What business coule me and my wife start in a marina to interest boat owners.

Bertramdriver said:
Arrive and go boat service
Look after boat completely. Owner arrives, boat is clean inside and out, groceries in fridge and larder, all tanks full (or empty) all sleeping stuff clean and laundered. Boat is warm and dry. During the winter boat is regularly checked and problems fixed. Owner has holiday and leaves boat as it is and even where it is and the A&G team get the boat back to home moorings, cleans up the mess and gets the laundry done.
I have yet to find a company that does this and everywhere I've been UK and Med working people have said this is what they want. It's all a matter of price/ cost base.
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Yeah this does exist, in fact I was 'the fixer'

I'm not sure how much it cost, but judging by the reaction of one poor sod I saw getting his bill I'm guessing it was expensive! The owners essentially gave the company, and by extension me, a blank cheque to keep their boats in order. I would do as much maintenance as I could but anything above and beyond my capabilities I would instruct contractors. I'd also organise laundry, food, boat cleaning etc (but never saw the bill) and if the boat was left away from it's permanent berth I drove it back and parked it!

It was an excellent job!

It also left me completely unprepared for the rigors of boat ownership..
 
Boat owners are very reluctant to part with money. You pay out to fill their fridge or tank and do their washing and they will turn up and say "How much?!!" And good luck with trying to get money out of them in advance. Even the burger van idea is limited, a lot of people away on the boat will eat out, so you've lost that bit of the market. Ice would be a good seller in hot weather although some marina offices do that themselves or the other one would be bacon rolls and good coffee (the smells sell) outside the showers on busy weekend mornings for impulse buys, but you are relying on them having cash in their pockets the morning after the night before - no guarantees. If you start thinking about profit margins - how much can I charge someone for filling their tank, doing their shopping etc - I think you soon come to the conclusion that you can never do enough to make it worthwhile.
 
Clearly yopu would need to be semi retired so that a part time business could work. You need to have a talent for somthing that others don't have. You need a cooperative marina and lots of luck. Good luck to OP but don't expect a big business. olewill
 
I think the best option for you would be prostitution
Might need a bit of " in house " training but I am sure you could manage that

You can carry on the trade in almost any port you visit when on hols
You can branch out beyond the marina gates
I expect The posher the marina the more customers
Just keep clear of the foreign " swinger" marinas in winter as the rates would be a bit low due to competition from casual freelancers
(But if on hols you could treat them as a " busman's holiday")
 
l'escargot said:
Boat owners are very reluctant to part with money. You pay out to fill their fridge or tank and do their washing and they will turn up and say "How much?!!" And good luck with trying to get money out of them in advance.
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+1. There was a guy who did yacht care in the marina I used to be in. Honest, reliable, hard working and very reasonable rates (not exactly common in the marine industry). As well as the post-job re-negotiators he also had to deal with the deliberate non-payers (apparently normally the ones with the really flash boats) who would ignore his invoices for a year or more, presumably because they doubted a "little guy" would have legal muscle and would be loathe to give up repeat work by court action.

If OP ever comes back I would recommend outsourcing any marketing which involves use of words or pictures.
 
l'escargot said:
Boat owners are very reluctant to part with money. You pay out to fill their fridge or tank and do their washing and they will turn up and say "How much?!!"
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I agree, and I am surprised at Betramdrivers comment that he has met many people who say that it is what they want.

IMO, there are three principal marques of boatowners.

1. Those like me who sacrifice a lot for our indulgence. Always hunting the cheapest way of doing things, shopping cheaply and for whom even charity shops are becoming unaffordable.

2. Those who have more money than they can be bothered to count. These people have boats, probably corporate owned, and managed by third parties (usually permanent crew) and are happy with that.

3. Those who have made their wealth as the Baby Boomers of the last few decades. They have accumulated through successful business enterprise, property investment or inheritances. Their boat is just one of many assets which, for whatever reason, they deem to be necessary.

None of whom will provide the customer base for an 'Arrive and Go' service.

Particularly the third marque, many of whom are millionaires or multi-millionaires but still fly Ryanair and will forensically examine every Yard bill to check they have not overpaid for masking tape.
 
chinita said:
3. Those who have made their wealth as the Baby Boomers of the last few decades. They have accumulated through successful business enterprise, property investment or inheritances. Their boat is just one of many assets which, for whatever reason, they deem to be necessary.

None of whom will provide the customer base for an 'Arrive and Go' service.
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There's a large element of (3) who actually do like to take their families and friends out on their (impressive) yachts. Doesn't warrant a full-time liveaboard skipper and they might actually like driving it themselves. But they don't want to waste time queueing up at morrisons to re-stock the venison and foie gras flavour pot-noodles. Unfortunately (from the experience of others) these are the ones who deem the invoice of the little man who sorts the boat not to be worthy of their personal attention leading to hassle and cash flow issues for anyone performing services for them
 
Daydream believer said:
I think the best option for you would be prostitution
Might need a bit of " in house " training but I am sure you could manage that

You can carry on the trade in almost any port you visit when on hols
You can branch out beyond the marina gates
I expect The posher the marina the more customers
Just keep clear of the foreign " swinger" marinas in winter as the rates would be a bit low due to competition from casual freelancers
(But if on hols you could treat them as a " busman's holiday")
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One can only wonder how Richard Branson would have got on if he'd asked these forums first ! :)
 
Laika,

What you mean is that there are those who would love the service - but don't want to pay for it!

I keep a boat in the most expensive marina on the Algarve.

There are several pontoons (not mine) full of yachts with (I guess) an average value of £250k. Knowing the owners, as I do, I just do not see any of them putting their hands in their pockets for this service.

As for venison and foie gras - you are more likely to see them eating menu of the day in a local restaurant at €6.00 a pop.

Do you think these people got their money by giving it away?
 
dslittle said:
Anything where you deliver by the previously agreed time and in line with the original quotation!!!
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Particularly in the Med.

I have long believed that a mobile electrician operating between several marinas would be a nice little business.

So often people arrive to find some gizzmo or other not working. What they want is an English speaking, reliable and reasonable person to come to sort it out.

Not even instantaneously, just to arrive when they say they will arrive.
 
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