it. I just post videos of our experiences on the Hatteras. Seeing that too many complaints have come in, (No idea why someone would complain about a video) I won’t post any more videos. I hope that I’ve provided value to this thread. If anyone would like to ask me questions, feel free to message me directly. Thanks.

[MASTERPLAN MIAMI]

So solliciting some insight on the requirement of being enrolled in a drug testing program. I am familiar with the consortiums one can join. Can anyone tell me how the "random collection" is handled? I understand there are sites nationwide. How long do you have to report and, what if you're overseas be it business or vacation?

I’m not sure about all of them but the Charter Consortium says that I would have some time to provide a sample. If I’m out of town, they can arrange a collection from most places. They’re pretty easy on Captains as most captains travel often. They can usually arrange a location from where ever you’re at.

[Freeebird]

If you guys really gave a crap about me, you’d stop trying to throw me under the bus. ( that means get me in trouble) You’re acting like your concerned but your not. My charters are all legal. That’s all you need to know.

If anyone on here were interested in throwing you under the bus, they would ignore you and contact the USCG in your area. Insulting those who have been in this game for more than your one year is hardly the way to fit in, if that's your intent.

Best of luck to you. Maybe we'll see you at FLIBS. Maybe you can even teach us how to drink.

[Angela]

One thing to consider when doing a bareboat charter is the nature of the insurance policy. I will assume for sake of argument that anyone doing either crewed or bareboat charters has a “charterboat policy”. I had the standard charterboat policy, and like auto policies, I imagine they are all pretty much the same. For crewed charters, all policy limits were in place. However, as soon as you add that 7th passenger, break the charter contract into two contracts to make it a bareboat, the policy limits got slashed in half or some other drastic reduction. I can’t recall the reduction exactly and I don’t have the document anymore. So, just remember that....the exposure goes way up with a bareboat charter - it’s a risk you take, just make sure it’s a known risk and not a surprise. When I was buying charterboat insurance, I didn’t have the option to change that anywhere which is why I suspect the policies are all just about the same. Operators need to read their policies very carefully to be sure.