Neither are required.

You do however need to have sufficient experience to be able to operate the boat safely in relation to the forecast and your trip plan. We will assess this in conjunction with you.

To hire a boat you need to be over 16 years of age.

Affordable Boat Hire will NOT allow a hire to proceed if the weather rating, as specified for the day and trip plan, is below a value of 4, as specified by the “SwellMap Marine Forcast” website.

If, at any time during the hire, it is deemed by Affordable Boat Hire, that the vessel is endangered, we reserve the right to elect whether to temporarily recall the vessel to a safe location, or to terminate the hire.

During the hire, the skipper should consider at least the following information when making decisions regarding the operation of the vessel:

• The current and forecast weather conditions and sea state.

• Visibility.

• Tidal flows (including any changes that could result in wind against tide).

• The health, mobility and comfort of all persons on-board.

• Any other information relevant to the safety of the operation

In order to skipper the vessel, the hirer must be examined to ensure they have sufficient experience to operate the bareboat in a safe manner. This condition will be agreed to in the Online Esigned Hire Agreement, along with details of the hirers’ previous experience. 

Affordable Boat Hire Ltd reserves the right to cancel any hire if it believes the hirer does not satisfy this requirement.

Before taking the vessel to sea, the customer identified as the skipper will receive a briefing in:

• Safety gear, its location and operation.

• Launching and retrieving the vessel if applicable.

• Refueling procedure if applicable.

• The operation of the vessel on the water; and

• Any issues relevant to the proposed trip plan.

If the skipper is already familiar with the vessel from previous hires, then the briefing may be more limited and relate to any changes from the previous briefing, and any issues relevant to the skipper’s proposed trip plan. All Affordable Boat Hire's vessels are set up in a similar fashion, and where possible the same brands of electronics are installed to aid transition between the vessels.

All the boats need an "all-tide ramp".

If you have a vehicle that is capable of towing, you are welcome to collect the boat from our Rosedale location, tow to your preferred boat ramp and launch & retrieve yourselves.

If you prefer, we can arrange a launch and retrieve service from the central Auckland ramps (Birkenhead, Takapuna or Westhaven) for an additional $120.00. It will cost a bit more if you want us to go further than that (such as Half Moon Bay or Gulf Harbour or beyond).

We can deliver a boat to any location. We are happy to provide a price for this service if required.

The boats are authorised by Maritime New Zealand for daylight operation only.

if you’re keen to maximize your time on the water you can get an early start and use the boat from when the sun comes up to just before it sets.

We don’t mind getting up early if you need an early pickup or launch.

The boats are restricted to be within 5NM from the last landfall  (this includes islands, so you island hop out to the Noisies for example).

You can take the boat on holiday with you to anywhere on the East coast from North Cape to East Cape including all North Island Lakes.

The boats are NOT authorised for anywhere on the West Coast (ie Manukau Harbour).

The maximum number of people on board is 6 (includes the Skipper and any children).

There is an online "Hire Agreement" that you will need to fill out and eSign, prior to the hire taking place. A link to this will be sent to you when you make a booking.

You will need to enter your intended Trip Plan in the Hire Agreement, prior to the day of the hire, and stick to that plan or communicate with us, by text or phone, if you wish to deviate from that plan.

Trip plans can also be filed with the Coastguard over the VHF radio (details of how to file a trip plan with the Coastguard are contained in the onboard Vessel Manual).

The hire will be cancelled if the weather conditions are determined to be unsafe. The "swellmap" website ratings are used to determine this. If the forcasted average rating, for the daylight hours of the day of hire, is below a rating of 4 then the hire will be cancelled.

A full refund wil be given in such circumstances.

Affordable Boat Hire does NOT allow customers to operate the boat while under the influence of illicit drugs or alcohol exceeding the legal limit; or to smoke on board the Bareboat.

Passengers are permitted to carry their own alcohol on board in limited quantities (i.e. to drink while picnicking on an Island), the Skipper will be required to monitor passengers’ consumption and must discourage passengers from becoming intoxicated.

Instructions to Hirers about the Drug and Alcohol policy are included in the Hire Agreement.

• All garbage must be placed in a sealed container and kept on the Bareboat during the hire.

• No rubbish is to be left on deck; in case it blows into the water.

• All garbage will be taken ashore by the Skipper at the end of the day.

• No garbage is to be thrown overboard or left on an offshore island.