Setting Up A Charter!

[Gold_Coast_Chaser]

Hey Guys,


Now that im in year 10 at school there starting to tell us to think about our future and something that has come across my mind for something to do would be to setup a fishing charter. I thought this site would be a great place to start getting some further info about the career, including positives and negatives, qualifications needed to start the career, etc. Im situated on the Gold Coast so i would be thinking of setting up an Outside Charter and possibly and inside one aswell. I also have a mate that is also keen to think about this as an option so all help offered will be extremely appreciated.

Cheers Guys.

[jeffo]

g'day mate- personally id stick with fishing for fun.After doing a bit of work deckying on charter boats(reef and game fishing) ive decided that it takes alot of the fun out of it HAVING to be out on the water all day trying to keep customers happy. I have since vowed "work it work and fishing is fun".

If you have your heart set on it, i wouldnt make any huge plans to be buying massive water front homes, driving the latest and greatest cars and throwing money around- its a hard game to be in-between bad weather and fish not on the chew it can be a hard way to make a buck- but yes you get paid to be out on the water.

As far as qualifications go- start working on them now. To drive a charter boat with in 15nm of land you need to have a coxswains ticket which needs somewhere around 365 days of sea time, to fish beyond that you need a master class 5 or more (somewhere near 800 days at sea minimum?). Add to this boat size can mean you need to get an engineers ticket (MED).


If you have your heart set on it best of luck. Smithy from here can give you more details as he has just gone through all the nitty gritty of getting a charter off the ground.

[Mike Delisser]

Ahhh I remember when I was was your age

I think it would be prudent to finish your HSC then get a degree or similar to fall back on before you started up a charter business, I bet I sound like your father now.
Seriously though if I were starting one up esp on the Gold Coast I learn to speak Japanese or Chinese and advertise my services in fishing magazines over there.
As you live on the Gold Coast why don't you try and get a part time job as a deckie on a charter or game boat, you'll soon learn if it's you or not.
Cheers
Mike

[Gold_Coast_Chaser]

g'day mate- personally id stick with fishing for fun.After doing a bit of work deckying on charter boats(reef and game fishing) ive decided that it takes alot of the fun out of it HAVING to be out on the water all day trying to keep customers happy. I have since vowed "work it work and fishing is fun".

If you have your heart set on it, i wouldnt make any huge plans to be buying massive water front homes, driving the latest and greatest cars and throwing money around- its a hard game to be in-between bad weather and fish not on the chew it can be a hard way to make a buck- but yes you get paid to be out on the water.

As far as qualifications go- start working on them now. To drive a charter boat with in 15nm of land you need to have a coxswains ticket which needs somewhere around 365 days of sea time, to fish beyond that you need a master class 5 or more (somewhere near 800 days at sea minimum?). Add to this boat size can mean you need to get an engineers ticket (MED).


If you have your heart set on it best of luck. Smithy from here can give you more details as he has just gone through all the nitty gritty of getting a charter off the ground.

Ahhh I remember when I was was your age

I think it would be prudent to finish your HSC then get a degree or similar to fall back on before you started up a charter business, I bet I sound like your father now.
Seriously though if I were starting one up esp on the Gold Coast I learn to speak Japanese or Chinese and advertise my services in fishing magazines over there.
As you live on the Gold Coast why don't you try and get a part time job as a deckie on a charter or game boat, you'll soon learn if it's you or not.
Cheers
Mike

Thanks Guys,

Obviously the job is only for certain people but i think might consider giving deckying a try as i dont have a part time job atm and am sort of looking for one.

Jeff: You say that the Coxwains ticket allows you to travel 15 nautical miles offshore, do you know how far the gold coast charters tend to go out??

Mike: I agree even if i do decide to do the job ill finish school and aim for a high OP incase i get into it and really dont like it. Learning japanese would definetly be helpful.

Cheers Guys

[Platitudinus]

Hi There;
If you look on 'businesses for sale" you will see that 'FISH THE DEEP' is for sale at $390,000. Matt has run the business for 12 years and is one of the top charter skippers on the coast. Why don't you call him (google - fish the deep) and say you are doing a research project for school and for your own interest and ask if you can meet him to discuss the ins and outs of chartering including the basic charters, marketing the business, reservations and pick ups, maintenance costs etc etc. Better still, go out with him for a day and see what goes on - he is a great guy and sure to help you even though you probably don't have the $390,000 dosh in readies!
Good luck
Peter

[Smithy]

All on the money in here.

http://www.ausfish.com.au/vforum/sho...hlight=charter