Security deposit

When hiring a boat, a deposit is almost always required, the deposit will be returned when the boat returns completely damage-free and with all accessories.
In case of damage or late return of the boat, (part of) the deposit may be withheld by the owner of the boat.

Payment

When making a reservation you can often opt for full payment or deposit payment, with deposit payment the boat owner will indicate when the remainder must be paid, e.g. two days before departure you will receive an email with a payment link or by bank transfer or pin at the departure.

The security deposit is always refunded in the same way as how it was paid (via Credit Card, Bank Transfer, Sofort, etc.).

Havendienst does not earn money from transactions, the money is immediately credited to the owners account. Read More about Havendienst.

Insurance & Damage

Owners can only offer a boat if it is insured during rental. In case of damage, the owner can choose to withhold (part of) the deposit. Before you leave, check for damage or any other issues that you might have problems with afterwards. Check the cushions, the fenders, the number of lines and if necessary take photos so that you can always demonstrate how you took the boat with you.

Damage includes, for example: damaged cushions (eg holes from cigarette butts), lost fenders, cushions or lines, scratches on the hull, a kinked flagpole or broken bimini top. Of course, much more can break on a boat, this is always coordinated with the owner.

You and the owner are responsible for dealing with damage to the boat, damage to other boats and unexpected accidents on the water.

Boating license

A boating license is required if you want to sail a boat that is faster than 20 km/h or longer than 15 meters. Most boats can reach 12 km/h and are no longer than 15 meters.

Maximum speeds apply on almost all waters, usually these are between 6 to 12 km/h.

If you need a boating license for a boat, this will always be clearly indicated.

Do you have no experience with boating yet? The owner always gives you a detailed explanation and sails along for a round if desired.

With some boat owners you can choose to rent a captain in addition to the boat so you don’t have to sail yourself.

Alcohol use

Just like in road traffic, a maximum alcoholic per mille of 0.2% is allowed while sailing a boat. Most waters are monitored by the water police. Stick to the allowed percentage! You are sailing with someone else’s precious possession. In addition, you are responsible for all passengers and the insurance will not cover anything in case alcohol is involved.

With some boat owners you can choose to rent a captain in addition to the boat so you don’t have to sail yourself.

Good weather guarantee

Unfortunately, we cannot guarantee good weather, but we have made an agreement with all Havendienst boat owners that last minute cancellation – by both hirer and owner – is free of charge in the following cases:

• Heavy rain
• There is wind force 5 or harder
• There is a thunderstorm or a weather alarm is triggered

Cancel

All hirers agree to the Good weather guarantee, but further cancellation conditions are determined by the hirer. These are described on the boat page. Please read this carefully before booking!

Complaints

Before you rent a boat, always check the reviews of the boat and the owner.

In the event of complaints about the rent or when a dispute arises with the owner, depending on the type of contract that has been used, a dispute resolution committee can be contacted. Boat owners affiliated with the HISWA trade association have their own disputes committee at the HISWA. Havendienst is no mediator in disputes between tenant and owners and will not interfere in this.

If it appears that a boat owner does not keep to the agreements, or offers faulty boats, we would like to hear this so that the Havendienst can determine whether the boat and owner should be removed from the platform. Contact Havendienst for this.

HAVE YOU NOT SAILED BEFORE? BELOW A FEW TIPS

• • The boat is moving through the water by a propeller. You can only steer when the propeller is turning.
    If the propeller does not turn (because the boat is in neutral or you give very little gas) you cannot steer. Even though the boat is moving forward at that moment, steering has no effect because the propeller does not turn. This can be confusing at times and does not work the same as driving a car.
  • Make slow and small steering movements. When sailing, one tends to make large steering movements. However, the boat needs a few seconds to turn through the water. If you steer too much, you have to steer back again a few seconds later. Too great steering movements will cause the boat to zigzag through the water. This is also different from driving a car where a steering movement has an immediate response.
  • Find a ‘point on the shore’ as a target, for example a tree, a house or a tower. This way you avoid looking at the front of the boat all the time and making too many steering movements. If you aim for a point on shore, you will notice that it sails much more relaxed and steers more easily.
  • Before you go, think about your route. Do you want to sail a route or just chill and sail along some beaches? There are several apps to download that can help with this, for example the app from Sloepennetwerk. It is difficult to estimate how long a route will take and this app will give you a good idea. Also keep in mind that it can take a long time to go through a lock on beautiful days!
  • Provide plenty of water and refreshments on board. Many boats have a connection for a cooler to keep your drinks cool.
  • Bring sunscreen with a high protection factor. You burn quickly on the water, but you don’t notice it because there is often a nice breeze. In the evening you find out that you are completely burned!

Also watch this video for some more sailing tips:

Contract

When renting out your boat, use a contract which has the details and signature of your hirer.
Many owners use the ANWB model contract, you can already complete it with your own data and upload it to your own boat page.
Rental companies affiliated with the HISWA often use the HISWA rental contract.
Do you have another contract? Upload it using the boat rental application form, we will then check whether the contract is valid.

Also make sure that you go through this checklist with your hirer, so that you don’t forget anything and you have everything in order for the insurance or to prevent problems afterwards.

When signing the contract, make a copy or photo of the renter’s ID, this is necessary for most insurance policies. Please note that you may not store personal data such as the Citizen Service Number (in Dutch: BSN). You can easily cover this up by purchasing an ID cover or using the KopieID App (Apple or Android) from the Dutch government (suitable for Dutch IDs).
With the ID you can check the name, the person (passport photograph), the signature and possibly the authenticity through the Read NFC demo App (Apple or Android).

Cancel

All hirers are expected to work with the “Good weather guarantee”. This means that landlords can cancel free of charge in the following cases:

• Heavy rain
• There is wind force 5 or harder
• There is a thunderstorm or a weather alarm is triggered

In these cases it can be dangerous to get on the water.
Further cancellation conditions are up to the hirer to determine. It is nice for the tenant that you clearly display this on your page and possibly stated in your conditions.

Payment

You decide whether your customer pays the full amount immediately upon booking or do you offer the option of deposit payment and the remainder must be paid via a payment link 2 days before departure? Do you want to get paid via iDEAL, SOFORT or Credit Card? You decide!

Havendienst has the possibility to connect your Stripe account to your Havendienst.nl account. You can request a Stripe account for free here. This is possible for both private and business boat owners and costs nothing!
This makes it possible to have your customer pay online via iDEAL (often used in The Netherlands), SOFORT (often used in Germany), Bancontact (often used in Belgium) or credit card.
You can set and determine everything yourself, for example you can have a deposit paid via Credit Card and the remaining amount will be automatically invoiced in installments before departure and your customer will receive an e-mail with a payment link. You can also automatically refund the deposit.
Havendienst is not sitting between the payment and you will therefore immediately receive the payment on your account.

For how to request a Stripe account and link it to your Havendienst.nl account, we have created a manual that you can download here.

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If a customer cancels a booking and you refund the amount, you will also receive the transaction costs back properly.

Most owners choose to have both the deposit payment and the remaining payment online (usually iDeal) via Havendient. You can choose whether the customer automatically receives an e-mail with a payment link 2 days before departure to pay the remaining amount, but it is also possible that you determine when you send this e-mail, send a manual payment request, or make a bank payment request.

Insurance

Before you can rent out your boat, you must insure it. There are various insurers who insure (limited) boat rental.

Damage

Damage to your boat or accessories is annoying, but keep in mind that this can happen. In order to resolve this issue together with your hirer, make sure you are prepared for this. Know the condition of your boat and accessories, for example by taking pictures together before departure. In case of minor damage, it is often sufficient to withhold (part of) the deposit. You are insured for larger damage. The amount of your deposit is often the same as the deductible used by the insurance.

Boating license

Make sure your boat is in good condition and equipment is in order.

Minimum boat equipment includes in any case:

• • paddles (two pieces)
  • hook
  • sufficient fenders and lines (mooring lines)
  • First aid kit
  • garbage bag
  • sufficient petrol / diesel
  • Fire extinguisher

By ‘good condition’ we mean, among other things:

• That the boat is clean, you will (usually) get it back clean :)
• The engine is serviced at least once a year
• No lines are visibly worn
• The fenders are sufficiently inflated
• There is no play in the cleats, bollards, clamps or pulleys on the boat
• Control cables are not leaking or worn
• There are no leaks below the waterline

Assistance

If your tenant unexpectedly comes to a standstill, you can use our Assistance service (available within 1 hour) in some areas in The Netherlands, we are expanding this to more areas.

For other areas in the Netherlands you can subscribe to the Botenwacht (cooperation with ANWB), however, these are ‘available within 24 hours’. For this you have one business subscription required at € 75 per year.
TIP: Ask the port where your boat is located if they can pick up and tow your boat in an emergency and for a fee. This is often the fastest and cheapest way.

Explanation before departure

Before a hirer leaves with your boat, we recommend that you take the time to give good instructions. Try to determine what kind of experience the hirer has. Go on board with the sailer and explain where everything is and how the boat reacts. Ask the driver to moor, take a tour and moor again while on board.

Also tell how the sunshade goes down, where the equipment such as the paddles are and which locks can or cannot be passed through. It is useful when you have described these things on a plasticized map/manual and always keep it in the boat.

It is always nice when you can give the hirer some local tips about moorings, sailing routes, restaurants, beaches and toilet options.

Rental from a harbor

If your boat is in a harbor, read the general terms and conditions carefully. There are harbors in which it is not allowed to engage in commercial activities. Perhaps a lot is possible in consultation. If not, you can sail the boat to a place outside the harbor where your hirers can easily board and do not have to enter the harbor itself.

Statement of income

Private person in the Netherlands

If you, as a private person, earn extra by renting out your boat and you make a profit with this, you must state this in your income tax as ‘income from other work’. If you only receive a reimbursement that is almost equal to, for example, the petrol costs and you do not make a profit, you do not have to report this to the tax authorities. As a private individual, you do not charge VAT and do not have to pay it.

Entrepreneur in the Netherlands

If you only rent your boat a few times and you earn less than € 20,000 per year, you request a Kleine Ondernemers Regeling (KOR). You do not have to charge and pay VAT. Keep in mind that your income from a possible other proprietorship counts within the € 20.000 limit.

If you rent out commercially and for more than € 20,000 per year, all normal rules that apply to companies apply, such as payment of VAT and keeping accounts.

Complaints

When you receive complaints from a hirer, you try to solve them properly and together. Also look at the conditions in the contract and the information on your boat page. Port service is not a mediator and will not interfere in discussions between tenant and owner. If you are affiliated with a trade association as a business owner, you can often turn to the disputes committee of that trade association. In the Netherlands, this includes the HISWA.

Extra services

Havendienst offers various free options to easily manage multiple boats online and also has the option to store photo and video material in its own online archive. It is also possible to keep your administration and you have easy insight into your rental numbers and income.

Within the flexible platform, additional services such as ‘skipper’ or ‘picnic basket’ can be offered, but an owner can also add the option for number of (children’s) life jackets or the option of making a deposit.

Webhooks allow you to link to your own administration system or booking calendar.

We are happy to help you with technical solutions or placing your boat online (incl. Design and images). Fill in the Contact Form and tell us what you need. We will always let you know in advance what the costs are. We work with an hourly rate of € 75 (excl. VAT) per hour.