What Rules Do You Have for Guests Aboard ?

[hummingway]

Originally Posted by limejucer

It occurs to me that guest and crew are used for the same thing casualy.
Yes an elderly visitor on a day trip would have a short rule set. But on any trip more that a day all persons on board are resources for the skipper. Anyone can create a disaster by fiddling or save one by asking the right question. Clear boundarys make obligations and rights simple then we can enjoy ourselves when it is safe

Yes, I think that's the issue. A guest could be said to be someone you don't ask to do anything but enjoy the ride but if you are going any distance most folks coming on board will need to crew and even if they are your "guest" the rules need to pretty extensive sometimes.

[NewMoon]

We almost never have more than one guest at a time on our small boat, and almost always it is someone we know well. Here's the one-pager we ask our guests to understand before they join us.


Introduction for Guests On Board


1. BE CAREFUL – YOU COULD GET HURT

Know where to find (and how to use) Safety Gear:
PFD’s
Throw Cushions
Throw Rope
Fire Extinguishers
First Aid Kit

Move SLOWLY around the boat. Use the handholds.

Before you step up onto anything, look first, and get a good handhold.

If you sit on the gunwale, hold onto something solid. Don’t sit on the transom door.

Don’t put any part of yourself between boat and dock.

Don’t leave the cabin door open while we’re underway, unless it’s securely latched open.
It’s heavy, and it can slam closed very suddenly. Ask for help if you need it.

At Lake Powell: protect yourself from strong sun and dehydration, with sunglasses, sunscreen and long clothing. Drink plenty of water.

FOR YOUNGER BOATERS

Ask for help if you want something from the refrigerator.
Ask for help if you want to open or close the transom door.
Don’t step up on the gunwales, go up on top, out to the bow, or out onto the swim step,
without wearing your PFD and getting permission.


2. RESPECT the BOAT and EQUIPMENT

ONLY non-marking shoes are OK on board.
Keep your shoes clean, so you can help keep the deck clean.
Keep seats and bedding clean. Keep shoes (or anything else dirty) off.

Be especially careful not to spill stuff. If a spill does happen, ask for cleanup help.

Use the toilet exactly as instructed – make sure you know how, or get help.

Put things away when you’re done with them.
Don’t leave stuff out loose – it tends to go flying.

Don’t push any buttons or flip any switches without permission.

Please don’t waste fresh water – turn it on VERY slowly.
Be careful with the hot water – it’s really hot.


3. RESPECT the ENVIRONMENT and OTHER BOATERS

No garbage overboard or on shore. Put garbage into the right containers on board.

No loud noises early in the morning or late in the evening.


4. LEARN HOW TO CALL FOR HELP IN AN EMERGENCY

Find out how to make a call on the radio, and how to tell the boat’s position.

[Palarran]

We have families join us when we sail so there are 4 to 6 extra friends in addition to our 4. The number 1 concept I explain when we invite a family is that this is an ADVENTURE not a VACATION. Adventures require a certain amount of work. If there are 16 waking hours per day, 3 of them will be involving some sort of work. Those three hours can involve cleaning the boat, cooking, dishes, sailing duties, etc. The other 13 are to be enjoyed to the maximum. Also, your parents can't do your 3 hours for you.

The second most important thing to understand is that with 10 people on board, if you don't put everything away - right away, the boat looks like crap and my personal enjoyment goes way down. Dishes are not done until the dish drainer is put away. Put your dirty clothes back into your duffle bag or in the wash pile. Put the snorkel equipment back in the locker right when we are done, it will dry there. Wet towels go on lifelines, not on the floor or seats.

Of course, safety is the most important to review. I'm not nearly as worried about man overboard as I am about someone winding a winch the wrong way then releasing the clutch (or not even winding it). Most of my guests can't tie a bowline and have absolutely no idea how to navigate or sail. But I like that as they are most willing to learn and that makes the day go by. Oh yah, never run on the decks also and if you jump on my trap's you walk the plank.

[S/V Alchemy]

Originally Posted by zeehag

i do not have GUESTS on board. anyone other than myself on board is crew. if they CAN NOT follow instruction, they need to be elsewhere.
i do not need to have my boat destroyed by incoming disrespectful humans

Jeez, Zee, I may be a grammar and spelling Nazi compared to your...uh..."freeform" approach, but we are as one on this point.

Sailing is a privilege. It takes effort and labour to get a boat and more effort and labour to maintain it in a safe and comfortable manner.

Getting to ride in a real sailboat, and not some chartered booze cruise where the gaff rigged lowers are for show and not go, is an even greater privilege. I would host any random fool in a hot tub, but if you are invited aboard, you are invited into my world, and I would hope you would respect that world as you would your own.

The wine and crackers are for the dock (and the crackers are confined to the cockpit). When we go sailing for an afternoon, I do expect some participation. I do not expect trained crew...I will train as necessary to work the boat.

Having said that, I do have an informal internal rule: If two people come aboard, one has to at the very least have sailed as a kid. That way, I know at the very least one person other than myself can tell port from starboard. The rest of the instructions are in the front of the logbook.

[S/V Alchemy]

Originally Posted by Vyndance II

Zee, you should probably go back and read the question in the first post. Guests are just that. Crew are people you expect to work for something in return. There was never any mention of crew.

Then, no. I never have guests aboard. I never have spectators during lovemaking, either. I'm just that way, I guess.

[zeehag]

alchemy--omg we actually see eye to eye on something. the world truly is coming to an end..
crew are those who pitch in with expenses and work to get to a geographic goal. could be 1500 miles, could be 3000miles. rarely is crew for pay or anything but the pleasure of adventure on a long passage and the thrill of helping get the boat to the goal. it is also a lot of work. but crew is also a guest in my home and should respect it accordingly.
share the sail means share the sail.