The Good, Bad, and Ugly of daily charter service...

The best way to have a million dollars in the charter business is to start with three.

No start with 3 million dollars. Sounds like you might be looking for something like the Moorings.

No direct experience but I docked at Miami Beach Marina for 3 days last summer and there were atleast 3 boats in the size you are speaking of that were doing day charters. The sides were scarred up because the current runs swiftly and people smoking on the boat, pumping music, and in general partying. Not judging just saying it looked like absolute bedlam to me and there is no way in hell I would do it with my boat. But a boat to me is a personal possession and I don’t want it trashed. I have not seen any numbers but I can’t imagine it is profitable and it is for sure not doing the boat any favors. Not to mention the risk one is taking with little to no reward.

I've seen many people try to do this, both in Ft. Lauderdale and on LI, and there's been very few takers. In fact one client of mine tried in the Hamptons. He got one customer and he bounced his check. Basically anybody who could afford to do it can afford to have their own boat. In fact you would be exactly the customer you're looking for. So ask yourself why you're not renting a boat rather than buying. My best suggestion would be to seek out a fractional ownership situation. It's an idea the works for me in theory and works with things like time-shares for condos, but most people who shell out a half-million or more for their boat just don't want to share it with partners they don't know and most who know their partners find that it's a great way to end those friendships. Maybe you should try to rent a boat for the day, check out the kinds of boats offered and what's charged. Also check with your attorney about the liability you'd face should one of these guests get injured. Here at YF we only have a couple of members that I know of who charter their boats around that size, and they generally live on board, do mostly overnight charters and with that I don't get the impression that they're getting rich by it.

Day charters are much more rough on a boat. But then again that size boat isn’t suitable for anything else. But when someone poops down a couple grand for 8 hours they are going to get their monies worth a likely ignore rules like no smoking. And yes they will still want to go below.

I do sight seeing charters in Fort Lauderdale, but usually not with party crowd, in many cases tourists wanting to see the waterways, the harbor, the ICW, etc.
I encourage people to bring their own drinks while the boat provides a cooler, ice, cups, napkins etc.
Have been lucky so far, no wear and tear, just nice polite people sipping wine while we cruise at low speeds around Fort Lauderdale.
Been doing it for about 4 years, but quite infrequently as I don’t advertise and am not pushing for business, just low key, the income goes to a tank of fuel, or the annual insurance, etc.
Pretty good tax benefits, but that will end soon as I have not shown a profit and never will at this rate.

www.odincharters.com

I did some day chartering this summer with my 70' MY and, yes, it can be hard on a boat. Many people were there just to party their butts off and get as drunk as possible. One of the ways we addressed this issue was to ban all smoking. And the key to that is having a good crew who will protect the boat and enforce the rule with "gracious tenacity." We ended up having the first mate call all the charter guests ahead of time and making sure they understood the rules, especially the rule about no smoking ... anything! That seemed to cut out some of the club crowd.

Is that a Johnson 70 on your avatar?

It sure is.

After owning a houseboat for 8 years, I took the plunge into the world of yachting. To say that I've learned a lot would be an understatement. She's a great boat and I feel very grateful to have her. But I often tell people that this is a rich man's (or woman's) sport and since I am neither, I do a little chartering to help with expenses.