Free: Boat Sitting over Winter

[wilson eavis]

Surely to God there's someone out there with a boat, power or sail, that's looking for a "boat sitter" after the holidaze. Zero cost to you and maybe I can even throw some money into your cruising kitty.
I'm here, NOT enjoying another Canadian winter, and really need to have some sunshine and hot temperatures, so if you plan to vacate your boat whether to return home, attend a conference, etc. for a week or more, give me a shout, we can chat.
I'd respect your boat as if it were my own, or better. No smoking, no parties! References can easily be provided.
I have plenty of experience with all sorts of boats and have delivered both power and sail extensively. Now I need to escape this cold Canadian winter, even if for a short while. Heck, maybe even crew with you to almost anywhere; Trans Atlantic? I'm in. Tons of offshore experience.
Interested?

[Mike OReilly]

Following... I've done a lot of house sitting (I'm on a house-sit right now), but have never found any opportunities to do boat sitting. This topic has come up here a few times.

Hope you find one.

[Iron E]

I've seen the idea tossed around in communities and it's an interesting concept.

Aside from:
Larger boats with dedicated crews
Marinas that don't allow live-aboard
Slip neighbors that keep an eye on your boat
Friends and/or family that will gladly spend time on your boat or looking after your boat

The prospects become extremely niche... still, extremely niche is doable.

Also, I feel it might be relevant to post here, in the "Crew" section:

https://www.cruisersforum.com/forums...ixid=Available

[Chotu]

I am still a fan of this also. I would enjoy having someone able to boat sit if i have to go ashore a bit

[dlj]

Just a perspective, I'd suggest changing your title. The one word "Help" would not have brought me to your post if I was looking for a boat sitter.

dj

[GordMay]

You might join in this discussion: “LEAVING BOAT”
➥ https://www.cruisersforum.com/forums...at-282111.html

[5BTM]

Sorry to be blunt but unless a person can post a bond equivalent to the value of the boat, they are not setting a foot on it.

[Mike OReilly]

Originally Posted by 5BTM

Sorry to be blunt but unless a person can post a bond equivalent to the value of the boat, they are not setting a foot on it.

This attitude is not prevalent in the house-sitting world.

[JPA Cate]

Boy, Mike, you got that right.

We had a house sit in a eco-friendly house this last winter. It was in an amazingly good location, beautiful views, super wild life, and it was a passive solar heated house. Not perfect in winter, of course, we actually brought in a little electric heater for the eating/everything else area, because Jim and I feel cold at 13 deg. C., but ultimately worked well for us. And the jobs associated had to do with possum and pademelon control, and caretaking the best fed chooks in Tasmania; and we coped. But a deposit? None asked for and none would have been paid. We have alternatives.

Ann

[5BTM]

Originally Posted by Mike OReilly

This attitude is not prevalent in the house-sitting world.

To continue with the blunt theme, I don't care about the house sitting world.

He is not offering to sit a house, but a movable object.

[JPA Cate]

Hi, 5BTM,

Quite right, and I have yet to hear of a good boat sit, either. But the question is not unreasonable.

The problem that I see as a boat co-owner is that I am not keen to have a stranger on my boat, period.

Plus I would not want someone unfamiliar with boats on mine when I was not around. Land based folks just don't understand boats, nor living aboard, unless they are sailors, too, and then maybe they might be okay, and maybe not.

They don't even know what to worry about.

Not on, for me.

Ann

PS. Yes, boats are moveable. That is a whole 'nother issue. Trust would be imperative, and how can someone who loves his/her boat take that risk: the risk of the disappearing boat?!

**************

It is a big ask.

Ann

[dlj]

I've been watching this thread with interest. I'm in the camp where I would never entertain allowing someone to stay on my boat without me being present. Ann has clarified for me the reasons which I did not have clearly in mind. My fundamental problem would be no one understands my boat as I do. I had a marine contractor working on my boat some time back and they completely depleted my batteries as they plugged in a sander into my onboard 110V AC plug without realizing the boat was not connected to shore power. It didn't do anything bad, but it's just an indicator of how people don't understand boats and their systems.

If it were someone I've sailed with and had complete confidence in their knowledge of my specific boat, I would consider it. For anyone else, it's not even remotely on the table. Not even thinking about the possibility of them sailing off with my boat it is a complete no-go.

dj

[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.

[dlj]

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.

My annual dock costs are about $2k per year. I have neighbors on all sides and we all watch each other's boats. We let each other know if we are traveling and can't be around. We also have permission to check/add/change dock lines if needed. I have a very cool marina. In my opinion...

Can't speak to your financial state, but mine it makes absolutely no sense to add in the added risk of someone screwing up my boat. And yes, I certainly think they can do well over my yearly marina costs in damage. Not to mention the time and anxiety related to fixing whatever they broke...

dj

[mvweebles]

When I lived aboard, I was away for a few months. Time period coincided with work another liveaboard couple was doing in their boat and they asked if they could liveaboard my boat while theirs was under construction. Worked out fine - better than having my boat vacant and unattended.

AirBNB has many boats listed. I would think this is an entirely possible arrangement, though not for everyone. Key would be having someone who was very familiar with boats and living aboard.