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Lending or renting out your boat
Short answer
Handing the keys to a friend is one thing, taking money for the weekend is another.
The second usually changes what your policy is willing to do, sometimes without saying so loudly.
There is a line in every hull policy between private use and commercial use, and money is usually what crosses it. Lending the boat to a friend for a day is generally within the ordinary use of a private craft, provided the wording does not restrict who may be in charge. Taking payment, even informally and even from a friend, tends to move the boat into a different category, because it introduces a paying customer with expectations, and with that a different pattern of claims. Some policies allow a limited number of days a year for this, others require a separate contract altogether.
Before the keys change hands, read three things. Who is permitted to be in charge, and whether a qualification is named. Whether use for reward is permitted at all, and if so within what limit. And what happens to the deductible when somebody other than you is steering, because a higher excess for other helmsmen is a common and easily missed clause. If the wording allows occasional letting, expect it to require a written agreement between you and the person taking the boat, which is sensible whatever the policy says.
Chartering the boat out properly is a different subject with its own cover, and running a commercial operation on a private policy is the version of this that ends badly. In the other direction, if you charter somebody else's yacht, check how your own arrangement responds while you are in charge of a boat you do not own, and what happens to the deposit the operator holds. With us, liability as the responsible skipper of a chartered yacht is included in every tier for up to 30 days with the agreement in your name. From Basis Plus it applies up to the size of your own boat and 10 million euros, in Premium without a size limit and up to 20 million euros, in Europe and the Mediterranean. Both questions are cheaper to ask in March than in August.
Worth remembering
A favour
is usually still private use
A payment
usually is not
The money, not the friendship, is what the wording notices.
Questions
What owners ask us about this
Can I lend my boat to a friend?
Usually yes, if the wording does not restrict who may be in charge. Check for any qualification requirement and for a higher excess when somebody else is steering.
What changes if I take money?
Payment generally moves the use towards commercial. Some wordings allow a limited number of days a year, others require a separate contract.
Do I need a written agreement?
Where letting is allowed, a written agreement is normally required and is worth having anyway: it records the condition of the boat and who carries what.
What about chartering somebody else's yacht?
That is a separate question about your liability while in charge of another boat, and about the deposit the operator holds. Ask before you book.
Related
Not sure whether you qualify?
Whether it is “Lending or renting out your boat” or another question: send us your residence and the flag your boat flies. You will get a straight answer in one email; including a no, if that is the answer.
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