Hiring your yacht out for a day to cover costs? Stupid idea?

[AC123]

I'm thinking of spending the summer in the med sailing. I won't have any income whilst doing it, so thinking about covering costs of food/occasional mooring/fuel/wear & tear etc...

Thinking of going to tourist areas and renting the boat out (me skippering) to people for a day? Would they even contemplate it? Is this a stupid idea?

Fancy getting away on my own boat for a few months, but don't want to completely bankrupt myself in the process.

Any input (or cyber slap to the face) welcome.

Thanks

[z4RRSchris99]

presume your insurances would have to be in place but why not. I would happily (and do) hire a boat and skipper if I'm not with someone who has one

[Fishtigua]

When you charter out your boat for the folding stuff you have now become a vessel for profit, commercial. Insurance, Skippers ticket, safety laws, local taxes and VAT, not forgetting any local mafia types. All good fun in the Med.

This is just one small point.

http://www.sarniayachts.com/blog/eu-vat-rates-for-...

[Simpo Two]

Balls to that, take cash!

[Searider]

To do it legally, assuming you are British and the boat is owned by you it will need to comply with the MCA Code of Practice for Small Commercial Vessels (SCV)

Info here:

http://www.ydsa.co.uk/mca.html

and here:

http://www.ydsa.co.uk/mca.html

It's relatively simple but obviously you'll need to buy some safety equipment - although you will probably want to have this anyway.
Budget 3-4k to include lift and survey fees if the boat has no equipment.

[AlexIT]

We had several request in the past from charter companies on the Med to charter our boat, with also the option of one of us staying on board, for day or week trips.
We always declined, so I don't know the details of how it works out in reality, but it's something you might look for.
I am not very positive about the fact you could do it by yourself (especially for the reasons listed above by Fishtigua...)

[telford_mike]

Read this thread on ybw.com

http://www.ybw.com/forums/showthread.php?352703-Sa...

[maser_spyder]

At the risk of sounding like a daft question, do you already have a boat?

I've done a couple of seasons in the med on a yacht, and bks to paying passengers is my thought.

[Marty63]

Sounds like Captain Ron

[mickrick]

Do you have a commercial endorsement on your ticket?