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What to pay the crew?

Discussion in 'Yacht Crews' started by Fortunata, Mar 5, 2010.

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  1. Capt J

    Capt J Senior Member

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    Vessel's insurance, just as if a FEDEX driver damages a company truck.
  2. Capt J

    Capt J Senior Member

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    I would tend to agree with this. The engineer might get slightly higher depending on the licensing he has and the HP of engines etc. etc. etc.
  3. Henning

    Henning Senior Member

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    The vessel insurance covers it, that's why they have to approve the captain.
    I once tried to get insurance of my own as a captain and I couldn't find anybody who writes such a policy. I could get E&O for errors as a consultant but I couldn't find professional liability for operations.
  4. smitrock

    smitrock New Member

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    Hey henning: Smitrock here... the guy who's not as rich as all these rich *******s are!! .. Question. How do you like being a captain and can you teach me? I can be a first mate! How much does that pay?
  5. geriksen

    geriksen Senior Member

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    If that is your attitude toward rich people you might try a different career.
  6. Pay rate for crew? Ask the professionals, there are crew employment professionals here in Fort Lauderdale, like Ami and Linda, who have been in the business for many years. Crew Finders and Crew Unlimited know what the rates should be with the type of program the owner wants to do.
    However at 72 feet, the crew is much more part of the family than on a larger yacht, and the personal relationship between owner and crew is critical. If that relationship is very good, than some extra pay may help that relationship continue.
    With most yachts, the time spent on board by owners is counted in days per year, and a well paid, competent crew can make all of those days a pleasure. Saving some money on crew expense to have a bad time on board because of propblems does niot make economic sense.
  7. Henning

    Henning Senior Member

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    I like it just fine, it's been paying the bills for over half my life. Can I teach you? Yes, the relevant question is, can you learn? I already have an excellent mate on this boat. One of the owners requirements for the mate is to have a 3000ton Masters license, so my mate gets paid quite well, more than the captain of the 72' Ferretti will be paid and this is only a 110' boat.
  8. Henning

    Henning Senior Member

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    Crew agents never see the good captains jobs, heck, they don't see most of the good jobs.
  9. dennismc

    dennismc Senior Member

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    I thought smitrock was the guy who was asking about selling everything and buying a boat ?? was he not making upwards of 150 K per year ?? seems a quick attitude change..
  10. scott49

    scott49 Senior Member

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    Your the Captain and you have a mate, on a 110' boat? How many crew do you run? Why would you need a mate on that size of boat?
  11. Henning

    Henning Senior Member

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    We run 6 crew, Capt, Mate, Engineer, Deck, Steward and Chef. I need a mate because this boat is meant to travel and I can't be awake 24/7 and the owner wants someone fully qualified to operate the boat when I am off watch. In fact, when we head to Indo, we will bring yet another officer along so we can stand a normal 4hr on 8hr off watch cycle since it's going to be longer than 3 days. The size of boat isn't all that relevant to how many officers are required, it's what you want the boat to do. I also need to have 3 people to handle lines due to the deck layout of the boat. There is no quick way from the foredeck to the aft, so I need one forward, one aft and one on the dock. It's not a particularly small 110' either.
    Port bow.jpg
  12. Capt J

    Capt J Senior Member

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    You need a mate or deckhand on any size yacht if you're travelling, it is not safe nor prudent to run anything single handed. Depending on the owner's needs, you could need a full time mate in addition to a FT Captain on something as small as a 55' Sportfish if you're travelling and fishing a lot.

    Yeah, you could get away with a deckhand on some 110's, but if you're doing any travelling, you need someone knowledgable to take the helm from time to time and stand competant watches as well as knowing navigation and the rules of the road, so they should have a license. If you're towing a center console as a tender it would be very prudent to have a licensed Mate that can operate the tender because there will be times that he/she will be. Especially when entering harbors and such in rough weather where you need to unhook the tender and bring it in seperately.

    I worked on a 100' as an almost licensed mate (was waiting on getting my license back from the USCG). We ran a very light crew, Captain, (me)Mate/deckhand, and a stew/chef. We once did a 36 hour non-stop trip with the captain and I switching off 4 hours on, 4 hours off. It was exhausting and I wouldn't do that as Captain and would have had more crew and a proper rotation of 4 hours on 8 hours off.
  13. NYCAP123

    NYCAP123 Senior Member

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    Rarely (and only on very short runs) would I run without a 2nd on boats as small as 35'. Too much can happen, from the captain becoming incapasatated through injury, sickness or falling overboard to mechanical problems where you'll need one @ the helm while one works on the machinery. Besides, running a boat is boring and boredom brings on inattention and mistakes. That second set of eyes can pick up things you might miss. Granted, Henning's crew sounds a bit heavy, but better too many than too few. Sounds like the owner of Hennings boat wants to enjoy his boat and understands how to do it.
  14. yachtcaptain

    yachtcaptain New Member

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    When you say they are "off duty" does that mean the crew can be at thier own house in thier own home town 80% of the time? If so do you need a Captain?
  15. Pascal

    Pascal Senior Member

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    There is no way a captain would be off duty 80% of the time on a boat that size. There is always something to do whether preventative maintenance, repairs , cleaning, bookkeeping, etc... If he is off 80% then he s not doing his job

    As to crew size we ve beaten that one to death before it all depends on the layout, condition of the boat, and type of cruising. Obviously if you are towing a tender or doing a longer passage you will need extra crew. There are some things I may not Try to do while alone like picking up a mooring ball on very windy day or run more than 8 to 10 hours straight but in easy conditions I ve been doing it for years, on my own boat and others. I d rather have a heart attack on a boat than at 75mph on the highway.
  16. NYCAP123

    NYCAP123 Senior Member

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    80 % of the time they are "off" duty...and sleep for free... IMG_0430.JPG Such a privilege.
  17. saltysenior

    saltysenior Senior Member

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    way back when...i can remember every boat at the dock 37' to 45' had someone that was paid to run the boat.....then for some strange reason, boats got bigger and crews got smaller.:confused:
  18. Seafarer

    Seafarer Senior Member

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    That strange reason is American tax law. When a boat was a 100% write-off for marketing expense, every small business owner had a "yacht" on the smaller size, so the owner could get tanked with his customers/clients/prospects aboard and the captain would run the boat (his salary also being a write-off for the business).
  19. sgawiser

    sgawiser New Member

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    Reminders are always good

    This thread reminds some of us how important it is to have additional qualified crew, paid or unpaid. It is amazing to me to watch how understaffed some very large vessels are in our local waters.

    And of course all those who truly believe they can single hand their own boats without risk!
  20. Capt J

    Capt J Senior Member

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    A wise and experienced Captain has seen too much "could be fatal" issues arise to know better then single hand a boat or yacht. I've lost steering, had an engine fire, had a generator melt the wiring on the gennie end and cloud the entire generator room with smoke, to losing the controls, you name it. In those situations the mate was worth 100x his pay for the day. Yet, I see Captains load a 65' yacht on a freightor single handed, or run across an ocean by themselves, and all sorts of crazy things. I'm very good as a Captain, but I'm also being hired for my knowledge and judgement and know that anything can and eventually will happen.

    My grandfather's neighbor used to take his 25' Mako center console out all of the time by himself fishing on good days. One day he went out on a calm day, never came home, they found the boat 2 days later off of North Carolina. The life insurance company took 7 years to pay the wife because they didn't have a body, the wife in the meantime lost the house and everything they owned because she was a housewife and didn't have any job skills to get a good paying job.