Glossary
What Is the Difference Between a Bareboat and a Crewed Charter?
A bareboat charter, also called a demise charter, is a written agreement transferring full possession and control of a vessel to the charterer without crew or provisions, making the charterer the de facto owner for the term. A crewed charter keeps the owner's captain and crew aboard, so guests are passengers for hire.
The distinction is legal, not cosmetic. In a crewed charter the owner retains possession of the vessel through employing the master and crew, and everyone aboard paying for the trip counts as a passenger for hire. That triggers the federal passenger rules: under 46 U.S.C. 2101 an uninspected vessel under 100 gross tons is limited to six passengers, and carrying more requires a Coast Guard Certificate of Inspection and an appropriately licensed master.
A bareboat charter sidesteps that framework because there are no passengers for hire in the eyes of the law. The charterer has taken over the boat and is responsible for its operation, including hiring and paying any crew independently. There can only be one charterer per charter, even if several people split the cost, and the charterer is not counted as a passenger. Bareboat arrangements can carry up to twelve people on vessels that would otherwise be capped at six.
That gap is exactly why sham bareboats are a Coast Guard enforcement target. If the owner or broker also supplies the captain, sets the itinerary, provisions the boat, or retains any operational control, it is not a bareboat, it is an illegal charter dressed as one. A legitimate bareboat requires a genuine written demise agreement, and the charterer must independently select and hire the captain from a separate source.
Practically, most Miami luxury charters you will book are crewed. You get a licensed captain, usually a deckhand or stewardess, fuel and dockage handled, and no operational liability. Bareboat makes sense when you hold your own credentials and experience, or when a large group genuinely wants to build its own crew. If a listing offers you eight guests, a supplied captain, and calls itself a bareboat, treat that as a red flag and ask for the COI instead.