Is renting out your boat profitable? The real figures

Days rented: the deciding figure

Information article, based on the official texts consulted on 26 September 2026. It replaces neither legal advice nor the opinion of the competent State services for your case.

Published simulations assume 20 to 50 days per season for a small motorboat or sailing boat: for example, 20 days at €250 = €5,000 in gross revenue (Figaro Nautisme, March 2026). Ask the rental company for the number of days actually rented last year for boats comparable to yours, at the same base, not a projection.

Under a management-rental arrangement, the owner usually keeps “from a few weeks to a dozen a year” (Figaro Nautisme, January 2026): that is as many weeks not rented.

What the boat costs, rented or not

What the intermediary takes

• A peer-to-peer rental platform takes a commission on each rental, of the order of 15% to 26% depending on the platform and the agreements; you remain responsible for welcoming customers, the inspection, cleaning and disputes.
• A professional rental company managing your boat keeps a share of the revenue (often around a third) and takes care of the rental, welcoming customers, routine maintenance and the accounts; some programmes instead offer a guaranteed fixed income, in exchange for conditions of use.

Compare like with like: who does the inspection, who pays the excess, who maintains the boat.

Insuring a rented boat

Your policy must allow rental. At one major insurer, rental is covered only under the comprehensive cover, the excess is doubled there, and damage occurring during a rental through a professional is excluded (MAIF information document): when your boat is managed by a rental company, it is in principle the insurance on its fleet that applies. Have it written into the management agreement.

Tax

• Renting out a boat is “in principle a commercial transaction”: the income falls under bénéfices industriels et commerciaux (BIC, French business profits) (BOFiP, the French tax authority’s official guidance).
• Micro-BIC (the simplified small-business regime): up to €83,600 of service revenue in 2026 (service-public.fr), with a flat-rate 50% allowance (service-public.fr). Above that, or by choice, the régime réel (actual-profit regime) lets you deduct expenses and depreciation.
• VAT: the franchise en base (VAT exemption for small businesses) applies up to €37,500 of service revenue (service-public.fr).

The rules to check before signing

• The port: a commercial activity there requires written authorisation from the concession holder (Cannes Vieux-Port regulations).
• A boat under LOA (lease with purchase option): renting it to third parties requires the lessor’s written consent.
• Division 240: a rented boat undergoes a special inspection every year, the first before it is put into service; the rental company keeps the register and has the prior declaration signed for each rental (Division 240, art. 240-3.01 and 240-3.02).

With SunSea Hub

If your rental company uses SunSea Hub, you follow your boat’s rentals, its maintenance and the payout statement for each period in the Sup portal: see renting out your boat through a professional.

Information article, based on the official texts consulted on 26 September 2026. It replaces neither legal advice nor the opinion of the competent State services for your case.

Read next

• Boat owners

  Entrusting your boat to a professional operator: management agreement, weeks kept, signed photo inspection at every rental, payout statement.

• Owner management

  Sup shows each owner their boat and only theirs: position, planner, maintenance, alerts and income, without ever naming the renters.

• Wear, damage, disputes: how a professional protects your boat

  What really protects an owner’s boat put up for rental: the signed inspection with dated photos, the pre-authorised deposit, GPS tracking.

• Security deposit, excess, excess waiver: the rental company’s side

  The excess comes from the operator’s insurer, the deposit guarantees it, the excess waiver reduces it for the customer. Pre-authorisation validity with Viva.