There are a few things you need to consider before chartering your boat.

• You could charter yourself and take guests out for day trips or to show them the ropes with a training programme. This will provide you a 100% revenue less your fixed costs of insurance, maintenance and moorings fees. Or alternatively offer your boat for charter through a charter company fleet: you have agreed allocated time when you can use your boat and they make sure your boat is maintained and provide you a percentage of earnings for using your boat, this will on average give you a return of approx 50% of gross revenue after all of their costs have been taken into consideration.

• One of the most important areas is making sure your boat is well maintained and you have all the official safety features and equipment onboard.

• You may need to have your boat coded, how do I code my Yacht or Motor Boat for Charter, MCA Coding? See informaion below.

• Preparing a vessel for the first time to MCA charter code standards can be a confusing, but if you are familiar with the code and the requirements for your type of vessel its actually straight forward and much of it is common boating safety sense.

MCA Small Commercial Vessel Code of Practice Certification.

“It is a legal requirement that UK vessels (up to 24 metres load line length) in commercial operation or charter use, carry no more than 12 passengers and/or cargo, comply with the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) Small Commercial Vessel and Pilot Boat Code of Practice and be issued with valid Certificates by a recognised Certifying Authority.”

If you operate or intend to operate your vessel for commercial use or charter (skippered or bareboat) you will need to prepare and equip the vessel to comply with the relevant code standard.

The Code of Practice applies to…

Sailing charter vessels : skippered and bareboat.
Motor charter vessels.
Angling and Dive Boats.
Motor vessels carrying up to 12 passengers.
RIBs.
Workboats.
Pilot boats.
Full details of the Code is available on the MCA website at www.mcga.gov.uk.

The code requirements are divided into six main categories depending on the type and use of your vessel.

Cat 0: unrestricted service.
Cat 1: up to 150 miles from a safe haven.
Cat 2: up to 60 miles from a safe haven.
Cat 3: up to 20 miles from a safe haven.
Cat 4: up to 20 miles from a safe haven, in favourable weather & daylight.
Cat 5: up to 20 miles from a nominated departure point, in favourable weather & daylight.
It is a requirement of code compliance that vessels are subject to a full out-of-water Condition Survey, verification of its safety and lifesaving equipment and an assessment of its stability before a Certificate is issued.

For the safety of your crew, your guests and to protect your potential liability as an owner operator in today’s busy and legislative world it is essential that you prepare and certify your vessel in full and proper compliance to the MCA Small Commercial Vessel Code of Practice.

Make sure you have the correct insurance for charter and for the water you intend to sail.

• In most European countries the skipper will need an ICC (International Certificate of Competence) before you can charter.   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Certificate_of_Competence