swim up bar boat

Discussion in 'Boat Design' started by headtofoot, Jan 27, 2014.

  1. waikikin
    Joined: Jan 2006
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    waikikin Senior Member

    also reminds me of an old work mate, back in the eighties he worked on an ice cream barge..... like about 18' alu john boat style of thing with an awning & freezer, maybe on dry ice, there was a few around Sydney, still is, sometimes they do coffee.
    There was a fringe rock thing going on at ****** Beach called ******Rock, between him & a mate they ran cold cartons of amber fluid kinda turn about to the event on the sly, having now enjoyed some of the profits in kind, both watched each other do another run back to the club.... at the same time from different spots in the crowd, a little later they sighted each other in an "OH MAN" what are u doin here moment.... the vessel was stolen, wrecked & sunk................................
     
  2. viking north
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    viking north VINLAND

    Canuk former paper money is also now 100% plastic and so are credit cards. When i'm hanging out on the beaches down south I always carry my credit card in my beach shorts or swim trunks so I really don't see this wallet in the water as as a problem.
     
  3. Poida
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    Poida Senior Member

    A lot of good ideas fail because of a small problem.

    Credit card transactions normally require a minimum purchase, well over the price of a single drink.

    The continual use of credit cards soaked in salt water will be a problem for the machine, even those you tap on the top.

    Plastic money is water proof, but imagine working with a till full of wet money and although plastic money might be easy to swim with, what about swimming back with the change ie. coins.

    You need an imagination, not just an idea, to evaluate if a project will work.

    Most bars are associated with a lounge and/or dining area because relying on making a profit just from people sitting at a bar would be slim without the extra expenses of running a water craft.

    Clientele, you only have a small catchment area of clients, those adjacent to your bar on the beach. I can't people walking 100 metres up a beach and then going for a swim to get a drink when there is more than likely somewhere they can go for a drink without swimming for it. Your income is restricted by the number of people that can sit at the bar. I have never tried treading water while drinking but I think it would be difficult.

    Your mail objective should be to sell drinks, not make a boat.

    You will need to move your craft to the clients and you need to be able to beach it, sell drinks to the people on the beach, ie buy their drinks and buzz off, then move it to the next section of beach.

    Walk down the beach, towing a rubber dingy full of drinks.

    Free set up cost. Which brand of drink will back your venture through advertising? Coca-Cola, Pepsi get yourself a free Zodiac free signage and go for it.

    Start small, obviously you will have to whizz back to base to get more drinks, but eventually if things go well, expand into a two man operation (man being generic) and have a second man operate a boat out from shore that will store the drinks.
    All's well, then build your floating bar, this time as well as selling drinks from your dingy, transport people to your floating bar with the dingy, but they will need to buy $50 of drink tokens before they get a free trip to the floating bar.

    You may need to have something more at the bar to encourage patrons, use your imagination but of course it will be adults only, as most bars are anyway.

    Remember a lot of good and expensive ideas went bust because of a small problem that was overlooked.

    Poida

    P.S. Viking North carries his credit card in his swimming trunks??

    Are you pleased to see me, or is that a credit card. (Chuckle)
     
  4. SamSam
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    SamSam Senior Member

    I thought of that, but the thing is, he works for free!
     
  5. nimblemotors
    Joined: Jun 2009
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    nimblemotors Senior Member

    I can see this working as a novelty service, where someone holding an event hires you to show up with your swim bar and serve drinks to their guests.
    The swimmers do not pay for drinks, the event holder is paying, and some people
    are all about impressing guests with how extremely wasteful they can spend their money,
    would pay a good amount for your novelty bar. Needs to be mobile to show up at the next megayacht party.
     
  6. viking north
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    viking north VINLAND

    And does a dam fine job of it too. Me thinks there is some business savvy between those ears. ;)
     
  7. hoytedow
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    hoytedow Carbon Based Life Form

    You may want to keep it wrapped in a piece of aluminium foil to prevent theft of information. There are scanners that can pull the information from the card at a distance of over 80 feet away.
     
  8. viking north
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    viking north VINLAND

    Ahh -Hoyt have that covered. I actually have two credit cards that I carry on holidays, my everyday card which i carry has a max. of $500.00. The other which I keep in a very hidden location with other important travel papers is as you suggest in a metal shield.( a metal mini cigar can) One big difference between Canadian credit card usage that hasn't caught on yet in the U.S. and many other countries is, in addition to scanning the magnetic strip it is also necessary to punch in a "pin" number for the transaction to process. However when using my credit card in the U.S. the scanners do no ask for the pin number so the need as you wisely suggest for extra caution. Yes indeed there are bad boys out there --Thanks for the thoughtfulness ---Geo.
     
  9. SamSam
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    SamSam Senior Member

    If the floating bar idea doesn't work out...

    https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=707590475938448
     
  10. BarCraft
    Joined: May 2020
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    BarCraft New Member

    Attempting to revive a 6 year old thread. @headtofoot, if you're still out there, were you ever able to launch this craft?

    I've been trying to drum up support for a similar venture on a nearby recreational lake. Even though my design makes use of a pre-exisiting craft with very minimal and fairly inexpensive modifications, there have still been grave concerns about feasibility. Most importantly, the application of lateral force as patrons come and go from barstools mounted on the outside of the pontoons. No one wants to see their investment in this business literally capsize. Neither do I.

    Have you ever had a few heavy fellows sitting port side when all your starboard patrons paid their tab and swam off at once? Are you still afloat?Perhaps you hearty seafaring types on this message board would know: is 360 lbs of refrigeration equipment straddling the centerline sufficient ballast to mitigate these concerns? When open for business, all the barstools will be lowered a foot or so below the waterline. Hopefully, my patrons will be buoyant enough that their random coming and going from one side or the other won't threaten to tip the craft.

    A first hand account from you, headtofoot, could be pitched as "proof-of-concept" and might help loosen the investors' purse strings. Do you have any photos?

    Thank you for your help and insight.
    - 2020.4.26 Bow view.JPG
     
  11. clmanges
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    clmanges Senior Member

    Start with the pontoon boat, as above. Then you want the movable weight--the patrons--in the middle instead of the outsides. So, a wide aisle up the center with bars and seats on either side. Removable/retractable staircases going down into the water at each end for patrons to board and exit. The bartenders would be outboard, one each side. That should take care of most of the dynamic loading problems. Extending the hulls outward could allow the bartenders to be standing in a dry space which is somewhat below the WL, if they need to be standing lower than the main deck.

    Just my 2 cents worth.
     
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  12. BarCraft
    Joined: May 2020
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    BarCraft New Member

    Thanks clmanges. You're 2 cents are worth much more than their face value.

    Your center aisle design idea would certainly address my problem with uneven weight distribution, and it also saves the bartenders from having to stoop down every time they serve a drink. The way I have it designed, the bar top is pretty much level with the deck. Squatting down and standing up a few hundred times per shift is going to get tiresome pretty darn fast for BarCraft staff. Bringing the customers up puts that problem down pretty nicely. But it does bring up another....

    The boat I've specified is only rated for 1,800 lbs (1,350 lbs excluding motor, gear, etc.). I'm already pushing it with a 100 lb generator, a 100 lb margarita machine, 350 lb+ keg fridge, and 2 lightweight crew members. Heck, the kegs themselves weigh in at 160 lbs each. I can't really afford to bring the patrons onboard. We're really relying on them staying in the water, and staying buoyant. Also, I've already pitched the idea as a vacation resort style swim-up bar. It's a little late for me to walk that back now. What if I line the underside of each bar stool with floatation? I don't mind the boat rocking a little. I just don't want her to flip.
    capacity.jpg
     
  13. clmanges
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    clmanges Senior Member

    How many hours at a time does it need to be operational? I think that with the proper insulation you could do away with the electric refrigeration and use ice. Likewise the generator; just put enough solar panels on the roof to run the cash register, with maybe a modest battery. Lose the OB motor (if it's got one) and tow the thing. Can margaritas be made by hand? If they require a machine, just take them off the menu, but I'd be surprised if they couldn't be made up beforehand on shore. There's about three more patrons you can have aboard.

    Don't people sell drinks out of unpowered umbrella carts?
     
  14. BarCraft
    Joined: May 2020
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    BarCraft New Member

    My initial proposal is operating 11am to 5pm, but the hours could be longer in the summer and shorter in the spring and fall. Either way, I don't think we can rely on ice to keep things cold. Our gross margins on beer sales are pretty good, but the margins on frozen margaritas are much much better. They have to stay on the menu, and there's no way to sell anything frozen without having to generate a little electric refrigeration on board. I think I'm stuck with some fairly substantial equipment weight, which is why need to move my patrons out into the water.

    I've seen it done before. Checkout the website for the Lime Out in the US Virgin Islands (LIME OUT https://www.limeoutvi.com/). The Lime Out is a significantly bigger craft (39' I believe), but they're running a much more ambitious business project than I had in mind. They have a kitchen in there. BarCraft is just a keg-o-rator and a margarita machine, and I think I can pull it off on a shoestring. Once we've got some revenues coming in, I'll be in a better position to ask the bank or investors for the kind of capital it would take to build a solar-powered behemoth like Lime Out. Not today.

    Someday.
     
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  15. Squidly-Diddly
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    Squidly-Diddly Senior Member

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