Below are some practical tips when booking a Marinemax Houston boat:
1.Transportation to the base port
The car is still the safest way to get to the port where your boat is. Of course, take preventive measures as much as possible (wash your hands, wear a mask, hydroalcoholic gel and avoid contact or «face to face»). These gestures are universal and can be applied between your group, at the service station and in all public spaces or places.
Don’t forget to ventilate your car regularly and take a break every two hours. When travelling by train, you should always be alert and maintain the necessary social distance (2 metres).
2.Provision of food
Find out before you leave about the possibilities of ordering supplies on board your ship at your destination port. Some boat rental companies offer this service.
Keep, as in all public places, the preventive measures. Wear, if possible, a mask and gloves when shopping, and reduce the number of crew members to two to go to the supermarket.
Do not forget to buy the necessary hygiene products: wipes impregnated with alcohol or bleach based products, disinfectants, hydroalcoholic gel, soap, handkerchiefs, …
3.Arrival at the base and delivery of the boat
Make sure that only the captain goes to the charter company’s office to finalize the necessary documentation. The captain will have to wait outside the office until the previous person has finished. Remember to bring your own pen. The gel will usually be available to customers.
Most clients will be contacted before departure to return the pre-signed contract and to pay the deposit by credit card in order to limit administrative formalities at the base. It will be difficult to sleep the night before departure on most boats, although specific check-in/check-out times can be arranged.
The delivery of the Marinemax Houston boat will be carried out by a technician and its captain, both wearing masks. It will generally be done outside the ship, and videos will be shown to detail certain points inside the ship. The inventory should be done on its own, and if you have any questions, ask a technician on the dock. There will be no supply of fins, goggles or snorkels.
4.On board the boat.
We advise you to bring your own bedding. If this is not possible, the base manager will provide you with bedding packed in plastic, but the beds will not be made. Please check everything beforehand with your company at base.
Between each rental, the boat will be cleaned, disinfected with a bactericide, fungicide and virucide spray and then ventilated. Winches, electronic equipment and other handles on the boat will also be disinfected with bleach using a single-use cloth. The crockery is sometimes supplied in plastic to be stored by you, or will be cleaned again by a technician.
5.Return of the boat
Greater vigilance will be required during the departure. Dirty sheets will be placed in special bags. Dishes often need to be soaked in a disinfectant solution.
Only a representative of the crew, wearing a mask, will be able to carry out the return inventory. Please respect the safety distance. All garbage cans, refrigerators, cabins… must be emptied by the customer before the technician comes on board.
6.Ports and ports of call
The announcements must inform you during your calls in the ports, in particular regarding sanitary facilities and protocols established during your visits to the captain’s offices (only one crew member).
Avoid crowds or queues, of course take the necessary preventive measures during your movements and respect as much as possible the rules of social distance.
We hope that this guide will help you when you rent a boat from Marinemax Houston or any boat company.