Where can I start my pontoon bar boat?

[vodkabrrry]

i am thinking about getting into a bar business on a boat. where could i dock park this boat for a business? is ther areas in waikiki or else where on oahu? i am lost and do not know what the first step or where to look at right now.. who should i contact?

[Amati]

Re: where can i start my pontoon bar boat?

Gee, with all that homework you've done so far, I can see you are destined for success.

[Composite 2992]

Re: where can i start my pontoon bar boat?

Just starting a bar is a big deal. Getting a bar on a boat is an even bigger deal.

You'd have to check with the liquor commission to find out regulations regarding serving alcohol, whether on a boat or elsewhere.

You'll need to get in contact with the Coast Guard for everything from PFD requirements to how to handle sewage from on-board heads, as well as procedures for incidents from oil spills to customers overboard. The liquor commission might require separate bathroom facilities for males and females. The size of your vessel will determine how many can be aboard at any given time. It will also determine how many crewmembers need to be present and what skills they need to have.

The neighborhood board might have something to say if you're trying to get a liquor license for operations in their vicinity.

A captain's license might be required. The Division of Boating will need to know where you're going to operate. Division of Aquatic Resources will need to know where you're going to anchor. Harbors will need to know where you're going to dock.

If you serve food you might need to get permits from the health department.

If you have music then ASCAP will get involved.

Your business name will need to be registered through DBED.

Makes you wonder how any business gets started here, eh? What you have in mind sounds like an idyllic and fun thing. The question is whether you can actually make money at it after jumping through all the necessary hoops.

Good luck.

[LikaNui]

Re: where can i start my pontoon bar boat? IN YOUR DREAMS

Excellent list, Composite. There's one more item to add, though, and it's surely the final nail in the coffin: liability insurance.
Vodkabrrry, surely you realize you're not the first person who had that idea. You need to think about why nobody has done it.
Rather than waste a lot of time, I'd suggest you just move straight to the final stage: light a bonfire with a few hundred thousand dollars, then move on.

[tutusue]

Re: where can i start my pontoon bar boat?

[...]
The neighborhood board might have something to say if you're trying to get a liquor license for operations in their vicinity.[...]

Dang, Composite...I need to take a nap after reading all those requirements!

A curiosity question...might there be any section of Sand Island/Keehi Lagoon area that could be conducive to a boat bar? Altho' La Mariana is a land based operation, it's location leads me to believe that a floating bar might be possible somewhere in that general area. A neighborhood board might not be a problem!

Regardless...sounds like way too many hoops to jump thru.

[tutusue]

Re: where can i start my pontoon bar boat? IN YOUR DREAMS

[...]
Vodkabrrry, surely you realize you're not the first person who had that idea. You need to think about why nobody has done it.[...]

Good point. However, there are booze cruises. Granted they don't stay moored (or whatever it's called!!!). I've never thought about that but...I wonder why. Laws?

[Seeking Penance]

Re: where can i start my pontoon bar boat?

Gee, with all that homework you've done so far, I can see you are destined for success.

*screams kicking and laughing*

i love ht!!!

[Seeking Penance]

Re: where can i start my pontoon bar boat? IN YOUR DREAMS

Excellent list, Composite. There's one more item to add, though, and it's surely the final nail in the coffin: liability insurance.
Vodkabrrry, surely you realize you're not the first person who had that idea. You need to think about why nobody has done it.
Rather than waste a lot of time, I'd suggest you just move straight to the final stage: light a bonfire with a few hundred thousand dollars, then move on.

*laughs*

...........period!

damn this HT!

[timkona]

Re: where can i start my pontoon bar boat?

What a wonderful list of impediments to business. I always say how the last 35 years have resulted in one law after another designed to impede business by protecting us from ourselves. This thread just proves it.

[Vanguard]

Re: where can i start my pontoon bar boat?

Just to stave off liability costs, etc. you'll need to cater to a larger clientele. In other words;



You're gonna need a bigger boat.

There are so many liquor laden vessels in my (far from Hawai'i) area, I'm surprised I don't spy a Sea of Vomit during big holidays. However, given how often nearby beaches have been closed due to "bacteria", perhaps it exists!

BTW, that wasn't business advice!

[LikaNui]

Re: where can i start my pontoon bar boat? IN YOUR DREAMS

Good point. However, there are booze cruises.

There are dinner cruises on relatively large ships, of course, but are you sure there are strictly booze cruises? I've never heard of any. Doesn't mean they don't exist, but. Anyone know?

Granted they don't stay moored (or whatever it's called!!!).

She shoots, she scores! Moored it is.

Anyway, Vodkabrrry was asking about making a bar out of a pontoon boat. Those are usually about 20' long, so it would be hard to get more than about a dozen 'customers' on it, if that. (Boats have to be certified for how many people they can carry.) Hard to foresee a profit, given the massive red tape and costs.
And again, the issue of liability insurance is a major roadblock. Pouring alcohol into people on the water? A recipe for disaster, as the insurance companies well know.

[vodkabrrry]

Re: where can i start my pontoon bar boat?

i am thinking about getting into a bar business on a boat. where could i dock park this boat for a business? is ther areas in waikiki or else where on oahu? i am lost and do not know what the first step or where to look at right now.. who should i contact?

it is not my business i should've cleared this up. my friend's dad builds boats. And she has some money to invest in some kind of business. i am just helping her find a area to keep it floating in the water. thats all i needed help with. its just a idea we came up with when we seen one in the mainland. maybe its a bad idea lol maybe we'll just get a loan and buy a q-tip factory...ok i think i got all the help i can... how do i delte my thread now? thanks for all your help

[turtlegirl]

Re: where can i start my pontoon bar boat?

You're welcome!?? (Q Tip factory? Huh?)

Jeez, does this happen often? Whereby someone signs up for HT just to ask one goofy question, then after not receiving the exact answer that they want to hear, brushes off any advice received, and wants to "delte" (snicker) their post?

[LikaNui]

Re: where can i start my pontoon bar boat?

My friend's dad builds boats. And she has some money to invest in some kind of business.

Whoa! Your friend's dad is a "she"?!??!!!?
I'm soooooo confused.

[tutusue]

Re: where can i start my pontoon bar boat?

[...]... how do i delte my thread now?[...]

You can't delete it now. You could've deleted your message within the first hour (I think!) of posting it but the thread would still remain. It's here for the world to see...in perpetuity.