Click for Glendinning Click for Westport Click for Mulder Click for Furuno Click for Northern Lights

Crew, Payment, Food Cost, HELP!

Discussion in 'Yacht Crews' started by Stacey R, Aug 10, 2017.

You need to be registered and signed in to view this content.
  1. Stacey R

    Stacey R New Member

    Joined:
    Aug 10, 2017
    Messages:
    3
    Location:
    Florida, USA
    Hey guys, as a new boat owner, trying to figure out how to pay crew. I've been given some information, but curious what the standard is. What is customary pay for the crew for the following?

    Stocking the boat for long haul (without owner)
    Shopping for food when you arrive to the boat
    Stock liquor, beer, wine (what if crew are drinking the alcohol, as well)
    Flights to and from the vessel
    Cell phones
    Rental Car/Scooter
    (We are currently paying our crew
  2. olderboater

    olderboater Senior Member

    Joined:
    Sep 2, 2013
    Messages:
    7,132
    Location:
    Fort Lauderdale
    Care to give us a clue as to the boat, it's size, the crew members we're talking about? Location of boat? Cruising grounds? Amount of owner use? Any chartering? Where is the boat flagged?
  3. SeaEric

    SeaEric YF Historian

    Joined:
    Jan 28, 2007
    Messages:
    1,360
    Location:
    out on the dock
    Additionally, are we talking full time crew or delivery crew?
  4. olderboater

    olderboater Senior Member

    Joined:
    Sep 2, 2013
    Messages:
    7,132
    Location:
    Fort Lauderdale
    Or Yacht Management?
  5. Stacey R

    Stacey R New Member

    Joined:
    Aug 10, 2017
    Messages:
    3
    Location:
    Florida, USA
    62 foot, docked for the past 5 weeks, taking her up the coast next week. Interim crew getting the boat ready for full time crew, owners on board every 4+/- days and off every 3+/- days, no cruising, subcontractors working on boat daily. No charter yet. Charter crew and season will begin in Dec.
  6. ychtcptn

    ychtcptn Senior Member

    Joined:
    Jul 8, 2005
    Messages:
    490
    Location:
    Lighthouse Point, FL
    For the full time crew you should be paying for all the above mentioned.
    You can set a budget for the crew food,booze and living items. Remember though when you are aboard it becomes difficult on that size boat to itemize and separate crew/guest food. It is a good idea to mentally note what you are using/drinking so that you can compare the expenses/receipts to usage.
    You should be paying for the Capt. cell phone, and car/scooter rental as needed, or offer to reimburse mileage for their own car if they have one, when used for boat business. Sometimes renting a car is cheaper than cabs.
    Make sure when they are shopping for you and guests that you let them know at what quality level you want them to shop for you at. What I mean is do you demand Wagu beef or is beef from the local market good enough. Do you want $50 bottles of wine or are $15-20 good enough. Whole foods vs. Publix
    Set up an accounting system using quicken and set your categories within and have regular reports submitted (monthly) with all relevant receipts attached. With this you can quickly gauge what your expenses are and will allow to build info for budgeting from year to year and track and see if one set of crew are costing more than others.
    If all of this is more than you want to handle, hire a small management company to help get you started and put the protocols in place for you. Perhaps even an experienced captain to help set things up for you.
  7. Stacey R

    Stacey R New Member

    Joined:
    Aug 10, 2017
    Messages:
    3
    Location:
    Florida, USA
    Thanks for the detailed info ychtcptn. When we brought the 2 crew on, we discussed 6K USD per month in cash and that included food. Now crew wants to be reimbursed for groceries. We are curious if we initially set this up all wrong.
  8. Pascal

    Pascal Senior Member

    Joined:
    Feb 29, 2008
    Messages:
    8,118
    Location:
    Miami, FL
    From a captain's perspective (full time, 84')

    I pay my own cell phone, the only thing I charge to the boat is the international plan when we go to the Bahamas I also pay for my own car and gas. unless there are a lot of long drives to get parts or whatever, I m not going to charge the owners for 3 miles here and 5 miles there. It's petty

    When traveling or charter then yes we eat from the boat provisions obviously. When at the home dock we don't stay on aboard. My own boat that I live on is in the next slip and my girlfriend has her place 20 Minutes away. Whether traveling or at home we buy our own wine and stuff... any flights from home base to the boat is paid by the boat

    If not full time, then crew gets paid by the day when they work incl maintenance, provisioning, etc...

    The key is to make it all clear to avoid misunderstanding which apparently you have right now about food.
  9. olderboater

    olderboater Senior Member

    Joined:
    Sep 2, 2013
    Messages:
    7,132
    Location:
    Fort Lauderdale
    You didn't answer the flagged question. Yes you set it up all wrong.

    If US flagged then you must comply with all US employment laws. That includes withholding of taxes, payment of payroll taxes yourself. You also should provide insurance for them. All cash implies to me "under the table" and circumventing those laws.

    I still don't know what crew positions you have or what they're doing. Right now you say no cruising, then heading up coast, and you have interim crew, talking about permanent crew then acting as if the charter crew will be separate. Is your boat set up to charter?

    $6k per month plus expenses including all food and transportation would perhaps be ok for one person.

    You should have crew agreements, formal, spelling out duties and responsibilities, pay, vacation, and all other elements.

    Why two people for a 62' boat? One would normally be adequate. What are their responsibilities? Is one a stew or one a deck hand or cook? What licenses do the two crew members you have now hold?

    Trying to keep their food costs separate from yours makes no sense to me. Why do you care whose food if it's all your responsibility?

    As to alcohol, our crew is not allowed consumption of alcohol on board or when working but then we consume very little.

    A captain for a boat that size normally would make $5k - $9k per month. I'd not want one who would accept less than $7k for a full time job. A deckhand or stew, $2.5k - $4k.

    All expenses of crew covered including food, travel, supplies.

    As ychtcptn indicated a management company to handle crew, payroll, benefits, administration, tax and law compliance might make sense for you.

    You don't indicate the brand or type boat, but what kind of cabin arrangements does the boat have for crew? Most 62's don't have decent cabins for one crew member, much less two, or are they going to use the regular staterooms?

    You don't mention maintaining spares and parts and accessories as a crew role. I would assume it would be. You do need some form of accounting system, whether quicken or quickbooks or better.

    I've still got more questions than answers because still trying to understand the situation.

    Chartering a boat that size is a challenge, because you need crew that you really don't have space for if you're preparing meals and doing other things for charter guests.
  10. pamibach

    pamibach Member

    Joined:
    May 24, 2017
    Messages:
    27
    Location:
    Texas y'all
    Does the owner pay for cell phones or is that optional
  11. Capt J

    Capt J Senior Member

    Joined:
    Jul 11, 2005
    Messages:
    14,432
    Location:
    Fort Lauderdale
    Usually yes, it's the easiest as a Captain's cell phone is being used half of the time for boat's business anyways.....calling marina's, calling the owner, calling mechanics, used to call home when international, and on and on.
  12. Capt J

    Capt J Senior Member

    Joined:
    Jul 11, 2005
    Messages:
    14,432
    Location:
    Fort Lauderdale
    I'll start out by saying I manage Yachts, about 10 of them, have been doing so for 15 years, and all of the owners I work for I've worked for a very long time. None of them ever ask how much food I am eating for a trip or what it is costing them or any of that with expenses. We usually go out to dinner most meals and they always encourage me to get whatever it is that I want to eat. They also tip me very well at the end of every trip......and even sometimes in between trips just because.

    $6k a month for a Captain and either a mate, stewardess, etc. really is not a lot of money for a boat with no usage at all, and much much less for that usage...especially for a short term position........there are guests on board 4 days a week? Every week? They have to spend 2 days a week out of the 3 you're gone just cleaning the boat, interior, linens, washdowns, re provisioning etc.

    I have quit working for a few very nice owners, who cover all expenses without question.....but I quoted them $350 per day then come to find out that every single day I work for them is a 12-14 hour day and they never tip......A day is 8-10 hours.....maybe 12 once in a blue moon, but not 12-14 hours working every single day........other owners I've done that for tip very well to make up for it. They've been through many good Captains for that reason, then when they want to go out they can't find a Captain.....why because they work them to death and don't compensate them properly.

    Without knowing the boat, the job, you, or your crew in detail enough to really give you a formulated answer. My guess is the usage is a lot more than the crew expected when they gave you that number, the crew are not US. crew, and the number of days you are using it is quite a bit (whether it leaves the dock OR NOT), and you've never tipped them, and the food expense is more than they expected. Personally, If the job they're doing is good, then pay for their **** food and tip them......Would you even sleep 1 single night in the bunk and cabin they're living in, as small as it must be.....$6k a month plus all expenses is what you should be paying just a Captain for that size boat, and quite honestly, in this business, you get exactly what you pay for......Pay peanuts and you're going to get monkeys.

    To give you an idea, at my cheapest daily rate, an owner would be paying me $10,500 a month for just me and ALL expenses. And, the owners I work for do that and never ask for a discount and tip well on top of that.