"Jeff" wrote in message
. ..
beaufortnc wrote:
Hi,

I have a charter captain friend who told me once that there is a
loophole around the conventional "6-pack" CG License chartering
regulations.

He said something to the effect that if you have a contract that
specifies that the boat is being rented as a whole to the "guests",
that they are able to pick whoever they'd like to be the captain of
their "rented" vessel, whether that person is licensed or not.

So, in essence, the boat "rental" provides the income, and the
"captain" performs duties for free.

With this method, he was able to charter his boat with more than 6
guests, and without a captain's license.

Does anyone know the real story on this? Was he f.o.s.?
Probably, depending on the details. In addition to my comments below, I
seem to remember that a "bare boat charter" must not include the owner or
his representative. This sort of makes the described "contract" bogus.

About 12 years ago the rules were eased up a little, allowing for guests
to share some expenses, bring lunch, etc. However, anything that "smells"
like making money is not allowed. The question that must be asked is
"Would the captain take these guests out even if they were not
contributing anything?" If the answer is "No," then they are probably
passengers for hire. If the answer is "yes", then they are friendly
guests who happen to be contributing a bit. If the contribution is less
than a share of the fuel cost, it probably isn't a charter. If the
Captain ends up with more money in his pocket then he started with, it is
a charter. However, the CG has a lot of local discretion on a case by
case basis.

Sir, the beer, sandwiches, cooler and ice were in the boat when we came back
from parking the car & trailer. Someone must've dropped them in the wrong
boat by mistake.