What are the steps to become charter?

[Chas0218]

I am a Technology teacher and have summers off so I am thinking this is the perfect opportunity to use my fishing experience and enjoyment of others catching fish to become a charter. What are the classes would I need to take? Also what about boat insurance and all that jazz. I would need liability and such but is there any special insurance I would need seeing how my boat is used for sport fishing? Do any of you charters have multiple boats under the same charter? This might end up being a partnership but financially independent from one another. In other words same charter just different boats and captains.

Thanks for all the help in advance,

Chas

[Capt Vince Pierleoni]

The days are gone of just doing it casually. Way too much overhead and responsibility. If you are sure you are competent enough in the type of fishing and the waters you will be doing it in, then the first step is documenting your sea time. These days there are courses that can expedite the learning of the text portion.

My suggestion would be to crew/mate for a veteran Captain first, but be upfront with him as to your ultimate goal. You will see sides of the business that you may not otherwise, and it will serve you well if you proceed and save you gobs of money if you don't.

[bandrus1]

thats great advise right there

[mostlymuskies]

Here are a few things to think about when making the decision to become a charter captian. Age of your boat,you may need a marine survey to look at water retention in your boats hull to qualify for charter fishing insurance.If your health requires you to take medications some medications will require you to go through a lot of red tape to get licensed.They are now requiring you to have a back up supply of your medications on board incase your vessel breaks down,those extra medications must be able to hold up in the weather conditions your fishing in.I would go over your qualifications,sea time etc. with Dennis Daniels of SeaTec Marine,he can tell you everything you need to know and has a great training class for getting your Merchant Marine Officers License. http://seatechmarinetraining.com/

Capt. Larry D. Jones

Vice Pres. E.L.E.C.B.A.

[W.W.IV.]

Start at your Doctors office and get a good checkup,and then get your eyes checked, you can't be color blind. Remember you have to pass a drug test also . Now you can find a good course to pass the C.G. test, you don't need a big boat to get your licence.First things first.

[navillus]

dump a bunch of money in quality equipment spend tons on advertising have some goon puell over your boat piss all over in the head dump and no flush change your oil once a week between trips go replace the rod or real that the goon fowled up. buy tacle you lost, smash a prop and have your boat not start at 5 am, get divorced cause you love taking people fishing and seeing them smile and not your wife or girlfriend or your kids and at the end of august go back too school..... NOW YUR FISHING....... good luck sea tec will train you for that in there class!!!!!

[Tim Bromund]

How does the saying go: How do you make a small fortune as a charter captain............. Start with a large fortune.

[Second Nature]

What do you have to do to start recording water time. Is it a some kind of official documentation or maybe just some kind of personal journal? How many weeks are the classes for? Becoming a charter for me would not be to a small fortune as much as it would be to actually and finally do something I love!

[ Post made via Android ]

[Raaven]

What do you have to do to start recording water time. Is it a some kind of official documentation or maybe just some kind of personal journal? How many weeks are the classes for? Becoming a charter for me would not be to a small fortune as much as it would be to actually and finally do something I love!

[ Post made via Android ]

The official form you are looking for is a CG-719s...Small Vessel Sea Service Form

FYI.... Vessel Gross Tons IS NOT registration weight of the boat.

Look up the official formula to calculate what size vessel your experience is on.

I've been full time in the Business for 34 years now...about all the advice I can give is..

Develop and follow a strong business strategy..

Research out your cost analysis...

Advertise, advertise, advertise....

Don't expect to make any money....

Have a second form of income......

Wishing you the best of luck! It can be done!

[Second Nature]

i own and operate my own small business now and make decent money doing it. i have no employees to avoid the headaches of the slow seasons and the drama that can come along with employees. My schedule is pretty flexible. Looking to just start out slow and small and feel my way into. I currently know many river guides and charter captains that are very against the new guys and the part timers but how else do u become a full timer. ya gotta start somewhere! By cost analysis what do i need to include? Fuel, tackle, insurance, advertisement costs etc... what else am i missing? im sure alot! Again this is not something im gonna do over nite but make no mistake im gonna do it one way or another. Dont mean to sound cocky or arrogant im just determined to do something more fun with the second half of my life.

[ray koziatek]

Be the first to the boat get it all set up,be prepared to fish in weather you wouldnt fish in if you were Normal...

good washdown system helps clean the deck just in case ,cancelations are nice,then their is the fish cleaning ,guts and carcase disposal,boat cleanup and securing for the night .. then do it all over again tomorrow..at 5 AM. Like I said these guys ant NORMAL to go through that kind of punishment, But their is something SPECIAL about takin folks out for a good time or to see someone check off one of their "bucket list dreams" It takes more than money and a boat to charter you have to LOVE THE SEA and be prepared to relive everyday like the movie 20 First Dates..You can buy a decent lawnmower for 300.00 bucks and make some good money mowing lawns..

[Raaven]

i own and operate my own small business now and make decent money doing it. i have no employees to avoid the headaches of the slow seasons and the drama that can come along with employees. My schedule is pretty flexible. Looking to just start out slow and small and feel my way into. I currently know many river guides and charter captains that are very against the new guys and the part timers but how else do u become a full timer. ya gotta start somewhere! By cost analysis what do i need to include? Fuel, tackle, insurance, advertisement costs etc... what else am i missing? im sure alot! Again this is not something im gonna do over nite but make no mistake im gonna do it one way or another. Dont mean to sound cocky or arrogant im just determined to do something more fun with the second half of my life.

The biggest complaint I have heard over the years about "new guys" and" Part Timers" and "Pension Pilots" has been the attitude that they are going to fill their books by cutting prices of the established businesses . This never bothered me. If you want the "cheap guy" that goes away from me, to fish with you over a hundred bucks or better..YOU CAN HAVE HIM!

You are going to be out of business in no time anyway, and that cheap guy will always be looking for the next better deal.

He is not the clientele I want.

This business has less to do with CATCHING FISH and more to do with catching KEEPER clientele.

Include in your cost analysis...

Dockage, storage, maintenance, upgrades in equipment, Travel expenses, (you have to get to work somehow?) savings (you better have a few grand tucked away for the bad day you hit a log, or blow an engine) plus a bunch of small stuff like licencing, twic cards, maritime consortium, IRS (they want theirs) accounting costs, and expect everything to go up in price yearly, except your rates....

Oh, and throw in the four weekends in a row you are doubled up in charters and THE WIND BLOWS, and you have to return DEPOSITS that you already spent six months ago when you received them!

[times two]

I am one of the part-timers now, and there are a couple of things I've learned.....

When people ask me if I make money, I have to pause for a minute.....

Do the "charters" cover my costs that I might have anyway...insurance, docking, etc.

Yeah, probably. Could I live off what I make doing it now? Not unless I really

like macaroni and cheese.

In my opinion, and the veteran full time guys can correct me if I'm wrong, I think you

need to have way more days than I can fish now to truly make a liveable profit.

Am I having fun now? You bet. I have met some really, really great people and

had some unbelievable days.

The side the clients don't see is the hour and a half that I'm at the boat before

hand getting rods ready, the first lures rigged, etc, etc.....and they don't see

the time afterwards to get every thing ship shape, retied, put away, cleaned, etc.

I run a clean boat, and that takes time.

For an 8 hours charter, it easily turns into a 10-12 hr day.....and don't forget

the stress when you have the klunker days...that hopefully are far between.....

John

[Second Nature]

Thank-you to all that have replied with incite into this type of endeavour. I am very familiar with the ups and downs of business life and the headaches and hassles that can come with it. I'm not trying to imply that I know everything its just that I have operated my own business for 11yrs and and have learned a thing or to about staying a float.no punn intended. I also have competition in my business and I am actually one of the more expensive companies in my industry and I continue to work for my accounts in spite of the "cheaper guys." My customers have learned to trust me and my quality and they also know that ya get what ya pay for. I have never and will never be the "cheap guy" cause in the long run it only hurts myself as well as the industry. I honestly have more to learn before I would consider doing this but I am strongly considering it and my wife thinks " I need to go for it." I know its not all sunshine out there but I am used to putting in more than is noticed by customers or even my friends for that matter. Just looking into it at this point. Thanks for the input and looking forward to hearing from others on this topic

[ Post made via Android ]

[Raaven]

In my opinion, and the veteran full time guys can correct me if I'm wrong, I think you

need to have way more days than I can fish now to truly make a liveable profit.

John

You are correct, John. After you figure out what it's going to COST YOU to run this business, you can come up with a "Break Even" analysis...

How many trips does it take to break even yearly?

Everybody's situation being a little different, but I would bet most Charter Boat Operations break even between 30-40 charters. If your rates are low thinking you will get more business...it might be up to 50 charters?

Blown off today..... No pay for me....But it cost me $40 to go to work and back.

[Chas0218]

You guys gave me a lot to think about. I think I need a few more gadgets for the boat before I start my business. I don't dock my boat but trailer it to where I fish so dockage fees are non existent (it also helps having a father in law with water front property.) I will research costs before I dive right in. I am a school teacher and have summers off so for me to charter during the week and weekends won't be too hard and I will have a 2nd income.

[ Post made via iPod ]

[adipose69]

I have tossed around the idea of chartering but I financially can not afford it right now. So I thought get a foot in the door and see what its really like. I have posted about "first mate" but no response, why is that ? Are there just an abundant of people wanting to be a first mate ? I am a rookie you could say , I have a gist of what I'm doing but need some direction / help.

[ Post made via Android ]

[Raaven]

I have tossed around the idea of chartering but I financially can not afford it right now. So I thought get a foot in the door and see what its really like. I have posted about "first mate" but no response, why is that ? Are there just an abundant of people wanting to be a first mate ? I am a rookie you could say , I have a gist of what I'm doing but need some direction / help.

[ Post made via Android ]

Most boats already have a mate.. BUT ALL BOATS NEED A RELIEF MATE. (things happen)

Here is the problem.

First off, no one wants a stranger on the boat....So start pounding the docks when the Captains are around and get to know them!

Secondly, you NEED a Maritime Consortium Card. In order to get one you have to find a boat that will put you on their random drug testing program, (Costs the Captain about $65 per year) You have to PASS the drug test and any randoms that come up. Once you have the card, any Captain and the Coast Guard will accept it on any boat you are working on. It needs to be updated annually, offer to pay for it.

Third...you need some training. It's basic, a monkey can do it...but every boat has there own procedure to follow and expectations to meet. Most Captains HATE to train, but some will allow their Full Time Mate to train their own replacement guy. Don't expect to get paid for training.

Now you have the qualifications to do the job. The more networking you do and contacts you make, the more you will work. Every Mate has conflicts of scheduling due to Doctors appointments, weddings , funerals, personal days, and sick days. (life goes on)

As well as scheduled charters, be prepared to answer your phone for last minute emergencies. usually 3 am-4am. calls ! The more Captains and Full Time Mates that KNOW you, and have your number, the more work you will find...until a point you might get lucky and find a Full Time position on a boat!

And then you will need to find a qualified relief Mate yourself.....

Good luck, there is a lack of people doing this in the industry. But tons of "strangers" that just want to be handed a full time job on a Charter boat running 100 trips a year!

[Capt Vince Pierleoni]

Absolute perfect response, Raaven.