Boats don't run on thanks

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Originally Posted by Mike P

Not sure how the Coasties currently view things, but there was a time when their interpretation of the law was that accepting any compensation for taking people out on your boat made you a "for hire" operator.

Certainly, if you demanded being paid in any way by your passengers, you ran the risk of running afoul of the law. Much better to let your passengers "offer" to share expenses.

This strict view of what makes one a "for hire" operator may have been eased a bit, but you might want to look into it anyway

I dont see any reason why this may have changed. You interpretation is correct. Any consideration given by guests makes the vessel and owner a professional, no longer recreational. New rules come into play. The now "Captain" has to be licensed and the vessel inspected and approved for taking persons for hire. Same thing if a person operates someone elses vsl which is inspected to carry for hire the person needs to have a license.

Make it clear with your friend that if boarded say nothing about helping out with gas or anything, ever. However the spirit of the law is targeting unlicensed operators acting as a commercial entity w/out licensing and inspection. Safety.
I think last year there was an unlicensed charter from RI that went down. Anyone know more - what happened?