Hello,
My wife and I are planning to become cruisers/liveaboards, and are considering which trawler-type boats best serve our needs. We have attended several events, walked quite a few marinas, and have now focused on a few boats that seem best for us.
We often read that chartering the model or at least the type and length of boat is advisible prior to purchase, which certainly makes good sense. But we are not finding the boats that we are interested in to be in charter.
We have sucesssfully completed some trawler training, and have had a couple of successful bareboat experiences.
My impression is that many, if not most, boat owners would not consider even loaning their boat out to a friend, which is understandable. And certainly not someone that they didn't know, like us. But having said that, it seems that some owners might be willing to casually charter their boat, to offest ownership costs, particularly if the boat was for sale and the charterer was a serious prospective buyer.
I thought that it might come down to insurance coverage restrictions, but it seems that some policies allow for casual charter, even if it is clearly a paid charter. Of course policies that allow that could be rare. But it could be that many insurance companies would issue an additional-fee rider, with documentation as to length/area/date of trip, specific limitations, charterer experience, etc. The charterer would sign a hold-harmless agreement in favor of the owner.
If anyone has had experience with this (particularly someone that is in the marine insurance business) please let us know of your thoughts on the matter.
Thank you,
MIke
My wife and I are planning to become cruisers/liveaboards, and are considering which trawler-type boats best serve our needs. We have attended several events, walked quite a few marinas, and have now focused on a few boats that seem best for us.
We often read that chartering the model or at least the type and length of boat is advisible prior to purchase, which certainly makes good sense. But we are not finding the boats that we are interested in to be in charter.
We have sucesssfully completed some trawler training, and have had a couple of successful bareboat experiences.
My impression is that many, if not most, boat owners would not consider even loaning their boat out to a friend, which is understandable. And certainly not someone that they didn't know, like us. But having said that, it seems that some owners might be willing to casually charter their boat, to offest ownership costs, particularly if the boat was for sale and the charterer was a serious prospective buyer.
I thought that it might come down to insurance coverage restrictions, but it seems that some policies allow for casual charter, even if it is clearly a paid charter. Of course policies that allow that could be rare. But it could be that many insurance companies would issue an additional-fee rider, with documentation as to length/area/date of trip, specific limitations, charterer experience, etc. The charterer would sign a hold-harmless agreement in favor of the owner.
If anyone has had experience with this (particularly someone that is in the marine insurance business) please let us know of your thoughts on the matter.
Thank you,
MIke
