# Chartering an Ericson 35 Mk II



## tchiffriller (Aug 17, 2011)

Hello all I am currently restoring an Ericson 35 MKII and am planning on doing charters with her next year in the USVI.

Any advice on how to obtain the licenses for business and what type of insurance would be awesome.

Also what safety regulations will I need to meet and that I should keep in mind while restoring the boat.

Also anything I should add to the boat that would be easy now that would give my sailboat a competitive advantage in the daytime chartering business.

Thank you,
Tommy


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## sailingfool (Apr 17, 2000)

Assuming you intend to skipper the charters, you would need to obtain a OUPV license, a so-called 6pack. As you would be operating your boat as an "un-inpected" vessel, chartering creates no additional requirements for the vessel beyond the standard safety requirements. In addition to your license, you need to obtain commercial use insurance, which you may find difficult to obtain.
In the States I am not aware of any state licensing or business requirements but any state may have something unique.

The Ericson 35 II is a lovely cruising boat, but have you considered how well it fits your intended purpose though. How well will six adult guests, together withe skipper (and a mate?) fit into the cockpit, will the skipper be able to reach the main sheet from behind the wheel, etc...?


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## jephotog (Feb 25, 2002)

tchiffriller said:


> Also anything I should add to the boat that would be easy now that would give my sailboat a competitive advantage in the daytime chartering business.
> 
> Thank you,
> Tommy


Buy a bigger or newer boat?

I agree with Sailingfool. The Ericson is a nice boat but not exactly suited for this task. The way the traveler is mounted breaks up the cockpit to make it less use-able than something like the MK III with the cabin top mounted traveler.


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## miatapaul (Dec 15, 2006)

Well for day sails I think the Ericson could work. It is not like you need a lot of space below, and if the boat is nicely restored it is an attractive and nice sailing boat. But I do think you would have to limit yourself to 2 couples. The big stumbling block is going to be the license as it takes a lot of documented hours to obtain as well as passing the test. Not that any of that is hard it just takes time. Here is a listing of what it required to take the test:

The primary requirements are:

Age 18 or over
360 days underway experience
90 of those days in the last 3 years
Physical, drug test and eye exam
Valid CPR/First Aid card to Valid CPR/First Aid card (American Red Cross, Heart Assoc. or USCG Approved course)
Completion of the USCG exam OR
Completion of a USCG approved course like the BOATWISE OUPV class
Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC Card )


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