Pilot Fees

[CaptAudacity]

We have been hunting for a while for the right vessel for a passion circumnavigation scientific research documentary project. Now that we have found it and are about to put our offer in tomorrow. A friend brought up the vessel GT and told us anything over 49.9GT will have to pay pilot fees at most ports. I have been hunting for hours but see no reference to pilot fees in most cou tries for vessels under 2,000GT. However said friend is generally very knowledgeable, but right now he is racing and we can't seem to raise him again. Can anyone here advise if a 75GT ketch is really likely to have to pay pilot fees? If so how much are they generally?

[Jammer]

1) Rules vary from port to port.
2) Not just tonnage, but the flag of the vessel, and whether it has been issued a certificate of inspection, affect the rules.
3) The base rate on Lake Superior is $430 an hour

[CaptAudacity]

For a privately registered vessel?

Maybe being Canadian I have never had to pay a pilot fee anywhere on the Great Lakes or in Europe. I just looked up the GT on my old cutter and it was listed as 49GT, which seems quite conservative. I would have said mid 60s would have been more appropriate. Maybe it was fudged a little...

This vessel is going to be Cayman flagged.

[boatpoker]

Originally Posted by CaptAudacity

For a privately registered vessel?

Maybe being Canadian I have never had to pay a pilot fee anywhere on the Great Lakes or in Europe. I just looked up the GT on my old cutter and it was listed as 49GT, which seems quite conservative. I would have said mid 60s would have been more appropriate. Maybe it was fudged a little...

This vessel is going to be Cayman flagged.

You do realize that 49GT has absolutely nothing to do with the weight of the vessel and involves some complicated measuring of the interior volume of the vessel.

[CaptAudacity]

Yes. My old vessel was 69ft, with 18ft beam and a pilothouse... So 49GT seems rather conservative when compared to other vessels of her size.

[boatpoker]

Originally Posted by CaptAudacity

Yes. My old vessel was 69ft, with 18ft beam and a pilothouse... So 49GT seems rather conservative when compared to other vessels of her size.

Don't forget to compare volume of above main deck structures and distance between inner stem and rudder post, these also make significant differences.

[CaptAudacity]

The last I heard that vessel was in New Zealand being used as a dive boat. And maybe 49GT was correct however having spent the past year hunting for a new vessel, I would have thought she was larger.