The 50 Dollar Cruising Club (as a New CF Social Group ?) - Any Thoughts ? / Input ?

[TexSail]

I like the idea. $50 a day is a good deal for the crew but it is enough to weed out the parasites. It would be an inexpensive way for many to discover if this lifestyle is really for them.

BTW, do the goats have to put out to go for free?

[Ex-Calif]

For general info David is also having a bit of a PM dialog with the Moderators.

There are a lot of ways this can get derailed. I have seen these threads before.

- Paid vs. non-paid crew vs. crew paying - This is a rats nest and there are many polar opinions. We won't let this thread devolve to that because at the end of the day skippers and crews are adult and they can make their own decisions.
- "Sharing Expenses" - Hud posted a great summary. Yes it is one opinion and it is US-centric. How you personally interpret "chartering" vs. sharing expenses is really up to you. Our advice is to become as informed as possible and make your choice. (Hint - A separate thread on charter vs. sharing expenses regulations might be appropriate and leave this thread for hooking up skippers and crews)

We have a fully developed crew finder forum already running. It seems to work pretty well. The only difference here is that there is an idea to hook up couples on an expense sharing basis and/or revive the boat swapping concept (which has also been discussed in past threads)

CF would also prefer that the individual financial arrangements/agreements between parties not be hashed out in public forum as it could skirt our non-commercialism rules. It could be this easy.

- Cruiser has a boat and interested in taking on crew
- Cruiser posts his parameters (demographics, journey etc)
- Interested parties contact via PM to work out the details and cost sharing

Good luck!

[Pelagic]

I tried this once..... but they all abandoned ship once they smelt my cooking…

[s/v Beth]

The mods saved my bacon on this one. I am excited about the option to take people out cruising a few times a year...but I want to be legal. BTW- from the messages I have gotten it is apparently unclear where I plan on departing from:Bellingham Washington. Bareboat charter? that is out of the scope of this forum.-PM me.

[roger.waite]

I will be receiving donations of malt whiskey for the ships stores ...

The other side of the insurance issue is that IF you were deemed to be chartering (fixed fee as a condition of service) insurance cover may cease to exist. Pretty sure Hud's other comments about voluntary vs. mandatory contributions apply under NZ regulations too.

Love Mark's regression to piracy. Cruisers as ransom takers! I was prepared to stop with just a little bit of tyranny.

[Stillraining]

Help ready a boat for launch experiance...50.00 daily donation requested and bring your own tools...personalized video of your time getting personal with boat systems you will learn about.

Romantic privet activities on boat is encouraged because skipper will be stepping off boat at nights..

[hummingway]

How about this: you pay the crew but charge for their upkeep, like a company store?

p.s. You know it's getting good when the mods get involved.

[s/v Beth]

Maybe we would just call it the Shanghai Adventure Club- The stepping on board is free but it will cost to get your loved one back from indentured service...
Until then "Drink up ye maties Yo Ho!"

[hummingway]

Argh, that tot o' rum covers up fer a lot o' rough usage.

[detav007]

I loved this idea. I'm nowhere near getting any kind of boat but could definitely take time off and fly somewhere for something like this. I'd have no aversion to hard work, cleaning the bilge water or scraping the hull. Any type of experience on the boat would be amazing. The whole idea would be seeing if this life would be for me and mine, so not all sunshine and roses. Count me in whenever you start that group.

I do have tools too, so I could go along with that idea.

[captainron369]

I like the idea. Of course the problem is with the set fee. I know that what I used to do was a thing called a "Buddy Sail" The charter company would put together 4-6 people, charge each $50 and we had the boat for a half day. The issue with this is who organizes and maintains the list. Some how we need to get a list of people with boats that are willing to share a ride, and their location, and then a list of people and location that are willing to "donate".

[mintyspilot]

Great idea. Me and the missus would be interested. We don't have a boat so this would be a great way of working towards our goal.

[SeaBungalow]

Check out meetup.com it is a free site that I think would be perfect for what you want to do. I have no affiliation with them other than me and buddy used it to meet other sailors while I was in Seattle and looking for crew or looking to crew. Ended up finding a lot of opportunities and they have a way to "share the expenses" built in.

The Puget Sound Sailing Group (Seattle, WA) - Meetup.com

I like the idea!

[keyspc]

count me and my boy in!
we intend to do a lot of coastal once we get rid of his mom and could use the experince

[Bill_R]

My wife and I would definitely be interested in being crew. I think we could learn so much!