Quote:
Originally Posted by NoBozo
Those of you Private Individuals...Be VERY carefull before you volunteer to transport people in your private boat...Particularly for money.
There are No Captains on Lake Winni. Even the Captain of the Mount is NOT a Captain..ie..licensed by the US Coast Guard to transport passengers. Be Careful: YOU are responsible for any loss.... Just Sayin..  NB |
My wife is a licensed Captain through the USCG. She is licensed to operate a 50 ton vessel. (USCG Master 50 ton License)
Unfortunately she is not putting her boat in this year or she would have been replying.
My advise is make sure the person doing the driving has commercial insurance that specifically covers the number of passengers you plan on having on board, there is also a special separate price to allow persons to exit and enter from the water. Extremely costly to have commercial insurance. Much more so to allow for swimming off of the boat.
Anyone can take you out, but if something should happen and the insurance company finds out the boat was for hire you may have no recourse as regular boat insurance does not cover operation for hire.
The Captains license is not required for inland waters, you go through Marine Patrol for a license to operate for hire on the lake.
My wife also believes that because of it's size those operating the Mount are most definitely licensed captains. She believes it is required due to the size of the vessel even though it is on inland waters.