Orisail…I commend you for trying to document a volunteer crew agreement.
Chiefy is over-reacting (probably because of some bad experiences working on boats) but it IS wise to lay out the ground rules very clearly
before you leave, even for volunteer crew.
Previously when I was a well paid
delivery skipper, I had many crew who would volunteer to come along for the experience and to hone their navigational skills (pre sat nav-loran days).
Sailing conditions was something I made very clear in writing, but more in point form, less wishy / washy about good intent etc etc… I simply identified the key elements to protect the Owner’s investment and list what I expected.
The reality is that the Owner/Captain makes the rules and the crew can either join them or not, but any Owner who does not prepare for delivery crew problems is a fool as is any Captain who becomes a Bligh
Repatriation costs are legally the boat owner’s responsibility
once you arrive, so very simply how I handled that was:
Prior to departure, every volunteer crew member paid me an amount equaling a one way fare back home from their farthest planned
destination.
If they didn’t pay - they did not join, simple as that….!
Those that joined, I held on to the
money, I held on to their passports.
Never had any issues and if a crew had to leave early for whatever reason, I bought them a ticket, accompanied them to the
airport, saw them off and always returned any leftover funds.
For Crew who did an outstanding job on the delivery, I usually convinced the owner to spring for their ticket home and gave them a full refund and a great recommendation.
For professional crew, there are specific rules of conduct and definitions of misconduct.
My crew agreement in that application is very formal, reasonable and definitely not negotiable.