Becoming an Operator

[mark_suffolk]

Hi

Was looking for some help, we are looking at setting up to becoming an operator of rib boat tours around the Suffolk coast, how would we go about setting up ie licence how do we obtain one insurance etc, is it a good business?
any help or advice greatly appreciated.
Thanks
Mark

[TmMorris]

I would start by talking to insurers. After the horrible accident in the Solent last summer you may find that there are no underwriters willing to take on a start up this season.

[jonp]

Are you already a qualified skipper ? Not sure on regs you have back there now but here we need to licensed to drive boats with several different levels of qualifications .
Even recreational boaters have to be licensed.
Commercial fishing is a lower qualification than taking passengers.
Then there's the power and range offshore different levels allow you to skipper.
Theres also the first aid qualifications as well as our own medical pass etc.

[Poly]

Originally Posted by mark_suffolk

Was looking for some help, we are looking at setting up to becoming an operator of rib boat tours around the Suffolk coast, how would we go about setting up ie licence how do we obtain one insurance etc, is it a good business?
any help or advice greatly appreciated.
Thanks
Mark

There was a good article probably about 10 years ago in RIBInternational magazine (now Powerboat and RIB). I think it might have been a 2 part series.

The boat will need to be commercially coded. Look for MGN280 on the coastguard website. (you can also check out local authority coding but it won't let you go far). I think to be commercially viable most operators find they need to go for the 12 passengers level of coding. Which in modern times means 12 seats for passengers - not people on tubes so will be a big boat = expensive! If you are going to go smaller really crunch the numbers to be sure it will work.

The manning requirements for a coded boat are in the MGN280. Thats likely to mean you (the skipper) need Advanced Powerboat Certificate commercially endorsed (with medical requirements, first aid, VHF, etc and "PPR" which is a test that is supposed to check you understand all the rules etc).

You may well need permission from whoever operates the jetty/harbour/marina you want to operate from.

You will want to read all the relevant guidance on high speed operations etc from the MCGA.

There are some pretty successful people operating boats for this sort of stuff - they do it by working hard, not thinking it will be getting paid to do their hobby. It strikes me that the more successful ones have an office or at least a trailer that the work from but that probably means there is more staff too. You probably are going to need waterproofs and lifejackets in quite a range of sizes, and somewhere to store (and dry) them when not in use. Success will take a lot of online marketing effort in a competitive market place, and likely some old school print marketing for the hotels/b&b/cottage "welcome guides" etc.

You'll also want to think about what you do for the 7 months when the weather makes a boat trip unappealing to the public. Some do contract work for lighthouse maintenance, mooring buoy servicing/inspection, etc - but that will potentially mean the boat design needs to be different or flexible to cope with that. I know one operator who has a spare 250HP engine sitting in the shed because a fault takes his boat off the water and he's losing thousands in a short period waiting for parts etc - but you need to have quite a lot of capital to take those precautions.

I guess you'd want to be sure the covid challenges were mostly over as support for new business is likely to be even worse than those with a track record.

Originally Posted by TmMorris

I would start by talking to insurers. After the horrible accident in the Solent last summer you may find that there are no underwriters willing to take on a start up this season.

I think that will depend what you are planning to do. Thrill rides for the sake of it may become harder, and I'd certainly expect insurers to be asking lots of questions about experience, and proof you will be following the MCGA guidance in full etc. But if you keep the boat spec so its top speed is a little calmer and market around wildlife trips etc then it may be easier. There are courses/accreditations for wildlife trips which may be useful for both a marketing and reassuring insurers perspective.

Finally I'd be surprised if there were any "really good" areas of the country where a boat is not already operating. Really good = interesting stuff to see/do/go; options for shelter so you can maximise days on the water; suitable shore facilities to launch; a big target audience etc. If there's competition you may not be welcomed with open arms - I wouldn't be surprised if some have exclusive arrangements with the harbour etc. or think they do!

[willk]

Originally Posted by Poly

I think that will depend what you are planning to do. Thrill rides for the sake of it may become harder, and I'd certainly expect insurers to be asking lots of questions about experience, and proof you will be following the MCGA guidance in full etc. But if you keep the boat spec so its top speed is a little calmer and market around wildlife trips etc then it may be easier.

The question is "Is it a commercial RIB?" - then they decline to quote. The number of insurers prepared to offer me cover this season was precisely one. Easy choice!

It's not in any way connected with my past claims, operation or experience - just "Is it a commercial RIB?"

[jakew009]

/start controversial post

Can’t help with the technicalities but can probably shine some light on the “is it a good business” question.

The answer is almost certainly “absolutely not”.

There is an almost unlimited supply of people who dream of buying a rib and spending all day being paid to drive it around (got to be better than running a van / taxi right?) The barriers to entry are very low and it does not require any particular skills that take long to acquire.

That means that most people in the business are basically subsidising their hobby and the effort vs the return almost certainly mean you will be working for less than minimum wage.

If your dream is to own a big rib and spend every sunny day being a poorly paid bus driver, then go for it.

If you want to run a business that will earn you enough money to have a nice boat that you can spend every sunny day on board with your friends / family, find a different business idea ��

/end controversial post

[davej]

Hi Mark, I spend quite a bit of time in Suffolk and have seen an obviously commercial trip big RIB tied up in Southwold alongside the quay by a wooden office/hut can’t remember what it’s called. Don’t know where you are thinking of operating from as the Ore/ Alde is pretty tricky due to the sea:river entrance so that means if you thinking of southwold you will definitely be competing with an established operator.

Regarding the spare engine, when I was on holiday in NZ a few years ago all the small boat operators seemed to run the same big Honda OBs and have a spare engine in the workshop available to quickly swop if required so as been said will take a fair bit of cash to set up!

Dave j

[Iankristy]

Originally Posted by mark_suffolk

Hi



Was looking for some help, we are looking at setting up to becoming an operator of rib boat tours around the Suffolk coast, how would we go about setting up ie licence how do we obtain one insurance etc, is it a good business?

any help or advice greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Mark

Agee with most of the above, however, is it possible to make a decent living taking people out on seafari RHIB trips? Absolutely. Hard work? Yes. Financially risky? Yes. Hugely rewarding? Yes. Good idea with covid about? No[emoji23]
A few things seem critical to success for me:
-you need to be lucky and buy the right boat, with the right engines for the right price.
- you need a speciality. I do predominantly dolphin/ seal trips but also local history/ oil rigs/ light houses etc. Imagine yourself in the customers perspective and think what would satisfy you then do twice as much. It’s not enough to just go round in circles in my opinion. We’ve had local families out 7 or 8 times and will keep coming back. We know what the ships we pass newly tied up are, where they came from, what they do. I cannot emphasise enough the draw of dolphins/ porpoise/ seals etc. Also marketing gold for social media. Oh and You need to be a master of social media, booking systems, websites, trip advisor, accounts, boat maintenance, local regulations, local relations with harbour master/ council etc[emoji23]
-pretty obvious but it’s seasonal. You need another job unless it’s a pocket money exercise.
- this may not apply to you but the hardest part of starting up for me was actually getting somewhere to board passengers. There’s no marinas here, I ended up( after a fight with council) using the side of a public slipway as its the only place I could. Add master of relations with all the folks launching boats/ jet skis to the above list
- covid has decimated it. Social distancing here knocks 4 seats out and filling the other seats needs an algorithm I don’t have. To that end we’ll probably be 2 years off the water. You need the good days to it for the crap/ cancelled by weather days.

All that said it’s a fantastic job, Highly rewarding seeing the look on kids face as dolphins pop up bedside the boat or an elderly couple who’ve lived here all their life and never new any of this was here.
Quinquari do a brief guide to the financials many years ago I’ll post a link. Some relevant stuff some not. You’ll need advanced pb commercially endorsed, a coded(mgn 280) boat, public/ employers liability insurance( find Peter Matcham on the google), local license from council potentially, potentially local harbour master permissions and a very healthy wadge to get going!

[Iankristy]

https://www.quinquarimarine.co.uk/wp...B_business.pdf

[Orwell boy]

Originally Posted by davej

Hi Mark, I spend quite a bit of time in Suffolk and have seen an obviously commercial trip big RIB tied up in Southwold alongside the quay by a wooden office/hut can’t remember what it’s called. Don’t know where you are thinking of operating from as the Ore/ Alde is pretty tricky due to the sea:river entrance so that means if you thinking of southwold you will definitely be competing with an established operator.

Regarding the spare engine, when I was on holiday in NZ a few years ago all the small boat operators seemed to run the same big Honda OBs and have a spare engine in the workshop available to quickly swop if required so as been said will take a fair bit of cash to set up!

Dave j

https://coastalvoyager.co.uk/booking-information.html
This is the guy !

[Pikey Dave]

Seeing as the OP joined Ribnet, made one post & hasn't been back since. I'm guessing that he has either gone off to dream somewhere else, or he's been rumbled, again

[Fenlander]

>>>or he's been rumbled, again

I don't post in the RIB sections but did read this and wondered if this boat would be coded OK with the lemonade bottle petrol tanks.

[Pikey Dave]

Originally Posted by Fenlander

>>>or he's been rumbled, again

I don't post in the RIB sections but did read this and wondered if this boat would be coded OK with the lemonade bottle petrol tanks.

And the chipboard seats

[Iankristy]

Originally Posted by Pikey Dave

Seeing as the OP joined Ribnet, made one post & hasn't been back since. I'm guessing that he has either gone off to dream somewhere else, or he's been rumbled, again

Mebbe he found a submerged one that wasn’t too rusty 🤷

[Oldman2]

Well at least it generated lots of useful info for anyone looking to go down that route, so it wasn't a wasted thread & will be something to point others at in the future when the same question comes up.

[Tim M]

Been there, tried it, lost a load of money, wouldn't recommend it. We had one of the most prime spots on the South Coast, and ultimately ended up running 3x 9m RIBs at its peak. The effort to profit ratio is ridiculous. Many do succeed, but it's certainly not an easy business to be in. The chap who runs the Southwold operation linked above has been doing it for over 20 years and has every issue imaginable at some point or other - including the boat being stolen.