Paid Crew. Pros & Cons

[Pelagic]

I don't remember this being discussed before... but if you had the opportunity to hire a responsible young man willing to work full time as your boat boy and happy to be paid 3rd world salary of $400/month plus room and board.....would you consider it?

[homeless]

Depends on where you are, your travel plans, and what passport your crew have. In countries like the Philippines, Indonesia, Singapore is is common for people to have boat boys (and drivers, maids, gardeners etc). Some initial thoughts :-

Pro :-
always someone to look after tender or on anchor watch when you go ashore
the boat should always be ready to go at a minute's notice (food, water, fuel)

Con :-
Finding good and honest workers can be hard.
Introducing a stranger to your home (boat) can be very stressful, and you may need to adjust your behaviour (wear clothes, keep money in safe etc)
Getting visas for people with third world country passports can be impossible which may limit the countries you can visit.

[atoll]

we had a young english lad work for us for a year when we built our 63 ft yacht .
paid him £400 a month,worked out great for him and us.

after sailing to the carib with us,he ended up skippering another yacht for its owner,and is now currently a commercial skipper on fast cats working on the windfarms all over the world.

[Dockhead]

If he were honest, reliable, pleasant, and handy -- in a heartbeat.

[Ex-Calif]

I have first hand experience helping someone try this. Each person that joined the boat turned out to be unreliable and flighty. To be clear each person was an "around the world backpacker" type who had their own agenda - free travel around the world by boat. Find the kid who wants to "be" on a boat and learn about boats and maybe have a better chance.

I hope you have found or will find someone like this. It is such a great opportunity.

My advice having had domestic help of all kinds for 30 years is be very cautious of falling into the "friend" trap regardless of how charming they are - keep it at least on some sort of professional boss/employee level.

[a64pilot]

You know if he has 0 bills and free room and board, $400 a month isn't third world salary in my mind, I think it ain't bad.

[HappyMdRSailor]

I think a Boat Girl would have a slight edge over a Boat Boy... But sure...

In Asia... Gender verification may be required...

[belizesailor]

Originally Posted by a64pilot

You know if he has 0 bills and free room and board, $400 a month isn't third world salary in my mind, I think it ain't bad.

A very good salary for some places. Legal minimum full time monthly wage in Guatemala is just under Q2,000 (about US$260) per month.

[DoubleWhisky]

Originally Posted by a64pilot

You know if he has 0 bills and free room and board, $400 a month isn't third world salary in my mind, I think it ain't bad.

Adding up $400 a month, a monthly cost of food and free acommodation You will get more than a minimum guaranteed salary in some of a newer EU countries