“Unused equipment”. Haha…LOL! 
blah, blah, blah. People on this message board already own a kayak or three. Not the target demographic. There may exit a viable market for your venture, keep working it!
No way in he ll would this ever work. As you can see no one here would rent the boats out.
Pumpkin seeds, horse collars, and flat 4 pound paddles…MMMM I think I would rather bring my own.
I hate to be so negative , after all… everyone wants to be a millionaire these days by coming up with a low investment idea. {hard to blame a person for trying}
“Unused equipment”. Haha…LOL! :D> @fjblair said:
blah, blah, blah. People on this message board already own a kayak or three. Not the target demographic. There may exit a viable market for your venture, keep working it!
Someone has to own the boats already, in order for them to be rented. Per dc9mm’s and roym’s posts above, it doesn’t appear that there will be any decent boats available to rent.
@dc9mm said:
No way in he ll would this ever work. As you can see no one here would rent the boats out.
If you’re 50+ or a die-hard outdoorsman, you’re not the demographic that would use this service. If you have your own equipment, of course you’re going to use it over renting. Never used Uber? You’re probably not casually renting a kayak either. If you have a $5000 carbon boat, renting it out is a bad idea. But if you have a plastic or glass kayak, they’re fairly durable and the majority of watercraft sit around high and dry 99.9% of the time in peoples back yards.
Millennials like renting things (houses, cars, scooters, music, tv, books, phones, etc). This trend will only grow as far as I can see. The sharing economy in general is growing and millenials will start to drive more of the economy every year. Gear rental isnt the next Amazon, but at least 1 service could probably make a successful go of it. I’d use the service 1-2 times per year on a trip afar. But on the flip side, no way im renting out my kevlar canoes or surfski
Yes, the rental service should probably screen users for (at least) self reported competency, make them sign away all liability claims (excluding gross negligence, which I believe is excluded by law anyways) but other than that there isnt much preventing this from starting up. All you need is a couple people with programming competency and some time to make a business.
@MCImes said:
Millennials like renting things (houses, cars, scooters, music, tv, books, phones, etc).
Yes, I’ve read that millennials are the largest and most educated generation, but also the poorest and most indebted.
I have one plastic “indestructable” rec kayak. The very kind that a rental company might have in its fleet. I would no sooner rent it out to random strangers than I would my high-end boats. Anyone who would, doesn’t understand the risks. It’s not just about the boat.
We don’t rent canoes, paddles, pfds or any paddling gear. We own our canoes and all necessary equipment.
We don’t want strangers we don’t know messing with any of our boats, or equipment. Don’t want to hear excuses about the damage you did to my boat.
We would never rent a boat to a stranger.
Never will; I don’t care if would be renter is an Olympic gold medalist.
To me it would be a waste of my time, a big hassle for a few bucks, and possibly result in the necessity of hiring a lawyer.
Are these “renters” going to provide their own shuttle, pfds, and paddles
Just because a “renter” signs a liability waiver, that doesn’t mean they can’t sue you…
You can’t assure that “renters” have any common sense, or have any paddling ability. You gonna do a paddling test? Can they get a capsized boat to shore? Can they even swim well enough to get themselves to shore? You gonna do a swim test?
Wouldn’t rent a stranger a boat for $500.00 a day. I already have $500.00.
My advice to would be renters, “Buy your own damn boat”!
BOB
@thebob.com said:
We don’t rent canoes, paddles, pfds or any paddling gear. We own our canoes and all necessary equipment.
We don’t want strangers we don’t know messing with any of our boats, or equipment. Don’t want to hear excuses about the damage you did to my boat.We would never rent a boat to a stranger.
Never will; I don’t care if would be renter is an Olympic gold medalist.
To me it would be a waste of my time, a big hassle for a few bucks, and possibly result in the necessity of hiring a lawyer.Are these “renters” going to provide their own shuttle, pfds, and paddles
Just because a “renter” signs a liability waiver, that doesn’t mean they can’t sue you…
You can’t assure that “renters” have any common sense, or have any paddling ability. You gonna do a paddling test? Can they get a capsized boat to shore? Can they even swim well enough to get themselves to shore? You gonna do a swim test?Wouldn’t rent a stranger a boat for $500.00 a day. I already have $500.00.
My advice to would be renters, “Buy your own damn boat”!BOB
Or go to an outfitter who has a rental business.