How much does it cost to `code` a yacht for charter use?

Sharkx

Sharkx

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I am considering coding and chartering my small Bavaria 30 Yacht in Scotland. But does anyone know how much it roughly costs to code, equip and get ready? What equipment will I require, such as a life raft, and other standard safety gear. Will it need a stability test?

I am aware of the extra wear and tear, and other things that come with a chartering your own boat, but i'm just putting together the idea.
 
Download the coding requirements from the MCA site. Cost will depend on what new kit you need plus the survey fee.
 
I asked a professional company this question and they quoted me 10k plus. Even if i did all the work myself beforehand. Silly money. I reckon anyone with some intelligence can read the rulebook and get things up to scratch even if there is wiggle room. Would be nice to know if there is someone who can do the inspection and paperwork for a reasonable price.

As an ex charter boat mine was coded in Greece at some point so it must be possible to get it recoded.
 
The short answer is a bloody fortune, you'd need to be fully booked each year to get your money back. Back when I was employed our company had a marine division we got a couple of Sealines coded for charter work both skippers sold them after a yr they had lost so much money.
 
On a new standard Bavaria it costs around 12k, but much of this is equipment a well found cruising yacht would have. This is why you have to read the rules and then work out what you need. Do this in conjunction with your surveyor as he has to approve the boat.
 
IMHO. You will never get your money back, you will be extremely dissapointed with the way other people treat your boat, you will be annoyed at the damage they cause and further more you will never be able to find anything on your boat when you want to use it. Your chart plotter screen will be Knackered as they all like to rub there fingers over it, even the one who dont know what it is, and youll find that all your instruments will be re calibrated for no good reason. Nuff said.
 
The rules you need to follow are listed in MGN280, a quick google search will provide this.

For a production boat like a Bavaria the are four cost areas
Purchase of necessary kit (life raft, lifejackets, safety kit)
Necessary paperwork (fairly easy for a Bav)
Upgrade of boat fittings (ships batteries, fire retardant hose etc. galley crash bar etc.
Inspection and coding authority fees.

The cost will therefore depend on what you have already but to code an off the shelf Bav 30 starting with is likely to come in about 5k if you do all of the leg work yourself.

Good luck
 
When we bought Seraph (of Royal Clarence) we had the boat coding mods done as part of the build (so not the things like liferaft, torches, etc).

IIRC it was about £2.5K (ex-VAT) for braided fuel lines, higher than normal looped heads, raw water intake outside of the engine bay, cooker locks/galley strap, labels points for extinguishers, gas tap, emergency exits, close at sea, etc; fire resistant furnishings, additional clip points in the cockpit, battery switch "shunt" to bring all batteries onto a single circuit.
 
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Sharkx said:
I am considering coding and chartering my small Bavaria 30 Yacht in Scotland.
Click to expand...

Plenty has now been said on coding and costs. A comment on chartering your type of boat on the Firth of Clyde. A neighbouring boat at Largs Marina is one of the smaller Bavaria's, 30'/32', I don't know exactly. She is in great demand and has a full season each year. I have known the boat over two solid seasons and she is still in good nick. I believe the owner is very satisfied with her chartering return from a perspective that he is not out of pocket. There is a demand for good condition, smaller charter yachts, that are priced competitively. Remember that the tax man will want his slice and looks dimly on those who claim it's a business but limit the charter to just a few weeks to cover mooring fees.
 
I coded a modern 35 ft boat for about £3,000 expenditure. That was with hired liferaft, secondhand but clearly unused storm jib, and careful shopping around for kit, plus most of the fitting jobs myself.
 
I coded a 40' Bav a few years ago, and very little was required, one head had an anti syphon loop added and the front hatch was turned around, other wise the boat was good to go.

Total cost including surveyors fees and part 1 registry was less than £1k, I did do all of the work myself so there were no labour costs.

Read the code, do as much as you can, get a surveyor and ask them what they want or question them on areas you are not sure of (like hatch lock for me) and go ahead the income will easily cover the outlay in a few months and that size of yacht is quite popular.

If you start from an empty boat with poor safety fixtures then you could end up spending a few £K, but when you come to sell this can be an asset. All of the negative comments I don't understand. Most code requirements are common sense for a well founded offshore capable yacht. I happy to give you pointers.
 
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