Free: Boat Sitting over Winter

[Mike OReilly]

Originally Posted by wholybee

When someone rents a house, it comes there is the rent, a security deposit, the landlords policy, and the renters policy. I have only heard of "housesitting" in the case of a close friend or relative, and they do go sideways.

There's a vibrant house-sitting world WB. It's not hard to find. I've been living like this for many years. My partner and I spend about 1/2 the year on our boat, and the other half visiting other places via house-sitting.

It is like having a friend, or relative, look after a house, or boat. By the time we take on a house-sitting gig, we have become friends with the owners. As I said, it's all about trust. Sitting, for either house or boat, is different from a rental situation. It's an example of the true "sharing economy," unlike the faux stuff like AirBnB and Uber. Fundamentally, it's an exchange of services. That's why the demand for a financial bond is rare and pretty foreign.

I disagree that boat sitting would necessarily be any more challenging or complex than house sitting. Obviously, there is a range of challenges. Some houses are simple, as are some boats. But land homes can be as complex and challenging as any boat situation. When you're managing a cattle ranch, horse farm, or a rural/remote home, there can be complex demands. This is why people need skilled and trusted sitters.

It would be no different with a boat.

[Chotu]

Originally Posted by dlj

I keep my boat on the Chesapeake Bay. Not far from Annapolis. But I'm currently running the trade winds from Europe into the Caribbean. Hope to be back to the Chesapeake first quarter of next year.

Current position:

14 42.615 N
054 30.355 W

dj

ok. i was going off warwick, ny. does not apply. ha ha. sounds like you’re having fun!

[shimari]

Originally Posted by Chotu

Interesting thread. i’m with Mike. I’d want a boat sit. Imagine this:

What does your dock cost for a season?

Now move your boat to anchor and get a boat sitter. So what if they destroy your batteries?. You’re still way ahead not having to pay the marina.

Financially, it makes way more sense.

....

Depends on what batteries you have!

Merry Christmas!

[Chotu]

Why do these boat sitting threads remind me so much of composting head threads?

The teams even seem to form along the same lines. ha ha ha.

[Chotu]

Originally Posted by shimari

Depends on what batteries you have!

Merry Christmas!

No one has $26,000. batteries. no one. That’s what the marinas costs here per year.

[BlueH2Obound]

Originally Posted by Chotu

Interesting thread. i’m with Mike. I’d want a boat sit. Imagine this:

What does your dock cost for a season?

Now move your boat to anchor and get a boat sitter. So what if they destroy your batteries?. You’re still way ahead not having to pay the marina.

Financially, it makes way more sense.

Also imagine hauling the boat out to store it or storing it at a dock while you are away for 6 months. The damage i see unattended boats take and the damage my own has taken unattended is catastrophic. With a responsible boat sitter, you can avoid all that damage and head off any problems as they happen, before the spiral into serious damage.

It’s such a win for the boat owner, financially.

Short of them burning the boat down with a galley fire, there isn’t much they could do to put you behind financially.

Boats die when left unattended. in warm climates they often get infested with insects and vermin too. A crew aboard keeps things working (like heads, water pumps, generators, engines, etc) and allows you to know immediately if something starts going wrong before you lose the boat or it spirals into disaster.

of course i’m assuming it’s boat sitting and not a free bareboat charter. that’s out of the question. the boat doesn’t move

A nice daily and weekly checklist (instead of the pet sitting chores at house sits) would go a long way toward making it a success.

daily: battery state of charge, etc

weekly: bilge, walk around the deck.

with a good list and nominal conditions for them to look for specified, it might even be more than i do for my own boat. i don’t purposefully do a deck walk around once a week or look in bilges.

Chotu, didn't you post a few years ago, complaining how a boat sitter did multi-thousands of damage to your boat?!?

[dlj]

Originally Posted by Chotu

ok. i was going off warwick, ny. does not apply. ha ha. sounds like you’re having fun!

Warwick, NY is where my terrestrial base is. I'm about a 4 hour drive from there to where i keep my boat, when I'm land based....

Indeed, having a major blast! I should be arriving to St. Lucia in a couple days. Never been in the Caribbean before. This will be my first time. Very much looking forward to seeing it first hand.

dj

[Chotu]

Originally Posted by BlueH2Obound

Chotu, didn't you post a few years ago, complaining how a boat sitter did multi-thousands of damage to your boat?!?

Nope. that was hired help. multiple times.

i’m willing to have boat sitters, but not willing to hire anyone to do work on the boat.

[Iron E]

Originally Posted by Chotu

What, exactly, is the difference and how does it differ from all the airbnb boats, RVs, bareboat charters and other similar situations?

Call your insurance company and ask them.

[Chotu]

Originally Posted by Iron E

Call your insurance company and ask them.

that’s a lousy response to something taken out of context.


I was having a conversation with someone who actually did answer that question with relevant, insightful information.

you snipped a little piece of our conversation out to put a wiseguy answer in? really?

[Iron E]

Originally Posted by Chotu

that’s a lousy response to something taken out of context.


I was having a conversation with someone who actually did answer that question with relevant, insightful information.

you snipped a little piece of our conversation out to put a wiseguy answer in? really?

What snip? I actually quoted your entire question.

I simply meant calling your insurance company would give you a good idea of the difference in insurance costs (possibly astronomical) for the liability of your boat and other's well-being.

I purchase commercial and special insurance and writers regularly, and it's a completely different animal.
No need to take it personally... or "wiseguy"

[Mike OReilly]

I wonder if some of the negativism from a few people here is based on different local realities. Sitting, in all its forms, is based on trust. It's not based on money, or insurance, or liability. All these things are considerations, but foundationally, it a trust relationship.

There are places in the world where people trust each other more, or less. I suspect in low-trust areas, sitting of all sorts would be a harder sell.

Here's one analysis showing national levels of societal trust.

https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/s...rust-attitudes

[dlj]

Originally Posted by Mike OReilly

I wonder if some of the negativism from a few people here is based on different local realities. Sitting, in all its forms, is based on trust. It's not based on money, or insurance, or liability. All these things are considerations, but foundationally, it a trust relationship.

There are places in the world where people trust each other more, or less. I suspect in low-trust areas, sitting of all sorts would be a harder sell.

Here's one analysis showing national levels of societal trust.

https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/s...rust-attitudes

Interesting analysis. I'm looking inwardly to see if in fact I agree that with me it's a trust issue. In a sense I guess it is, but more I seem to feel is that I have little to no need for it. So why would I do it? My boat is not simple, most people don't understand boats, and it's very easy to screw things up on my boat. So I feel it's more of a needed or not needed.And for me, it's not needed.

dj

[Mike OReilly]

Originally Posted by dlj

Interesting analysis. I'm looking inwardly to see if in fact I agree that with me it's a trust issue. In a sense I guess it is, but more I seem to feel is that I have little to no need for it. So why would I do it? My boat is not simple, most people don't understand boats, and it's very easy to screw things up on my boat. So I feel it's more of a needed or not needed.And for me, it's not needed.

dj

Fully agree DJ (with your first point, not the complexity issue). The first criteria has to be need. If you don't need a sitter, then the risk involved is never going to be worth it.

Like I said, my sense is that boat sitting is rare exactly because the need is also rare. Most people who leave their boats for long periods have found other solutions to the problem. No need for a sitter.

It could also be that the concept is so new, that few boat owners consider it as an option. This makes our discussion here somewhat valuable. It could open people to the idea.

[Iron E]

Originally Posted by Mike OReilly

I wonder if some of the negativism from a few people here is based on different local realities. Sitting, in all its forms, is based on trust. It's not based on money, or insurance, or liability. All these things are considerations, but foundationally, it a trust relationship.

There are places in the world where people trust each other more, or less. I suspect in low-trust areas, sitting of all sorts would be a harder sell.

Here's one analysis showing national levels of societal trust.

https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/s...rust-attitudes

My decision is entirely based on liability. The same reason I wouldn't have someone house sit my home that has a swimming pool.

As far as your link goes, life has taught me that people are generally good. I'm a firm believer that if I were to drop my wallet, I would get it back.