Hourly Rate For Captain

[unbusted67]

Hey Guys I am just curious what is considered a normal hourly rate for a captain with a 50/100 ton license operating a vessel approximately 10 to 20 tons? I have been poking around on craigslist for fun but haven't really found any concrete evidence of what people are willing to pay. I am curious about what people are/have been paid and not so curious in what people are "willing" to work for.

[CSY Man]

operating a vessel approximately 10 to 20 tons?

That would be a 30' something sailboat.
Not much demand for proffesional Captains at that level but $150.00 per day should be in the ball park.

As a rough guide, Captains have been paid around $1,000.00 per foot per year: In other words if you operate a 75' yacht full time you should get at least $75,000.00 per year plus benefits.

Entry level positions here in Fort Lauderdale would be the Water Taxi drivers Water Taxi

A few years ago the starting pay was $11.00 per hour plus tips.
Probably better now and more for the larger boats they are operating.

[unbusted67]

Excuse me CSY man, but a water taxi Captain is not entry level, it is an extremely esteemed position, not unlike that of Mayor or Dr.

That is what I do. The pay is much better than $11/hour. Although I would find it a bit creepy to say exactly what I get paid. I am curious if there are any other water taxi Caps out there on CF. Anyone driving small cruise or picnic boat?

The sailboat captain thing doesn't seem to really apply because most of them get per diems. I guess that is a testament to just how slow sailboats are. Ha ha.

[CSY Man]

Excuse me CSY man, but a water taxi Captain is not entry level, it is an extremely esteemed position, not unlike that of Mayor or Dr.

I know, Admiral of the Ocean Sea..

That is what I do. The pay is much better than $11/hour.

In Fort Lauderdale....?

[AnchorageGuy]

My charge for pretty much any boat is $250.00 per day for myself and $150.00 for each crew member needed, plus expenses. That is fairly standard from other Captains I know. Chuck

[CSY Man]

My charge for pretty much any boat is $250.00 per day for myself and $150.00 for each crew member needed, plus expenses. That is fairly standard from other Captains I know. Chuck

Sounds good, where are you operating?

[AnchorageGuy]

Originally Posted by CSY Man

Sounds good, where are you operating?

CSY, We are all over the Eastern and Gulf Coast of the US but this does not really make any difference. Currently in Fort Myers Beach Florida. That is what we charge no matter where we are. Chuck

[David M]

Ultimately let supply and demand determine the price. A days wage for a college educated person would be fair.

[capngeo]

Holy smokes! I stopped doing deliveries about 10 years back.... I was getting $300/day + expenses back then, and had no shortage of work! I was getting $250/day driving tugs/ supply boats in the late 80's. My buddy is a parasail capt in Key West; with tips he is at about $500/day

[David M]

I called a sailing club near where I live because I thought it might be fun to teach and to do skippered charters on the weekends. They were offering $15/hour. This is what I was getting paid while attending the maritime academy back in the 80's to do the same thing on the weekends. It wasn't worth my time...too bad. I guess other people are willing to teach sailing and do skippered charters for that ridiculously low of a price.

[Palarran]

The going rate in St. Martin is $150/day - cash of course.

If you do a CF google search you'll find this question asked many times. There are a lot of people who quote a lot per day and say their busy. Good for them. But in the islands you can hire a guy all day long for $150 and some for $100. This is for sailing the boat only though. They don't clean up or do anything mechanical wise unless it's required to keep moving.

[Auspicious]

I compete with folks charging 150 - 500 / day. I'm up toward (but not at) the top of that range. You really do get what you pay for. The guys who are staying busy and making more money keep the boat moving, fix things that break, and don't run up marina and restaurant bills. We know where the crossover point is when it's cheaper to the client to motor than to sail slow. When the breeze is up we keep the boat moving at speed under sail. The client get's his boat back in better shape than we took it.

[atoll]

thats about what i charge,but slowly am coming to the realization that i should charge a LOT more if the owner is on board..........

[sailronin]

My company sometimes arranges delivery captains for large yachts, they are getting $400-500 per day with an MCA Y4 (3000 ton) certificate on 50-62 meter yachts.
Anyone getting $500/day with a 100 ton on a Parasail boat and gets to go home at night has struck a goldmine!

[Captv]

in south florida, the market is full with 25-100 GRT licenses. here in the Keys if you get a job itss about 50-75 per trip plus tip. 12-15 bucks an hour for small launch or water taxi is about right for an over saturted market. everyone is a captain. frankly I find it rediculous and a gross degradation of the license on an actual professional level. BTW, if you have a real lic. and hoping for a part time job to kill time, you will be over looked. The excuse...? you will leave the job if and when you find a real job. I kind of find tht to be a joke, because it doesnt matter what work you do, if you have a better opportunity you will take it. Basically the owners of the snorkle or fishing boats looking for people with 6 pack or 25-50 tonne lic who are pretty much stuck there. Dive boats want min. Dive masters so they can save money. Oh and you suppose to maintain the boat, be able to fix everything for thee same low pay. The sad thing is, there are many jack of all trade master of nones out there who will jump on these jobs, and the result is poorly maintained patched up boats and the business owner makes decisions from behind the desk than the boat driver. any decent operation understand, that the capt. is responsable for the safe op of the vessel, not to maintain it. Havin said that, if you are the only one, and a "deck hand" than it is obvious that you'd make some sort of a repair to get back to port if possible but after that your mechanic/electrician hat comes off. What I see here in the Keys, these type of businesses are ran on a shoe string, or if it is cuccessful, then the owners want to milk everything out of it. In all fairness, maintaining a business in a rediculously expensive location like the FL Keys is not easy, especially when you competing for the fickle tourist dollars in saturated market.