It’s hard to believe that we are starting our 22nd year renting houseboats on Lake Ouachita. We have learned so much over these years - like where’s the best place to park a houseboat when storms are forecasted and where are the safest places to drive the houseboat during a certain lake level so we don't hit any standing timber. These are just a couple of examples that have played into our decision to require our customers to use our captain services. We have been providing complimentary captain services for a very long time. The vast majority of our customers over the past 10 years have enjoyed our captain services and actually prefer it over captaining the boat themselves, so this decision doesn’t affect many people. However, there may be a customer here or there that requests the option to drive. Here are a few reasons that have influenced our decision:
Insurance - Our liability insurance is ever-increasing due to the higher costs of repairs. Insurance damage claim amounts have tripled because of increases in parts and labor costs. The more money in claims, the higher the increase in insurance premiums. Also, the costs of new houseboat construction has quadrupled over the last 15 years which increases the values of the used market. These increases trickle down to increases in the insured values of our houseboats, which increase our premiums once again.
Supply chain - Parts are harder and harder to get and their price seems to increase faster and faster. If a customer were to damage an outdrive during their trip and we could not get parts in time - not only is his/her trip ruined but possibly the next trip and the trip after that.
Lake and weather awareness - Customers who have driven our houseboats in the past have caused damages to the houseboats because they have hit underwater trees or simply because they parked in an area that was open to severe weather winds. These customers knew how to drive the houseboat but were unaware of the standing timber in that area of the lake or didn't take weather into consideration when operating or when parking the houseboat.
As you can see, by removing customer captains, we have reduced the chances of damages occurring during the rental and help to insure that all of our customers have a safe and relaxing vacation. I hope this helps you understand our decision. Feel free to call us anytime and we will be happy to visit more. Thank you, Donny Kindt - Owner
