Charter Possibities

[rlys]

Are there any owners who would be interested in chartering their PDQ 34 (a 2005 or newer)? I'm just throwing the question out there because we have so many perspective buyers who ask us. We are half way through our major boat show season and we've had at least 10 inquiries. Presently, we know of the 2007 PDQ that is available through San Juan Yachting. Unfortunately for some, the Pacific Northwest is too far to travel. I'm not sure how the technicalities would work but it may be worth looking into...I can tell you there are several folks interested!

[DanRankin]

During my travels this summer working in marinas around Ontario, I did find a PDQ36 in charter, Nauticat. It is in charter on the North Channel out of Canadian Yacht Charters. They are located on the North West tip of Manitoulin Island. I actually stayed on the boat for a week while I was working on other yachts up there. I was quite impressed on the condition of the boat, it was immaculate for a charter!! The ironic thing was that I actually wired the boat when it was buit....I will keep my ears open for an MV34 as the people that own Nauticat are looking for either and MV or 36 as a second charter boat.

Cheers
Dan

[Catfish]

We have a 2007 MV34 that is avaiable for charter. The rate is $550 /day plus fuel with a seven day minimum, and a $3500 damage deposit. The boat is located in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin on Lake Michigan. Any questions please call David Chamberlain at 815 776 0107.

[Stray Cat]

As I understand it, the Jones Act only allows commercial fishing and charter operations in the US by boats built in the US. This info came to me from the Coast Guard documentation center when I documented Stray Cat. Anybody know more about this?

Gary

[Ross Bowling]

My understanding is that foreign made boats can be used for bareboat chartering, but not for skippered charters.

[Stray Cat]

I hadn't heard that -- and it doesn't quite square with my understanding. The Jones Act was written and enacted to protect American shipping companies, ship/boat builders and all the other American stakeholders from foreign competition. That is why, for example you cannot ship anything from one American port to another American port in anything other than an American registered vessel -- why Dockwise can pick up our boats in Ft. Lauderdale for example, but must deliver them in Ensenada, Mexico or Vancouver, Canada (eh?). When documenting my foreign built PDQ, the paperwork was quite plain, I cannot use my vessel for commercial fishing, charter, ferry or any other commercial purpose in US waters. That said, I'm not so sure who is looking out to catch evildoers here. I know the Coast Guard has bigger fish to fry! A particularly small operation with a particularly low public profile would probably escape attention: until an accident happened. The insurance companies could easily deny coverage and because of the unique nature of admiralty law you would most likely end up with 90% of the liability in court on that issue alone. Look up an admiralty lawyer in your yellow pages (OK, how many of you knew there were such beasts?) for the definitive answer.

[duetto]

might not a uscg "safety Inspection" be problematic also?

[Stray Cat]

Yes, of course. The regular courtesy Vessel Examination we in the Coast Guard Aux. (and Power Squadron and state officials, etc.) do is rather cursory and as you probably know involves the presence and use of basic safety equipment. That exam is voluntary and no enforcement is involved. It is for private, non-commercial vessels only.

The exam for Inspected Commercial Vessels is far more thorough and is held to rigorous and very detailed standards (capacity of fire suppression pumps, handrail dimensions, etc.). This foreign hull issue would be caught in the paperwork before anybody even stepped aboard. The Commercial Inspection is of course requested by the owner to achieve Coast Guard Inspected Vessel status, and would only apply to vessels carrying more than six paying passengers (greater than a 'six pack' license involved). Come to think of it, that may be where the aforementioned bareboat vs crewed distinction came from.

The examination underway by Coast Guard boarding parties involves the aforementioned safety equipment and practices issues, as well as customs, immigration, and law enforcement issues like drugs, firearms, terrorism, and such. It is not voluntary and the boarding officer has the power to issue citations, arrest people and seize boats. The boarding officer is keenly aware of the distinctions between pleasurecraft and commercial vessels, and if he/she suspected commercial activity involving more than six paying passengers without the Commercial Inspection stuff the jig would be up. BTW, a paying passenger is anyone who pays more than a pro-rated share of the actual costs.

Last, let me point out that chartering a Canadian built hull in Canada is perfectly legal for Canadians eh? Citizens of many nations are chartering boats built anywhere with hardly any visible regulation throughout much of the Caribbean. Now, wouldn't that be a fine place for a little charter business?

I sincerely hope nobody ever has any kind of accident, particularly involving boating, and specifically involving commercial activities on the water -- but regardless of whether that nobody read this posting or not, claiming "I didn't know I had to do that!" is a doomed legal defense, don't even bother. If you end up in Admiralty Court, know this: Admiralty law is international treaty law; it is blindingly complex and irrational; it is not derived from the laws we are familiar with; and it apportions liability among all the claimants -- nobody gets away for less than ten percent.

As a serving member of the Coast Guard Auxiliary I would never DREAM of advising anybody on how to skirt these laws and regulations! Rather, I suggest contacting the Coast Guard for advice on this and many other issues. You could start at the documentation center website: http://www.uscg.mil/hq/cg5/nvdc/ or telephone the public affairs folks at your Coast Guard District office, likely listed in your local phone book.

[Sno' Dog]

A note in the Charter News & Notes section of the August issue of Motor Boating caught my eye:
"Canadian Yacht Charters (CYC) has recently made an addition to their fleet of 7 powerboats. A brand new 2010 model year, 34-foot PDQ powercat was delivered in June."
Who knew there was such a thing as a 2010 model? I checked the listing on their web site (http://www.cycnorth.com/cat/pdq34.html) and sure enough, there are are photos of Last Cat. I believe this is the final Canadian PDQ which was lovingly finished by a former PDQ employee. From the photos, it looks very nice, apparently incorporating some of the upgrades promised by the new Rhode Island company (but so far, not delivered). I'm not too sure what we can infer from the photos however, as many of them are clearly of other boats - including ours!

In any case, it does appear to be an opportunity to charter a late model PDQ in a beautiful part of the world.

Henry Clews
MV34-87 Sno' Dog
http://www.snodoglog.com