Quote:
Originally Posted by AmericanBoatClub
So as you may have seen we are creating another way to get out and enjoy the beautiful lake next spring, via Lake Winni's only boat club. This forum seems like the perfect place for some collective brain storming.
We are planning to start the 2011 season with 4 boats just to start. A good sized bow rider, a center console fishing boat, a nice pontoon boat, a cuddy cruiser, and maybe throw a set of wave-runners in for hot days.
But I am real interested to hear what you all think? Any suggestions?
Thanks  |
I realize that it is just a sales pitch but you use examples to illustrate the price of owning a boat that are at least three times higher than I have seen in 40 years of boating on Winnipesaukee. I don't know what you consider "$900 supplies" to be. I am paying less than 1/2 of what your insurance estimate is with adequate insurance and the $500,000 liability coverage required by a liability umbrella. My boat is in the general class of what you propose to rent yet it has depreciated less than 1/3 of what you estimate as annual depreciation. The payment numbers you use in your illustration seem sufficient to have a boat with cooking and sleeping facilities onboard which would also enable a tax deduction for the owner. That is not shown in your example.
You also have to be prepared for 1 or 2 of your boats to be down for maintenance at any time. Without adequate back up boats people will be really upset when their boating plans get cancelled because the renter before them ran aground.
I am not sure that there will be adequate demand for what you are selling. People that live on the lake or have a marina slip probably will not use it. They will want their own boat. Your target market has to be the day tripper or the family that comes up for a week or two in the summer. Most of your business may be during a season that lasts roughly 10 weeks before the kids go back to school. When a family with disposable income looks at real numbers thay have to decide if it is worth $3,600 to have the partial use of a boat during their short vacation. The day tripper has to decide if they will drive to the lake often enough to make the expense worth it.
I wish you well and hope you make it. Realistically, this is a very difficult area for a business to succeed. There is a very short Summer and then the Lakes Region turns into a ghost town for 9 months. You will have to be very successful during the three active months to cover your expenses for 12 months. Good luck.