[eherlihy]

Has anyone here worked with these guys?; https://boatbound.co/

It is a peer-to-peer boat rental agency, that connects privately owned boats with potential renters. They keep 35% of the rental fee to defer their costs. (This sounds steep to me.)

ASA just announced that they have formed a partnership with BoatBound for charter certification. American Sailing Association Announces Exclusive Partnership With P2P Boat Rental Marketplace, Boatbound | PRLog

 

[sailingfool]

Chartering boats is a high-touch activity and I dont personally think it can be handled via a website, plus I'd agree that 35% too high relative to the rates charged by existing service which from my experience runs more to 15-20%.

 

[dhop24]

I rented a Beneteau 46 through them last summer, It was a simple process. I met the owner at his boat in San Francisco on the agreed upon date, where he walked me through his boats safety gear and operation. As far as the 35% I was on the renting side so it did not effect me. The owner seemed really happy his boat was getting used, and with the insurance provided for both the owner and myself including towing Boat US does not seem like much.

Anyway it worked out great and will be using the service in the future as it way cheaper than owning for me.

 

[mike95910]

I agree, the commission is high and I am still weary of renting a boat, especially anything over 40+ feet to anyone unless it is professionally captained. I mean there are so many more things involved in running a larger boat than just a 20ft bowrider... Anyhow good idea and glad to see there are sites like this trying to make a difference in a market thats tanking. Another good one that I just saw was nxtboat.co. Same concept but they also sell and showcase boats as well.

 

[hangupndrive]

I have owned a charter boat in Seattle for 7 years. Boatbound is an interesting concept frankly, I haven't crunched the numbers. 35% may be OK. I dont know. My commercial yacht insurance alone is $1500 per year. As I read their agreement, this is covered by them so, this needs to be considered.

There are other things to give one concern. They say they pre-qualify renters/charterers however they don't say how. If you "google" "boat rental Seattle" or "boat charter Seattle" boatbound is not to be found. So, I don't see the marketing value to folks who don't already know about boatbound. Next is the lousy website. I tried to contact owners through the "contact owner" selection. wouldn't work with my iPad. I tried on my laptop and the website generates a message telling me to update Internet explorer. Not to wise to limit the marketing demographic to folks who only have the latest version!

Like I said interesting concept but the initial exposure is far from inspiring confidence. I would love to hear from a boat owner who uses their services. Pm me.

 

[ianroberts]

I think the services are good enough for the sudden plan. If the guys have time they can explore a bit. BTW Boatbound has a good reputation in the business as far as I know. Though, never got a chance to avail one.

 

[hangupndrive]

Possibly. From the renter's perspective there is little risk. Seems that the thread started off looking at it from the owner's point of view. They may very well have an excellent rep. I'd love to hear from some boat owners who use their booking services.

All a matter of perspective. It may be just fine for an owner looking to pick up a few hundred dollars here and there. I highly doubt it could do much more.

Any Owners out there who care to share?

 

[eherlihy]

Yes, I am interested in any experience with them, but in particular boat owners experience.

Thanks!

 

[kptmorgan04]

I placed my boat on boatbound a few days ago to see what would happen before crunching the numbers and realizing how much that 35% service fee really cut into the daily rate.
I got a bite within a day for a possible weekend reservation, where I will not be using the boat. Each member has a profile and if they have rented or chartered out a boat before, members are encouraged to give feedback on other party to build reputation etc.
I am not sure yet if I want to do it as it will end up bringing about $325 to me for a two day rental.

For a few obvious reasons, here are my concerns/reservations.
1) Letting someone else who I do not know use my boat for an overnight
2) Having the boat in "charter" condidition for someone else to utilize it. While I keep my boat tidy, there are things that would need to be done differently after every time I use the boat if I was going to be renting it out.
3) My boat is currently on a mooring, which makes doing #2 a little more difficult than swinging by the marina to accomplish.

Where I think it would work best:
Someone who really doesnt use their boat much and could dedicate large chunks of time where the boat would almost exclusively be chartered. That way there wouldnt be the constant "keeping it charter ready" while using it at the same time.

Will provide feedback if I end up using the service.

 

[RobGallagher]

So far it all seems easy, until it comes time for them to supply a surveyor. My boat is just over 25 yrs old and the last survey was 3 years ago. According to their own rules someone should be contacting me to do a one hour walk through "survey" of safety equipment, etc....tick tock.

I do, however, keep getting emails reminding me to have my boat surveyed.

Also have multiple reservation requests.... tick tock.

My insurance will probably triple but I almost NEVER use my boat on weekends.

I'll update this if anything exciting happens.

 

[tomandchris]

Chartering boats is a high-touch activity and I dont personally think it can be handled via a website, plus I'd agree that 35% too high relative to the rates charged by existing service which from my experience runs more to 15-20%.

Not sure what you refer to as "existing service"? This is certainly not a typical charter service, as they don't prep the boat, check it back in, and most importantly so far...market it!

Typical charter services do the above, as well as service the boat for the owners (which they charge for in addition to a percentage of the revenue. That percentage, however, is much closer to 50% of total revenue. They also might be getting a larger charter fee than this service as they usually provide newer boats marketed well.

I had a boat in a midwest charter fleet and was mostly happy with the results. This contract, with little to no solid contact with the charter customer, sounds like something I would be very uncomfortable with. Accidents can happen with charterers that are checked out. Those that fill out a form may be a little more accident prone...or not.

 

[capta]

Yes, I am interested in any experience with them, but in particular boat owners experience.

Thanks!

After I heard about Boatbound, I thought it might be a good way to add a bit of income to the cruising kitty. I emailed them with our information, specifically asking if they were interested in a boat in the Caribbean. No reply.
So I filled out the forms and several days later received a reply that they did NOT handle boats in the Caribbean, but perhaps if I checked back in a year or so? Great, I'd only wasted a little bit of time. Then, for the next 6 weeks or so, I kept getting emails from them, saying that there were a few more things I needed to do to complete my application. Why? They aren't interested in our boat. So I email them, telling them once again, I'm in the Caribbean and unless they have changed their policy, well you know. More emails, more requests that they stop. And more. Do you have any idea how tiresome this is on a slow, island ISP?
Finally, after perhaps 25 emails it stops. Whew.
Even if they do start operations down this way, I certainly won't be a part of it, at any price!

 

[RobGallagher]

So far it all seems easy, until it comes time for them to supply a surveyor. My boat is just over 25 yrs old and the last survey was 3 years ago. According to their own rules someone should be contacting me to do a one hour walk through "survey" of safety equipment, etc....tick tock.

I do, however, keep getting emails reminding me to have my boat surveyed.

Also have multiple reservation requests.... tick tock.

My insurance will probably triple but I almost NEVER use my boat on weekends.

I'll update this if anything exciting happens.

Update: I emailed them again. Nothing.

I have had to tell a total of five prospective customers "no" due to boatbounds failure to follow through.

What a waste of time.

I am getting more spam now. Most of it is boating related so I'm pretty sure they sold my personal Info.

 

[smurphny]

While the extra income from renting stuff like houses and boats sounds like it might be worth it, people tend to abuse things they don't own. Even lending out tools usually results in lost parts or getting it back in pieces. It seems to be a built in element of human nature, at least for some to trash rented stuff like cars, for instance.

 

[eherlihy]

Will provide feedback if I end up using the service.

Any update?

 

[Slayer]

With all the boats sitting unused on moorings on even the most beautiful sailing days, I've always thought there should be more services like this. It could certainly defray the cost of owning a boat, but I see the downside too. The ideal situation would be if owners found repeat renters that they trusted. But ideal situations are hard to come by.

 

[TakeFive]

With all the boats sitting unused on moorings on even the most beautiful sailing days, I've always thought there should be more services like this. It could certainly defray the cost of owning a boat, but I see the downside too. The ideal situation would be if owners found repeat renters that they trusted. But ideal situations are hard to come by.

If they're sitting unused, it is extraordinarily unlikely that they're worth paying money to charter.

 

[RobGallagher]

If they're sitting unused, it is extraordinarily unlikely that they're worth paying money to charter.

I would disagree. I'm on my boat 2 days/3 nights, mid-week, EVERY week May - Nov. Weekends are open 90% of the time. I've been at the same yard since 2001 and people there think my boat never leaves the mooring because they are weekend warriors.

I can't stand to be anyplace near a marina on a weekend. It's horrible. Mid week it's just me and the relaxed old retired sailors

I know other people who spend loads of time maintaining with loving care, yet get pulled back from the shore with birthday parties, BBQ's, driving the kids to games, etc.

My last girlfriend had me doing the "right thing" by dividing the time up with her sailing with me and then things she liked to do. Used the boat about 50% of what I normally would. I just couldn't take it. Imagine - sunny, seas less than 1 ft, wind 10 - 15 and I'm at the friggen Coach store.

Anyway... an update on Boatbound.com - Still never heard back from them. I have had five people contact me about charters... I apprehensive about giving my boat to a stranger anyway.

 

[RobGallagher]

Yesterday I finally received a reply from boat bound. Here is a cut an paste:

"Hi Robert,

I'm so sorry for the delayed response.

Unfortunately, I have been unable to find a surveyor in your area that is willing to inspect your vessel. I will continue trying and once I find a surveyor I will intro you immediately.

Again sorry for any inconvenience I have caused and hopefully your vessel will be approved and bookable on the site soon!

Cheers,

--
Patrick D
Boatbound Support"


How is it possible they cannot find a surveyor in or near Mystic CT? There are two possibilities. 1. They have not really tried. OR 2. They are not willing to pay a qualified surveyor what they are worth.

In the mean time, I just turned down my sixth potential customer today.

What a horrible waste of my time.

I only post this hoping that I can save fellow listers some of their valuable time.

This will probably be my last update...

 

[TakeFive]

If they're sitting unused, it is extraordinarily unlikely that they're worth paying money to charter.

I would disagree. I'm on my boat 2 days/3 nights, mid-week, EVERY week May - Nov.

Your boat is not sitting unused, and thus not relevant to my statement.