Planning a party, company
meeting, event, wedding, or family
reunion?
Please get the proper boat for the occasion as too many
people are hiring the wrong boat trying to save a few
dollars or expect it to be something it is not.
Things you need to know
before you go!
First figure out how many guests you plan on
inviting as this will determine how big a
boat you need.
Large Party Boats come in different sizes and
styles in the Dallas, Fort Worth, DFW, Texas Area: Motor
Boats, Sail Boats and Barges, rated for 20, 50 or 100+
passengers. Hulls are single hull (mono-hull) or
multi-hulls (Catamarans). Catamarans are the most stable
with tri-hulls (three hulls) the best. Barges in this
area use square dock flotation to float the craft,
making it very slow, causing it to be restricted to one
area, or spending all your time just getting somewhere.
Individuals or businesses with a 30' boat or larger for
hire with a driver have legal requirements--min. $300,000 in
liability insurance, boat must be inspected every year
by TWPD, a
COMMERCIAL PARTY BOAT OPERATOR'S LICENSE or Captain
License by one of the
crew, all crew must have the boater's safety
certificate, 1 crewman per 25 passengers, life vests for all passengers and crew plus
safety equipment.
Choosing Between Party Boat or a Party
Barge?
Party Boats are Safe,
Catamarans being the safest and most stable
and can go out on windy days, more upscale,
classy, have more amenities and can Cruise around
the lake more quickly with Single or Twin
Engines, Sail or a combination of Sail
w/engine. Clean
toilets, nice flooring & built-in seats with
party lights for night-time cruising.
Dallas has
an average of 11 miles per hour of
wind each day, making motor or sail
catamarans the best choice, safest and least
likely to cancel your trip. Do you want to
look good, cruise around the lake in a safe
and stable boat or maybe you want to cruise
to the party cove to swim and not spend all
you time getting there, then this is the
boat for you.
Party Barges, these are
basically homemade, a very slow-moving
floating dock and in this area a single 60
or 90Hp engine--very basic and not as
impressive but it floats, Be realistic if a
40' party barge only has a single 60 or 90Hp
engine, square blocks
for floatation and 30 - 50 people onboard don't be surprised or get mad
that it is slow, it is a floating dock and
not designed to go anywhere. these barges are
usually found a short distance from their
dock or a lot of time is spent just getting
somewhere. Seating
is on plastic chairs that can break or tip
over. Water can lap over the floatation,
getting people wet. Some
have a double decks and allow people to jump
off the top, think about it with all the
trees in the lake and you cannot see below
the surface? How deep is the water? Don't
care all you want to do is go a short
distance off shore and swim, rough house and
do not expect to cruise around or need
anything fancy, this will work.
The
very large house boats/barge are flat
bottom boats or a barge and they are
restricted, these barges cannot go out on
windy days(15+mph), they are very hard to
control, often cancelling your trip.
There is a boat for everyone or every
event, the choice is yours:
Be
realistic...if a 40' party barge only has a single 60-Hp or
90-Hp engine and square blocks for floatation, don't be
surprised or get mad that it is slow (even when empty),
it is
a floating dock and not designed to go anywhere
fast. If a boat is maxed out or overloaded with more people OR MORE WEIGHT
than recommended, this is
dangerously unsafe, uncomfortable and makes for a bad experience.
Don't care all you want to do is go a short
distance off shore and swim, rough house and
do not expect to cruise around or need
anything fancy or do you want to look good,
nice, safe, clean and cruise around. Either Way Enjoy and Be Safe on Our Lakes.
When renting a Pontoon Boat a few things you need to know
before you go!
Pontoon boats come in many sizes and are
rated for a specific number of people with so much weight.
Some rental companies rent you the boat with you as driver
and some provide their own driver. Some rental companies
furnish gas at no additional charge and some don't. Most
recreational pontoon boats have round pontoons and are not
recommended for large groups or commercial use. Commercial
grade pontoon boats will have a high weight capacity plate,
this will give your group a smoother and safer ride. Most
recreational pontoon boats are rated for 12 or less people
with 1800 lbs MAX. USCG-regulated average weight is now
185 lbs. per person. Example: if a boat is rated for 19
persons or 2800 lbs., you would all have to average under 148
lbs. and that does NOT includes ice chest, food, gear, etc. or
if there are 12
people at an average of 200 lbs. or 2400 lbs., now add the ice
chest (s), food, gear and the
driver, so how much does everyone and everything weigh? That
19-person boat just turned into a 12-passenger boat. Now
compare a pontoon boat with a weight capacity plate of at
least 4000 lbs. or more! Experienced boat drivers know their weight capacity
as wind and waves
play a large role in the safety, ride and handling of the boat. Remember If the boat is maxed out or overloaded with more people OR
MORE WEIGHT than recommended, this is dangerously unsafe,
uncomfortable and makes for a bad experience. Please get the
proper boat for your guests as too many are hiring the wrong
boat to save a few dollars.
For weight of your food and drinks, think about this:
16 oz. = 1 lb. or 1 case of 12 oz. cans =
almost 20 lbs., 4 cases of drinks with ice and food weigh
about 100 lbs. There are also different engine sizes,
different horsepower. Remember that loaded weight and engine size/hp has everything to do
with boat speed and safety.
Did not find what you
want? See Below for more rentals.
At 70' long x 32' wide,
Chamonix II is the Largest Sailing Catamaran in the State of Texas!
Chamonix II is a 2004
70-foot Gold Coast Catamaran with 2,380 square feet of
party space. U.S. Coast Guard certified for 105
passengers. Chamonix II offers a safe, spacious
environment for guests of all ages to experience the joy
of catamaran sailing. At 70' x 32', Chamonix II
is the Largest Sailing Catamaran in the State of Texas!
This boat is the best boat for groups of 50 - 100 people.
High winds? Not to worry as the boat is designed for the
ocean, and the driver is a USCG-certified Captain.
No wind, no problem with twin engines. When spending
more money on a larger vessel and
organizing this large of a group, you want to know they
won't cancel your reservation when other companies have
to because it is unsafe to go out with high winds and
waves on others' smaller boats.
For groups
100 up to 200 people, please call as JT's & Big D Cats
will work together for the convenience of our valued
customers.