Cost of a crew for an 80 foot yacht

And many stay at a lower rate for loyal 20+ year customers. But his rate does fit within the market at the low end and is real. He is a real example of a $350 per day captain.

I'd also seen the Pontoon situation Norseman pointed out at $25 per hour. Really strange situation and I wonder how many passengers and what the rest of the situation is. Seems like a great prospect for circumventing rules. Perhaps if you just got a license and have no work and want a little income and some sea time.

Yes, I also know a retired captain who took a delivery job at a discount rate and then while anchored had some damage with another boat, not major but a cost, and the owner tried to get him to pay. I just read another case of an owner thinking a captain should pay for damage when a thruster failed while docking.

I do think when a new boater comes in and asks we should try to inform them of normal and appropriate practices and rates. That does include Judy's 20 year $350 rate but I think it also means pointing out the market as a whole so they don't expect that. I don't want them to make the mistake of turning away from a Captain who quotes them $400 to $500 and is perfect for what they need. I see a lot of new boaters making huge mistakes trying to save $50 here or $100 there on their $2 million boat.

Sorry you feel that way. While it might seem like that, I think it's far better than if you just got one opinion or one statement. Differences of opinion are real and are useful. I wouldn't expect everyone to have the same answer. I know I feel strongly in my attitudes toward crew, but fully expect others to have different opinions and feel like they should all be heard. Then you just have to sort through the best you can to form your own opinions. I know that the approaches I strongly disagree with are not held by just one person but are prevalent within the industry.

It's not just yacht crew that you see such diverse opinions and approaches on hiring and pay. Ask the same question as how much per hour should you pay a lawyer or even how much should a haircut cost. And if you want to set off an international conflict, just open a discussion on tipping.

On another forum, there was just a discussion as to the going rate for a delivery captain. This was in the PNW so an entirely different area. The going rate by the most respected and referred captains there was $600 per day. Yet, the person posted was being told by friends apparently that he should be able to get one for $350 per day. Now, the experiences of those on the forum were all in the $500-600 range but doesn't mean there are not some out there for less. Just the names that came up and were referred were all $600. Perhaps discussion so far there is less argumentative, but doesn't mean it will stay that way and the real information and argument remains much the same.

I think the varied opinions are a strength of forums, even when they seem like bickering. Otherwise, you could just go to a website and pull up numbers and accept them as gospel and assume they were what everyone is paying and that would be misleading to you.

But as you can see, there are those who disagree with me. Part of it too is thinking is crew a casual occasional thing. For us, our crew is family now. If we cruise in a normal, pre-covid year, 8 months of the year and do another 40 days or so of boating outside that 8 months then they are living with us over 2/3 of the time. They're also around us much of the rest of the time. Crew is both employees and housemates in our life. We carefully select people we're comfortable sharing our home (boat) with.

We are both very generous and very restrictive. Rigid anti-alcohol policies both while on the boat and the night before but basically we select people who don't drink or drink very little. No smokers. No oranges allowed on board. Many excellent crew members who just wouldn't work for us and wouldn't be happy for us. We're also all hands on deck, literally, in that we don't have deck hands but both captains and stews do deck work. When we dock and need a wash down, you'll see every crew member except the Master (who is completing logs) doing it.

So, what did the crew do during the pandemic? They maintained our boats, they did our weekend boating, and because we had extra people quarantined at our home for two months they helped there and later they helped there often because we didn't want to bring in people who hadn't been quarantining. They did whatever they could to help when they couldn't do their regular jobs.

If we're having a pool and patio gathering on a Sunday for family and friends, you'll see most of our crew at our home.

Now if you're just looking for someone to run you to the Bahamas for a week, it's much different so our methods might not apply for you.

Question — if you hire crew a mate or a capt — for a cruise — they are away from home while you are cruising— whats the typical deal? Day rate for every single day they are gone from home? Day rate for 6 days per week or 5 if you give them a couple days per week off? How do you guys handle this— I would treat as family— so outings, meals etc are on me. We have guests and we all decide to IDK go zip lining then the crew gets an invite and its my dime. Do they get paid for the day as well since they are after all not a home. no dog in this fight I would honestly like to know.

I'm sure you'll get differing opinions on this but I'll start it. In my opinion, every day away from home is a day of work, even if they get some time off wherever they are. I'd pay their day rate and all expenses for that time. That would include the zip lining. Meals are covered whether with you or not so that's really no difference.

Just keep in mind that for all those days they're semi-off, they're likely getting something done plus they have opposite days of long hours and hard work.

Day rate for everyday that you're gone. No different than if they were working for a corporation full time and away on a business trip. While they're gone they have additional fees they're paying from dog walking to house watching etc. etc. PLUS, every day they're sitting on your boat, they could be moving another boat. You may work out a monthly deal if your trip is a month long, or some other situation. But, me for example, I make more money (daily) working on yachts doing mechanical maintenance or moving yachts locally, then on a trip on a yacht. I do the trips because I enjoy them and it's part of the entire package, but I would turn down the trip if an owner wanted me to sit around for no pay some days, UNLESS it was something special like I brought my wife, and a place I really wanted to go and haven't been, and we're truly OFF on those days. Expenses are always paid by owners, just like corporations.

Uh-oh, you got married Capt. J?

Hat4349 - Been there, felt that. We had no idea what we were getting into. And the stress of the first 18 months was pretty immense. Brokers will always tell you the "low-end" of budgets. And well, when you start getting into it. You're guidance will mostly come from your Captain and this forum. I wasn't on this forum for the first couple of years. So, while my Captain's advice was spot on. It took me a while to completely trust him, sorry to say. I kept wondering if it was the wolf guarding the hen house. Talking to others on the forum helped build the trust and made me a better owner. Still have a ways to go, however.

I've been hesitating to jump into this thread/cat fight. I'm absolutely no expert, like many new owners. We wanted a boat and jumped in with both feet. Then the stress and at times the eye popping reality of owning a sizable boat. So, 4 years into it and starting to come to the grips of the unique nature of yachting. It's like nothing else, the Highs are amazing and sad to say at times the Lows are very expensive.

For what it's worth, here is what I've learned.

• Owners are pretty private about true costs. Sort of like Vegas. Everyone tells you the good stories and everyone is always a winner. They don't talk much about the losses. In my case, it's at times an embarrassing amount of money. But, what I think is outrageous... I'll pull up to a 50m and pretty sure to them it's chump change.
• No two boats/programs are the same.
• I've talked to one owner, same boat completely different program. His budget was close to half of ours, at least he said so. But, as I dug deeper into our conversation. They docked their boat behind their house in FLL. They only used it about 2 to 4 weeks a year, and only went to Bahamas. And most of the time they only carried two (2) full-time crew, and contracted during usage. We were running a 4 person crew (now 5), boat has gone from Michigan to Cuba. We have no dock. We use our boat at least 10 days a month. So, on and so forth.
• When I got into this, our family had one boat. My family would use it in Bahamas and East Coast. My father (83yo) wanted it in Michigan. My family loves to go and live off the grid. My father uses the boat mostly for dinner cruises. At the end of the day, we couldn't make a single vessel work various reasons. So, I took over one boat, and he purchased another. We still have a debate on why my crew is "more expensive" than his. I try to explain, our programs are completely different. We're out "off-the-grid" and a completely different level of crew. You go out in the afternoon and return to your house in the evening. He still doesn't completely get it.
• I've talked to OldBoater at one point about benefits and such. I would say, his crew pay & benefits are completely amazing. I can't remember the details at this time. But, I remember thinking I want to go to work for him. As for us, I've looked at all the Salary databases, and we're in line at the top end of the scale. Our crew is very happy. But, I know there are owners more generous, but I'm pretty confident there are more owners that pay less.
• The thing I found the most frustrating as a new owner was what is expected in the maritime world, but our sort of not normal employing people. Sure, in both worlds you have salary, vacation, health insurance, and other fridge-benefit. In boating, you have Room and Board, Crew Cars, and other expenses. Crew is more of a dependent, than an employee. I'm not saying that to be condescending. I hope no one takes it that way.
• I agree with oldboater, one of the biggest joys of the boat is the crew. For us, they are certainly family. It's one of the best things in the world. To be greeted on your boat, and hear "Welcome Home!" and to actually feel like your at home with your family. But, and maybe I'm the only one here. At times, it feels like like having children in college. You're paying for everything. It can get a little exhausting. This really bothered me at the beginning. But, when I looked at the big picture, the little things really didn't matter. And well, it's a very minor part of the total operational budget.
• Room - If the boat is in the boat yard and they can't say on the boat. You'll need to find them housing and pay for it. For many, the boat is their home.
• Board - Crew Food - Our of our crew gets the same food we eat. But, I've found that not all boats operate that way. Something you should decide on when you're hiring.
• Transportation - Many don't have their own cars. And if they do, it's not customary for them to use it for work. You'll need to provide a crew car or rent one.
• Vacation - This is tricky subject and has actually been one of the hardest for us to manage properly. I believe, and you can correct me if I'm wrong, oldboater it seems like you have some swing crew. So, people can be on vacation and the boat is still in operational. For us, we don't have that luxury. And we have two crew members in a relationship, which at times makes things more complex. They're a team, it's not that easy just to hire a contract crew for a week.
• Chartering - From time to time, I see people saying they want to charter to help offset the costs. Beware a Charter Boat & Crew are held at a much higher standard. You'll pay according to met the demands of the chartering market. You might be very happy with your Chef or maybe it's just a cook. But, your charter guests might not be. If you're going to Charter, you're most likely going to need a much more experience and professional crew. Thus, be prepared to pay according.
• Captain - Don't be cheap on this hire. Hire the best person you can. A bad Captain can quickly cost you more than the little you've saved. Our first "Captain", and I use the word loosely. Let's just say, he helped on the repositioning to Michigan after purchased and was fired upon arriving. Thank God, we had a relief Captain from the Broker as backup. This guys was way out of his element. For example, there were a couple of minor mechanical issues. He wanted to bring the boat into shipyard. The relief Captain, took a wrench and fixed the issue in 5 minutes. Lots of stories other stories here.

Great post, Gulfer. I think what you do and pay is very much what we might recommend vs. what we choose to do and don't recommend others copy. I laughed at your comment on "like having children in college." We've hired 4 stews at either 18 or 19 years old, same age as our "daughter" who also has stewed some part time while in school. Yes, it was like college age kids, the best of them, and helping and guiding them was a huge part of it. Now that the first two are 26 years old, it's amazing to us to look back at these years and we just do so with so much joy and love. We've also made it clear if they decide they want to pursue college of different careers just discuss with us and we'll help them every way we can. It's like having kids sometimes but without all the hard work when they were children.

It's a real challenge to figure out how to provide adequate vacation and yet I see that so essential. People leave the industry because it doesn't allow them to develop private lives. Our chief stew, now part time, likely retiring completely soon, was 48 when we hired her. She was 45 when she decided enough of working year round and never really having a home and home life. For 27 years she'd spent an average of 11 months of the year either on a boat or on leave in a foreign country. She'd bought a home in Boca Raton but seldom lived in it. So she "retired" agreeing to take some charters here and there and we met her on a charter and worked out a plan. She works 140 days a year, but oh did she do such an incredible job of training a staff for us.

You're so right on captains too. Our first hire was a couple who at the time were 55 and 52 years old at the time. Now at 63 and 60, they're easing toward retirement slowly. They came from a roughly 200' boat and we paid accordingly but they guided us through everything plus trained us. We have them to think for the quality crew hired since. You must find someone you feel you can really trust on both a professional and personal level. That's a challenge and requires hard work on your part.

You mentioned rotation and our total crew is based on our largest boat, but we use it only part of the time and need fewer the rest of the time. This allows vacation. However, one can't copy us but what one can do is figure out needs, find the people and then work to figure out how to schedule. Be open minded and creative.

Those who enter boating likely already have hiring and employment practices from prior life. I came from company that wanted to hire top 10% and paid top 10%. I worked there 23 years. I had employees who were 50 years old and had worked there 33 years. The CEO who replaced me was one I hired in 1995 and is still there so now has worked for the company 25 years. We promoted from within. I only want to lose crew to retirement or changes into totally different careers, not to other yachts. So far in 9 years have lost none although most hired in last 5-7 years. If in your business life you have high turnover, then you're likely to also in boat crew. And, please, if you've had good employment and management practices in business, then use them in boating, don't suddenly forget all that's done you well. It is a business, albeit a very personal one.

Well, I can certainly help with you the emotional roller coaster of a new boat owner. My bouts with manic depression thankfully are coming a less frequently. Just not sure if it's because I'm learning or I've been beating into submission. All joking aside, there is so much to learn. And since everyone needs are different, it's hard to learn without just diving in.

My best advice is to make sure you're using a good broker, because they really can make a huge difference. Sure, they'll help find a good boat, but also a great resource for advice, resources, and finding a quality crew. A good broker wants to sell you the next boat and keep you in the industry. A bad broker just wants the sale.

Honestly, we didn't know anything and the purchase was almost on a whim. It could have gone horribly wrong without some great advice at the beginning. Dumb luck we ended up with a Westport, as we purchased almost on a whim and with little research. As hard as it was the first year or two, I can't imagine what an owner goes through when they buy a bad boat. Arg!

Reminds of a time when were at the dock. The boat next to us was just purchased and they were on their first trip. But, was now DOA and will be for quite sometime. We were talking to the Captain, he said his owner didn't want a Westport or some other better known brands. He thought they were commonplace. We bit our tongues.

Yes, they are commonplace. It's like not wanting to eat at a restaurant because they're so popular.