Crew Wanted: Life change now need advice

[hellsfire]

Hi All
Well where to start. I as many I would imagine have just gone through a life changing time where my long time partner and myself have finished. Maybe it was to much for her and the grand adventure as it has been stressful.

We had been planning to spend many years sailing around the world and in the last 2 years have been spent building our ideal boat.

its a 17m Schonning G-Force performance catamaran. its been a huge struggle both financially and mentally to get this far so I can understand my ex partners feelings.

The Cat has been built to be able to single hand but preferable with two so therein lies my problem.

I was never planning to have a crew on board but now it seems I will have to consider this so would like to gather some advice on how best to approach this.

On the cat first then I will get to the questions.

The cat will be complete in Jun-July and is being built in a ship yard close to where I am now living in Vietnam. I monitor the build weekly and the work being done is as good as you would get anywhere else so I a happy with this and it has give me great a opportunity to customize many areas of the cat for extras safety and comfort. She is a Foam,s-glass and carbon fiber when needed epoxy build. Fully loaded we expect her to be less that 12 tons.

I have and are kitting her out for circumnavigation and we have satellite communications, life rafts, AIS etc. She has 2.8kw of solar and all systems have built in redundancy. She is fully air-conditioned as well and can sleep up 8 with 2 king size beds, one queen and 2 singles. She is like a owners version when one hull setup for the myself and the other was for friends and visitors (maybe now crew) she has everything in the way of convenience you may expect on a production cat but of a higher quality in most cases. She has a carbon rotating mast and a large sail area so she should be able to do 25+ knots but that's not what I want to do. My idea and plan was to build her as fast comfortable cruiser as i want to sail all the world over the coming years.

To be clear this boat when finished it 100% paid for so my traveling expenses can be keep down going forward. I also plan to be on the pick allot and visit more remote areas when possible as I do prefer quiet places.

Because I will be be leaving from south east asia I plan to sail the "wrong" way to start with going out to then Philippines then east to Micronesia etc and keep island hopping till I get far enough across when I can drop back down and catch the trade winds.
The main reason for this is to build experience on the new vessel before taking on the Indian Ocean.

I am actually originally from New Zealand so will pop back there and sail some of my favorite places there to.

So to my questions.
How does one go about getting crews and would it be normal to have crews for just short legs or are people interested in longer journeys? changing crew all the time seems like a hassle when I am trying to relax

What is the boat and captain expected to provide for a crew?

Are there places on the net, forums etc where you can get to know like mined people who maybe want to share such a adventure?

Really I am just a bit unsure how and if a crew would fit into my style of long term cruising so I would love some advice on how others in a similar situation have fared and managed to keep their dream alive?

Postive comments would be very much appreciated
Regards Hamish

[CaverCop]

Hi Hammish,

Firstly my condolences on your situation. Regarding crew there really is no shortage especially when considering the beautiful boat you are building, in fact I'd love to see some pictures of her. You can look at the crew forums here and also on a plethora of different websites and there will always be people willing to jump on your boat both for short and long stints. Often times when it comes to crew I have seen people throw out the majority of there credentials and then after the fact they will drop in the more personal factors. And not to be cliché but a few of the sailing vlogs commonly pick up new crew for a bit before having them disembark.

Myself I am fairly new to sailing with only a few years under my belt and working on getting my intermediate cruising standard done this year and also will be going out for catamaran asa114 as well so in the event you need anyone the first half of October to join you please give me a buzz.

Best of luck and watch out for outdated charts out there!

[shayski]

Are you absoulutely positive your partner in this boat is gone? Does this person have money tide up in the project? And they're just walking away? Maybe some time will straighten all that out, and if not you may come across someone reliable that wants to sail the world and would love this opportunity, I can't imagine it would be that hard to find someone. It's just got to be someone you can count on and get along with, there in lies the problem!

[Tillsbury]

A jolly good thing you’re in Vietnam, then, and not still in NZ where you would have been left with only one hull

If you’re the owner and skipper of a boat such as you describe then you can look for pretty much any possibility, from high income (occasional charter where you’re the skivvy and they pretend they’re lording it about) to medium income (they come along as crew for fun) to no-income long or short term or to you paying them to do the dirty work and living like a king yourself. Ask yourself what you want, and look at adverts all around the web for similar situations

[Sojourner]

You'll always find like-minded souls for passages... it's like hitchhiking, only cooler

For the longer term, I forget who is doing it, but there is a couple who do one of those VLogs or maybe just a blog.... anywhoodle, they 'charter' their boat by the leg of their trip. So they have a calendar posted on their site along the lines of
Jan 5-25 Cape Verde - Martinique $1500
Feb 6-9 Martinique - Guadaloupe (with stop in Dominica) $400
Blah blah same same and so forth

They have like a whole year planned and posted, with most of the legs already booked.... I always thought that would be a cool kind of charter to do, if you have somewhat of a following. Make it more of a charter experience, throw in some food and sailing lessons, and get help and company on passage and earning some bucks for that nice month on the hook where you don't need no stinkin help

[pbmaise]

I would seriously consider ASEAN countries to recruit a paid Filipino who has an Seaman's Identity Book (SIB). This person would likely cost only about $10 USD per day plus transportation on carrier like Air Asia and meals.

Downside:

You would be limited to about 15 days in each ASEAN country.

Finding and recruiting a paying crew is a major undertaking. I have had luck at findacrew.net but must pay like $75 USD.

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by pbmaise

I would seriously consider ASEAN countries to recruit a paid Filipino who has an Seaman's Identity Book (SIB). This person would likely cost only about $10 USD per day plus transportation on carrier like Air Asia and meals.

Downside:

You would be limited to about 15 days in each ASEAN country.

Finding and recruiting a paying crew is a major undertaking. I have had luck at findacrew.net but must pay like $75 USD.

As others have said, the terms of crew arrangements vary from one extreme to the other, and there are plenty of people available for whatever, provided you are sailing in interesting places and have a nice boat. But if I were you, I would start with one paid crewman with emphasis on engineering/mechanical skills. Sailing ability optional; just being able to keep a watch is already the most important thing. You should get to know a number of candidates and choose one you will enjoy spending a lot of time with. This kind of arrangement will likely cost you less than $1000/mo. and is worth its weight in gold as it will unload you from a ton of work which distracts you from the pleasures of cruising. Running a large cruising boat is quite a work load, with navigation, passage planning, provisioning, fixing and maintaining stuff, cleaning stuff, dealing with minor logistical issues, sourcing parts and tools and materials -- and we didn't even get to sailing the boat. It's more than a full time job for one person and you won't have time to do anything else if you don't have help, and a good paid crewman is worth his weight in gold for this.

An Asian seaman is a good idea, but you might find an Australian or Kiwi or even an English chap who would love to bum around the Pacific with you and work on your boat for room & board and a modest salary.

Paid crew is a different type of relationship from volunteer crew -- paid crew expect to muck in and do all the stuff you would prefer not to do; you can't expect volunteer crew, on the contrary, to do things you're not doing yourself, and while volunteer crew can be great (and as much as anything, just for the fun of doing it in company -- and some of my past volunteer crew have turned into life-long friends), they don't reduce your work load all that much. Sometimes you feel like a free charter captain . I had a paid crewman on my boat the first few years and look forward to having one again when my budget allows.

[daletournier]

My experience is there are plenty of people that want to go crewing, they chip in for food and cover their own expenses (although mostly I buy the food).

I've never paided crew, they are getting a wonderful opportunity to experience cruising on your expensive boat, no responsibility and little cost.

All that have crewed with me have been people I met a long the way but many use findacrew. There's good ones and bad ones.

Sorry about your partner problems. If your a decent guy and easy to get along with there's plenty of women that want to go cruising, most don't want to do it forever but there's many that want to experience this life style for a while .

You have a kick ass boat, mix that with a positive outlook and you won't be alone.

Good luck.

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by daletournier

. . . I've never paid crew, they are getting a wonderful opportunity to experience cruising on your expensive boat, no responsibility and little cost.. .

The key phrase being "no responsibility", which is what leaves the skipper/owner with all of it on his shoulders, even if the volunteer crew do chip in from time to time with some or another kind of work. That's where paid crew are completely different.

I've had dozens of volunteer crew over the years, and have had some great experiences and have made some life-long friends who started out as sight unseen strangers from a crew wanted ad. And by the way, never once had any really bad experience, although skills and abilities varied hugely. But I am more and more of the mind that it's better if someone is paying the other -- if there's no serious participation in the responsibility, then there should be some significant participation in the costs, and vice versa, unless it's a just a lark -- come along for the ride -- one passage or a short cruise you would be doing anyway and were prepared to do by yourself.

[Lepke]

I'm 70 and solo a lot. Powerboat, divorced 30+ years, but who's counting? I've been on the water most of my life. Because I'm a vet and America seems to be constantly at war, there are a lot of vets and vet organizations. When my circle of friends doesn't include people that want to go where I'm going when I'm going, I usually post something on one of the vet sites and am inundated with seekers. You probably have similar sources, including sites like this.
I usually try for people that can cook or stand a wheel watch. Sometimes a couple or couples. It is good practice to do a short cruise first to see how everyone gets along. A few times I hired a house keeper/cook that could at least handle lines when docking. Women alone are a lot of trouble.
The deal I usually have for passengers is I supply normal American food, coffee, tea and drinking water. If they want soda pop, special foods, yuppie food, that's their expense. Booze is a personal expense except for my friends. Sometimes for new friends. Everybody contributes to the running of the boat. Cook, clean, on board laundry, watches, maintenance, whatever.
Start think of your rules. Have them in advance of a crew so they will know the rules before boarding. If you have rules, enforce them or you have no rules. Rules make everything go better. Also talk to your insurance company. If you pay someone, know your responsibilities for taxes, etc. If you're crossing borders, make sure crew has proper papers. Many border crossings are easy, but some are run by former Gestapo agents. Be prepared.

[Oceanride007]

I intended sailing with a buddy, but he passed. I got the boat anyway as it was my life dream.
My decision to go solo as there is/was lots of work to do, already living space is compromised, in the mess. To clean up often, to provide entertainment, provide transport ashore, provide more time in Marina. I don't believe other than company, there would have been any benefit. I am multi skilled, I prefer to Engineer things my way, anyway.
It is feasible to day sail, anchor out, but you need a decent anchor and maybe 2 outboards, one smaller to drag the boat up the beach and the other more powerful, as a contingency and long commutes.
I like the idea of a payed person to assist. But unfortunately good handy economic people, not likely to have language skills, thou think chance is better in Philippines.

[Compass790]

Some good advice here. I have crewed on a few boats & as they say there are many & varied arrangements, depending on your expectations. Personally I started out paying shared costs to then getting airfares paid for & food & alcohol supplied to getting paid as crew. The skippers most value crew who dont cause them any trouble & get on with their wives & other crew if the basic skills are assumed. Lepkes' point about setting out the rules is a very good one so that there isn't misunderstandings. May be difficult for you to find a long term crew that is unpaid but certainly not impossible since your cat sounds like a very nice build. I think you would have no trouble getting short termers who may develop into long termers depending on compatibility.
All the best for your launching & adventures.

[Oceanride007]

Excuse the thread drift, but am interested in knowing if Vietnam welcomes Cruising Yachts?. Are there any Marinas, think Ha Long would be a wonderful place to cruise. Any knowledge of this please. Thanks

[windycityxx]

Hey I may most likely be in Asia in a month or so, so please reach out if interested in talking.

Originally Posted by hellsfire

Hi All
Well where to start. I as many I would imagine have just gone through a life changing time where my long time partner and myself have finished. Maybe it was to much for her and the grand adventure as it has been stressful.

We had been planning to spend many years sailing around the world and in the last 2 years have been spent building our ideal boat.

its a 17m Schonning G-Force performance catamaran. its been a huge struggle both financially and mentally to get this far so I can understand my ex partners feelings.

The Cat has been built to be able to single hand but preferable with two so therein lies my problem.

I was never planning to have a crew on board but now it seems I will have to consider this so would like to gather some advice on how best to approach this.

On the cat first then I will get to the questions.

The cat will be complete in Jun-July and is being built in a ship yard close to where I am now living in Vietnam. I monitor the build weekly and the work being done is as good as you would get anywhere else so I a happy with this and it has give me great a opportunity to customize many areas of the cat for extras safety and comfort. She is a Foam,s-glass and carbon fiber when needed epoxy build. Fully loaded we expect her to be less that 12 tons.

I have and are kitting her out for circumnavigation and we have satellite communications, life rafts, AIS etc. She has 2.8kw of solar and all systems have built in redundancy. She is fully air-conditioned as well and can sleep up 8 with 2 king size beds, one queen and 2 singles. She is like a owners version when one hull setup for the myself and the other was for friends and visitors (maybe now crew) she has everything in the way of convenience you may expect on a production cat but of a higher quality in most cases. She has a carbon rotating mast and a large sail area so she should be able to do 25+ knots but that's not what I want to do. My idea and plan was to build her as fast comfortable cruiser as i want to sail all the world over the coming years.

To be clear this boat when finished it 100% paid for so my traveling expenses can be keep down going forward. I also plan to be on the pick allot and visit more remote areas when possible as I do prefer quiet places.

Because I will be be leaving from south east asia I plan to sail the "wrong" way to start with going out to then Philippines then east to Micronesia etc and keep island hopping till I get far enough across when I can drop back down and catch the trade winds.
The main reason for this is to build experience on the new vessel before taking on the Indian Ocean.

I am actually originally from New Zealand so will pop back there and sail some of my favorite places there to.

So to my questions.
How does one go about getting crews and would it be normal to have crews for just short legs or are people interested in longer journeys? changing crew all the time seems like a hassle when I am trying to relax

What is the boat and captain expected to provide for a crew?

Are there places on the net, forums etc where you can get to know like mined people who maybe want to share such a adventure?

Really I am just a bit unsure how and if a crew would fit into my style of long term cruising so I would love some advice on how others in a similar situation have fared and managed to keep their dream alive?

Postive comments would be very much appreciated
Regards Hamish

[asistephen]

There’s a guy on utube Iv followed for a couple of years now he recently lost his cat to the reefs in Australia but originally his wife and kids similar story to yourself you should see how he got over this his channel is Sailing into freedom ( enjoy ��