Your thoughts please!

[No Regrets]

Due to a career change, partially to allow me to lead a less-stress lifestyle, and partially to allow me to spend more time aboard, I will shortly be earning less money.

However, I have looked into Boat charter...

Nav & Gen insurance will insure the boat for £600 on a comp basis for Charter on the upper Thames, assuming I take a course and pass a qualification, which should not present a problem.

The idea is, as we love chuntering up and down the River anyway, to combine a few weekends with taking on paying guests for a 'Grand day out'

This would involve meeting them at a mutually convenient point along the river, and cruising either up or downstream (According to their taste, or current river conditions, i.e. busy locks, closures etc) for a couple of hours, along with a complimentary lunch stop, some refreshments and a basic guided tour of interesting points along the way, and a cruise back to the meeting point, starting at, say 10:00 and ending at 16:00.

The charge would be £200 for up to 4 guests.

Would this be a viable thing to do, on the basis 10 events would pay nearly half our total boating costs for the year?

Any issues?

Would I be any more despised by the Boating fraternity than I am already?


As usual Gentlemen (And ladies, of course) your advice is gratefully recieved. Many thanks in advance...

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[byron]

Nothing wrong with earning a few squids to defray expenses. If it works for you then go for it.
I know (knew) quite a few boats who earned quite a lot of dosh at such things as Henley Regatta. They went for it big time providing good grub and wine too. I recall too people chartering out at Cowes Week.

 

[No Regrets]

Most kind Byron... /forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif

We love entertaining anyway, and I would love to be a Chef or similar, but the hours and working conditions are terrible.

This way, we get to meet nice people, have a great day out on the River, and, as you put it, offset some of the running costs.

We could also choose when to take on guests, leaving our special boaty weekends with BCC free, perhaps earning enough to get the old girl up to Ashmount again /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[Captain Coochie]

£200 for a day out on a Birchwood /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

 

[ms1]

I seem to recall an outfit based at Penton Hook that made themselves available for charter - was the vessel a Hershine .. "Mayfair Lady"? - and they did a deal with Staines/ Spelthorne to have a reserved pickup space on the landing stage behind Staines Town Hall. Not sure if they are still operating (cant say I have seen them). Staines is hardly Windsor/Bray but it might be a matter of interest to see if you can find out any more and learn any lessons etc ..

 

[Ramage]

Do try to keep up, Cuchillo!

He has gorn posh and bought a Broom.

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[teddington_lock]

There used to be a Fairline that did corporate hire , she was called ' Lady Diana of Windsor ' ...

Always used to be very well turned out , lots of big cheeses on board supping champers and quaffing canapes.

 

[Richard Shead]

Cool

I may get my Fletcher 14 going rip out the back seats install a sofa nip to costa for a couple of caps and muffins and see what I can pick up on the banks at Richmond...On the return trip I can give them some boots and they can wade ashore to the swan for sharpner...

£100 per head?

 

[No Regrets]

I was thinking more about a mouldy cheese sarnie and some Tesco value beer /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

No seriously, a two hour each-way cruise on a Broom 30, outward trip with a little commentary, an hour or so lunch stop or pic-nic and complementary refreshments for fifty quid can't be bad value in Windsor these days can it?

 

[teddington_lock]

[ QUOTE ]
Cool

I may get my Fletcher 14 going rip out the back seats install a sofa nip to costa for a couple of caps and muffins and see what I can pick up on the banks at Richmond...On the return trip I can give them some boots and they can wade ashore to the swan for sharpner...

£100 per head?

[/ QUOTE ]

You charged us £150 a head in the summer !! /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

 

[joejo]

Mayfair Lady disappeared from Penton Hook a couple of years ago, and the moring at Staines no longer has the reserved sign.

To No Regrets plans, I think if one is considering commercial charter as a living then it would be hard to get enough customers, but to have a few in the summer as a way of offsetting boating costs would work. Premium times such as Henly, Swan Upping etc could prove popular. Good luck.

 

[pheran]

I don't want put a dampener on your enthusiasm but I had similar thoughts when I took early retirement. I conducted a full feasabilty study over several weeks which included writing to 40-50 former business contacts to assess potential interest. To their credit, all but one of them responded but it was clear that apart from set pieces like Henley, there wasn't going to be enough take-up to make it all worth-while. This was 14 years ago, so who knows, things might have changed. Good luck anyway.

 

[Chill]

Great Idea,

Why not pop into Oakley Court and Monkey Island Hotel they might be interested.

£50 each to be fed and watered excellent value

Good luck

Chill

 

[theguvnor]

Make sure you factor in Free Beer / Wine.

I did a charity BBQ a few years back - a tenner for 2 for the BBQ and 2quid for a drink.

Got a letter a week later asking for details of my liquour licence, from the local authority.

We had, as guests, a couple of ranking police officers, a sprinkling of JP`s and a few councilors and the threat of prosecution melted away somehow.

Just make sure you don`t SELL the booze

 

[funinthesun]

On your left windsor in the rain, on your left rolfs house in the rain on the left maidenhead in the rain on the right cliveden in the rain..... That will be 200 quids please... popular... maybe

 

[oldgit]

Not open enough or big enough ?
Good luck....but.....anybody likely to want to charter a boat for prestigious events such as Henley etc will probably be looking for the sort of vessel that has a least

(A)" three of those fab Recaro helm seats (like the new Sq55, only I'll have 3 not 2) on the flybridge "

(B).... and would almost certainly involve removing the top third of the boat to go under Windsor Bridge.

On more serious note when you first purchase your new spacious craft it will be a serious competitor to Dr Whos Tardis or the Titanic at the very least,however it will take only a sadly short period for it to mysteriously shrink to a cramped claustrophobic matchbox whereapon 2 aboard can seem like one to many. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[No Regrets]

We're only looking at two crew plus four guests!

We have seating for four both on the upstairs helm and in the saloon, and two heads!

We're both excellent chefs (Both used to work in catering) and I'm sure we can offer a cracking day out for a small party at a sensible and affordable price.

The existing businesses tend to cater for larger parties, we can specialise... /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[pheran]

I fear oldgit is right. You need walkabout/talk about even for 4 guests. And in the rain, six in the wheel-house of a Broom 30 will be more than cozy.

 

[oldgit]

"sensible and affordable price."

The sorts who hire boats,among people I know,tend not to worry much about price and definately want onlookers to know they have spent a few quid on the jolly,they have sufficiant disposable simply not to care about the cost,recession or no recession.
Where as people who have a sort of average income simply do not "do" that sort of thing,especially at the moment.
However anybody prepared to take a chance deserves to succeed.
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[TrueBlue]

And, of course -

you'll have to bump your license / registration to a commercial user, and probably need some for of operator's certificate....