I have a question that I would think would not be terribly unique, yet
my wife and I are stumped as to the answer. Here it is:

When bareboating as the hosts/captain, how do we cover ourselves
in case one of our guests accidentally gets injured?

Here are a couple possible answers, and my conclusions to each:
1) You're covered by your charter company.
Conclusion: Not with Moorings. They make you sign something
excluding them from responsibility.

2) You're covered by your homeowner's / umbrella policy.
Conclusion: Not with ours and several others we've reviewed. There
is a specific exclusion for any boat 26' in length or 50HP.

I don't believe we are the first bareboat charterers to consider this
issue, but so far, we've had no luck with anyone we've called. All
insurance agents say "wow, that's a really good question", but they
have no answers. BOAT/US only insures your own boat. There's a
service in Australia that offers exactly this coverage (for "hirers"),
but only in that country.

I trust that my crew isn't going to needlessly try to sue me, but
what if someone slips getting into the dinghy and conks themselves
into permanent brain damage on the dock? Right now, I feel like they
could clean me out financially. Maybe issue football helmets? J

I truly hope this hasn't been already discussed ad nauseam, but a
search in rec.boats for "bareboat liability" turned up nothing
useful.

I'll be doing my 4th BB cruise in the BVIs next month, and hope to be
able to resolve this issue before then.

Thanks for any help you can provide!!!

Bryan
Meadow Vista, CA