I am thinking about buying a new boat… Need Opinions?

[C-Ya]

Ok guys,

Here’s the deal. I’ve been toying with the idea of buying a tour boat, so I can take tourist out on sightseeing and sandbar trips, here in South Florida. I also would like to use the boat as a fun cruiser for friends and family. I would keep my present boat, since it is custom built for Bahamas cruising.

The boat below is 26’ x 14’. It will come with twin 40hp Mercury outboards with tilt and trim. I would also be adding both a bow and stern thruster with handheld remote control for an additional 15k, but I think it will be worth it. It will allow me to get to the center of a crowded sandbar with complete control of the boat. I would be the first owner to do this modification to the boat.

I can easily take out 6 people on a standard 6-pack tour. I can take 12 if I use the Bareboat Charter exemption. I will try to have to Coast Guard do an inspection so that I can get 18 paying customers, but that is a long shot to get that sort of COI. Certificate of Inspection.

My only regret is that I did not own one of these boats when I had my vacation home in Parker. This would have been fun to have there!

It should be noted that I am a fully licensed commercial boat captain.

I look forward to hearing your opinions of the pick of boat below.

One last thing……. I am having trouble thinking of a name for the business. So far, all I have is “Soggy Dollar Boat Tours”.(the name comes from my favorite bar in the BVI) It would be nice to have the name Tiki somewhere, but after searching names….. it seems like the best names are already taken. Tipsy Tiki , Tiki Time , etc. Can you geniuses help with a cool name?

What is your opinion of the boat? I stole the pic from a website that has the same boat, so you can see the what the finished boat would look like.

Here is a video of a guy in New Jersey, who bought the same boat. Just shows some of the tour possibilities.

 

[Tank]

That's fan-fuckin-tastic!!

Way better design than the circle ones that are out.

 

[BajaMike]

I think it needs some comfortable seating.

 

[Gelcoater]

Ok guys,

Here’s the deal. I’ve been toying with the idea of buying a tour boat, so I can take tourist out on sightseeing and sandbar trips, here in South Florida. I also would like to use the boat as a fun cruiser for friends and family. I would keep my present boat, since it is custom built for Bahamas cruising.

The boat below is 26’ x 14’. It will come with twin 40hp Mercury outboards with tilt and trim. I would also be adding both a bow and stern thruster with handheld remote control for an additional 15k, but I think it will be worth it. It will allow me to get to the center of a crowded sandbar with complete control of the boat. I would be the first owner to do this modification to the boat.

I can easily take out 6 people on a standard 6-pack tour. I can take 12 if I use the Bareboat Charter exemption. I will try to have to Coast Guard do an inspection so that I can get 18 paying customers, but that is a long shot to get that sort of COI. Certificate of Inspection.

My only regret is that I did not own one of these boats when I had my vacation home in Parker. This would have been fun to have there!

It should be noted that I am a fully licensed commercial boat captain.

I look forward to hearing your opinions of the pick of boat below.

One last thing……. I am having trouble thinking of a name for the business. So far, all I have is “Soggy Dollar Boat Tours”.(the name comes from my favorite bar in the BVI) It would be nice to have the name Tiki somewhere, but after searching names….. it seems like the best names are already taken. Tipsy Tiki , Tiki Time , etc. Can you geniuses help with a cool name?

What is your opinion of the boat? I stole the pic from a website that has the same boat, so you can see the what the finished boat would look like.



View attachment 1047266

Here is a video of a guy in New Jersey, who bought the same boat. Just shows some of the tour possibilities.

What an awesome idea
Other than insuring a business like this (it must be astronomical) your concept is way! better than the client propelled asphalt variants I’ve seen.

As for a name?

the Hey! LAM! Tiki Lounge.

 

[Crazyhippy]

Gone Tiki

Palapa Power Tours

 

[fmo24]

I’m in central Florida. Post up when you get set up and I’ll bring a group

 

[Tank]

- Freaky Tiki Tours -

"You get freaky, we got the tiki"

 

[Mandelon]

Cushy seats with low back rests please.

Captain Ron's Tiki Tours. LOL

 

[Ace in the Hole]

Way better design than the circle ones that are out.

the circle ones are a franchise and are pretty protective of the model....we looked into putting one in Austin. Didn't pencil out IMO

 

[Joe mama]

Tickle your Tiki tours

 

[steamin rice]

I like the soggy dollar name, it will make people think of a more exotic location. The concept seems great, maybe set it up with a more comfortable lounge setup rather than barstools. If you can seat 12, that gives you 3 families of 4. I don't know what you would need to charge to make it pencil out, but $1000+ for 12 people would be very reasonable for a day at a sandbar.

 

[River Runnin]

S.S. Minnow TiKi Tours!

 

[mjc]

Soggy dollar tiki tours.

 

[BlowMe]

Turnt tiki or the turnt tiki


Edit * I think thats what the kids are saying now days but who knows *

 

[Kenny D]

Where I live in Florida......... [ Marco Island / Isles of Capri]....someone started something like this.....He charges 100.00 per person for 4 hours and supplies only water.They call it turtle tiki.People bring their own chairs and ice chests.

 

[Tank]

Where I live in Florida......... [ Marco Island / Isles of Capri]....someone started something like this.....He charges 100.00 per person for 4 hours and supplies only water.They call it turtle tiki.People bring their own chairs and ice chests.

That seems like a good price for someone looking to get out on the water and chill if they don't have a boat. Plus the math would work pretty good for owner operator especially if you do minimum of 4 persons per cruise.