Oh Captain, My Captain: Why we do not offer Drivers for your Boat Rental

Why we don’t offer drivers for your Boat Rental

Every single day we get at least one call from a customer asking if we provide a driver for the rental boats. The answer is sadly no. We would love to come have a great day on the water with you though.

Due to the number of calls we get on this though, we thought it would be a good idea to elaborate on why we don’t offer this service.

First and foremost, you have to have a Captains License to operate ANY boat for compensation. Doesn’t matter the circumstances. There has been other boats around Lake Wylie who tried to offer a driver without that person having a Captains License and they got nailed. The Coast Guard and local police do patrol the lake and look out for infractions like this! Plus, you wouldn’t want to run the risk of having an inexperienced person operating the boat for you.

Secondly, and more unknown, is insurance issues. Surprisingly if we were to provide a driver our insurance would go up. It would almost double! As you can imagine, insurance for a rental fleet of boats is EXTREMELY expensive. So, doubling that is not something most operations would consider.

Lastly, hiring someone with a Captains License for a full day boat rental would make it more expensive than most customers would be willing to pay for a day on the water.

PS: Most Captains around inland Lakes only have what is called a 6-Pack license. This means that ONLY 6 passengers can be on the boat not including the Captain. This is another reason why most people don’t hire a Captain (legally).

The good news is, renting a boat with us is easy. The rental process is easy online, the training at our dock is comprehensive and easy to understand. All we ask is that you pay close attention to our staff when they are going over everything and you’ll be fine!

If you would like more experience with boating before going out with your friends or family, we do offer Driving Lessons every day.

To be safe on the water, just go slow. It really is that easy.