Interest in boating, docking, and navigation lessons?

[rowinghelmet]

This summer I saw a lot of good people on beautiful boats do very bad things while docking and trying to dock at the Wolfeboro town docks.

Most of the time I would grab a line or a bow rail and help folks tie up their boats and the captains and crew were very gracious and thankful.

This got me thinking there might be some interest in docking lessons.

I'm thinking about starting a little side business to help these folks learn more about boating so they can have a more enjoyable time with their friends and family on the water.

Would you be interested in private or small group lessons? Do you think this is something work pursuing? Is this something needed on the lake?

[winnipiseogee]

Absolutely! I've had friends here ask me if I know anyone offering something like this and I've always said no. It would be a service to them AND a service to those of us around them

[caloway]

Probably lots of demand. You could hold group lessons, then offer 1:1 training. Also, you could get a little yellow sign for the boat that says "Student Captain" so the rest of us know to watch out.

[TriDad]

I would pay for you to teach my wife and kids how to dock...with your boat. ;-) Really, I would.

[VitaBene]

I think it would be a great service, but wonder about demand.

[Aguamenti]

I would welcome the chance to get some hands on advice and practice docking.

[Newbiesaukee]

If your brainstorming, some instruction in basic maintenance might be useful.

[rowinghelmet]

Wow, thanks for all the great ideas!

Originally Posted by caloway

Probably lots of demand. You could hold group lessons, then offer 1:1 training. Also, you could get a little yellow sign for the boat that says "Student Captain" so the rest of us know to watch out.

I love the "Student Captain" flag idea.

Originally Posted by TriDad

I would pay for you to teach my wife and kids how to dock...with your boat. ;-) Really, I would.

I'll PM you once I get my insurance setup. I'm the resident instructor for my extended family and have experience teaching folks with a variety of backgrounds.

Originally Posted by Aguamenti

I would welcome the chance to get some hands on advice and practice docking.

If you PM me your email address I'll make sure to contact you once I start scheduling lessons.

Originally Posted by Newbiesaukee

If your brainstorming, some instruction in basic maintenance might be useful.

Great idea! What topics would you be interested in? Detailing, fiberglass repair, winterization, water pump maintenance?

[Jeanzb1]

Great idea! For example, I have my NH Boating Certificate, but I know zip, zero, zilch about handling a boat -- including our own!

[GTO]

Originally Posted by rowinghelmet

This summer I saw a lot of good people on beautiful boats do very bad things while docking and trying to dock at the Wolfeboro town docks.

Most of the time I would grab a line or a bow rail and help folks tie up their boats and the captains and crew were very gracious and thankful.

This got me thinking there might be some interest in docking lessons.

I'm thinking about starting a little side business to help these folks learn more about boating so they can have a more enjoyable time with their friends and family on the water.

Would you be interested in private or small group lessons? Do you think this is something work pursuing? Is this something needed on the lake?

I think all marinas that rent boats should be required to go out on the water and give a quick hands on, even just the basics

[BroadHopper]

Originally Posted by GTO

I think all marinas that rent boats should be required to go out on the water and give a quick hands on, even just the basics

As pointed out in another thread, one can rent a boat 25hp or less and not require a boater's certificate. I think this will be an excellent idea.

[NH_boater]

I too question demand even though you said side business. A couple of thoughts (my opinion obviously)...

- Insurance liability and damage potential issues using customer's boat or your own. This cost could negate any profit, and mistakes could kill a years take.
- The people that need it most are not likely to seek out or pay for it.
- Difficult business model with lack of steady stream of repeat users. Hard to make a any profit on one and done customers.
- Difficult business model with short seasonal window
- Weather and time dependent for lessons; wind/waves/traffic. Off times are best for wide open docking access, while on hours best for tight quarters practice.
- Customer's have to accept you as a credible, capable instructor on a wide variety of vessels (performance, runabout, cruiser, ski boat, PWC, pontoon, etc.) in a wide variety of situations. May not be easy.

Just so I am not completely negative.....Opportunities:
- Reading charts/GPS and navigating (avoiding rocks)
- Docking (dealing with wind and tight quarters)
- Anchoring and sandbars (avoid arguments with spouse)
- Boating Safety (fire ext, radio, pfd, waves, trim and tabs)
- Water safety (boneheads, wakes, winds, storms, drowning, MOB)
- Tubing and kid safety
- Launching and trailering (and backing up trailers)
- Knots and tie up properly
- Night boating basics
- Fueling and Maintenance basics
- Interesting lake destinations

Best approach is probably to align yourself as a service representing yourself with multiple marinas. Maybe even the marina throws your basic 4 hr service in for free with every new boat purchase (and they pay you directly) if you can demonstrate value to the marina. This might give you a lead stream and upselling potential.

It all really depends on your expectations for business volume, revenue and profit. My guess: Pretty long put to make any profit.

[rowinghelmet]

Wow, thanks NH Boater, fantastic points. I'm consider pursuing this mainly to share my love of boating and meet other folks.

I will share the cost of the commercial insurance with a boat rental business I'm running on the side. I hope the cost will be incremental.

I have a little under 1000 hours on single and twin engine runabouts, ski boats, PWCs, center consoles, sailboats, and pontoons and will shortly have my Captain's License and NH Commercial Boater's license. I'm hoping to get some testimonials after the first few lessons and market mainly through word of mouth.

The list of opportunities is great! I hadn't thought of trailering and anchoring, but clearly there are opportunities there too.

I might combine this with some sort of water taxi/charter service and maybe a concierge business too to offset further marketing and operating expenses.

[webmaster]

The Lakes Region Power Squadron seems like a good place to start:

http://www.lrsps.org/membership.htm

[Knomad]

Even though there are some basic lessons that can be learned in a group setting, every boat reacts differently when docking or casting off. In my opinion to be of any value, on the water training needs to be done one on one using the student's boat and under a variety of conditions.

My recommendation would be a "Day on the Lake" where the novice boater and his/her family go out with a qualified seasoned boater to practice things like rules of the road, docking, anchoring, navigating, watersports, etc.

[VitaBene]

Originally Posted by webmaster

The Lakes Region Power Squadron seems like a good place to start:

http://www.lrsps.org/membership.htm

As a lrsps member and volunteer I can say the class that we and the uscg auxiliary offer gives boaters a better education if they are willing to invest the time. Unfortunately many are too busy and just want the certificate. I would love to see an in water test but know it will never happen

[jeffatsquam]

As a summer job in high school I taught navigation and boatmanship for the junior Squam lakes association. It was a great way to spend the summer.

[Descant]

I know two ladies who have experience in everything from small outboards and I/O,s to medium single engine inboard (not I/O) cruisers to larger twin cruisers (not I/O). Huge skill levels and people often express envy and say "I wish I could do that". They offer for free, but rarely does someone accept. So who will pay?

You seem to be in the right area. I don't count, but more members seem to write in about problems in Wolfeboro than other public docking areas. I never hear stories about lack of skills in Glendale, where all family members of all ages and sexes drive just like everyone rides a bike.

As suggested earlier, maybe the best marketing plan is to sell your services to marinas, not individuals. You should get qualified to teach Boater Cert classes too, if only to build credibility. A USCG or USPS certification would also be good.

[Palm Beachin']

I think you have a great idea. My wife and I are new to boating the big lake. We are loving it. I have to stop getting so anxious when I see a marker. Is there a class or program I can take to build my confidence? However if you are up and running this winter or spring I will be in the front row! Good luck.

[soupyjr8]

You can count me in two!

[kauriel]

I'm definitely interested in this. We have our NH licenses but aren't yet comfortable taking a boat out on the lake. We hoped to rent a boat with a captain this summer but it didn't pan out due to weather. We rented a jet ski to start getting acquainted with the markers and navigation and barring any lessons we'll probably continue to explore via jetski until we are comfortable with areas we would be boating in.

[Bigguypontoon]

Yes please!

[Resident 2B]

No problem, unless it is mandatory. Power Sqaudron already offers this to some extent. This is a potential business opportunity for others. What we are all seeing is overall boating safety has absolutely nothing to do with restrictions on operating speed. It never did and it never will!

[Please notice I did not use the term S---- L------! I worked on the wording to avoid losing posting privileges.]

There are so many boaters out there on the lake with little to no knowledge of safe boating. This is making the lake less safe and it is getting worse each and every year.

The current safety laws have to be much better enforced and the penalties have to be much more sever. MP needs to spend more time on safety issues and less time policing the rafters, who are not creating any safety hazard. It has gotten very unsafe out there due to either inexperienced operators or simple boneheads, especially in busy areas on weekends.

R2B

[Dave R]

Originally Posted by Resident 2B

No problem, unless it is mandatory. Power Sqaudron already offers this to some extent. This is a potential business opportunity for others. What we are all seeing is overall boating safety has absolutely nothing to do with restrictions on operating speed. It never did and it never will!

[Please notice I did not use the term S---- L------! I worked on the wording to avoid losing posting privileges.]

There are so many boaters out there on the lake with little to no knowledge of safe boating. This is making the lake less safe and it is getting worse each and every year.

The current safety laws have to be much better enforced and the penalties have to be much more sever. MP needs to spend more time on safety issues and less time policing the rafters, who are not creating any safety hazard. It has gotten very unsafe out there due to either inexperienced operators or simple boneheads, especially in busy areas on weekends.

R2B

I agree with you, for the most part. The only exception being that I think we are really spoiled here in NH. I've done quite a bit of boating outside of our inland lakes and the Winnipesaukee version of "unsafe" boating (with a few notable exceptions) is remarkably mellow compared to the rest of the boating world.

[RLW]

Bigguypontoon, I was just browsing through the forum and noticed that you are fairly new to posting on the forum and glad you have joined us. Have fun and enjoy the Winni Forum while making many new friends.

[RLW]

Originally Posted by Palm Beachin'

I think you have a great idea. My wife and I are new to boating the big lake. We are loving it. I have to stop getting so anxious when I see a marker. Is there a class or program I can take to build my confidence? However if you are up and running this winter or spring I will be in the front row! Good luck.

Palm Beachin', I was just browsing through the forum and noticed that you are fairly new to posting on the forum and glad you have joined us. Have fun and enjoy the Winni Forum while making many new friends.

[rowinghelmet]

For those who are interested I've setup a signup form:

Signup at http://signup.boatbutlernh.com/

If you add your name and email there I will reach out next spring once I start scheduling lessons.


------

Originally Posted by Knomad

My recommendation would be a "Day on the Lake" where the novice boater and his/her family go out with a qualified seasoned boater to practice things like rules of the road, docking, anchoring, navigating, watersports, etc.

Fantastic idea!

You should get qualified to teach Boater Cert classes too, if only to build credibility.

Great idea, I hadn't thought of this.

[polarisman14]

It'd be nice if you could wrap it up into a weekend intensive or possibly even a day-long course, either early or late in the season (if the docks are empty it'd be easier to let people practice docking). I'd be interested depending on the cost.