Is it Feasible to Make Money Cleaning Hulls in the Caribbean ?

[off-the-grid]

Originally Posted by fishwife

It's always been my experience that the cruising crowd help each other out when things break. If things that are fixable without a full workshop, I can always find someone to help and when it comes to electronics, I'm the one doing the fixing. Then you have a couple of beers or you get invited over for a meal, payment in money doesn't come into the equation. As has been said, we're a stingy lot

Well...in that case. Free hull scrubbing for anyone who can get my propane working.

Free cleaning for anyone who feels like epoxying and gel coating a bunch of small holes where I remove the snaps from the old cockpit enclosure.

3 freebies for anyone who can weld one of my rails and some cross supports for my davits.

[off-the-grid]

Originally Posted by fishwife

When I think about it, we're not really stingy, we'll always share those basic foodstuffs, rum and beer.

Ok, I'll throw in some rum and a beer.

[Maddog]

I'm paying about a $1/ft in Los Angeles. Once a month, average rate.

[fishwife]

Originally Posted by grunzster

Well...in that case. Free hull scrubbing for anyone who can get my propane working.

Free cleaning for anyone who feels like epoxying and gel coating a bunch of small holes where I remove the snaps from the old cockpit enclosure.

3 freebies for anyone who can weld one of my rails and some cross supports for my davits.

They sound like good deals If I run into you around the Brazilian or Argentinian coast, you scrub my 60 footer, I'll do your chores , just don't forget the beer

[denverd0n]

Originally Posted by grunzster

I always kind of assumed other countries weren't as strict as we are here.

In fact, in many ways, other countries are MORE strict than the U.S. It really depends.

What's more, there is a very real possibility that, not only will you be deported, but you may be designated persona non grata. I know a fellow who did the stereotypical backpacking through Europe thing 30 years ago, one summer during college. He ran out of money. He found a job in London. He got caught. He got deported.

Fast forward to the present. He is a respectable, highly experienced manager at a Fortune 500 company. A year or so ago, his company decided to send him to London for a couple of weeks to work with their office there. Landed at Heathrow. Went to customs. Was told he would not be allowed to enter the country. He had forgotten all about being deported oh so long ago, but British customs had not forgotten!

I'm sure you can imagine the embarrassment of having to fly home and explain to his boss what happened. Needless to say, this did not help his prospects for promotion.

I hate to burst anyone's bubble, but the opportunities for working abroad, while cruising, are pretty limited, the rules differ from country to country, and the consequences of getting caught vary from a slap on the wrist to far more serious than you want to contemplate. Don't become an "illegal alien" without researching it carefully and thinking it through thoroughly.

[Therapy]

Originally Posted by Ex-Calif

But make no mistake they are under the radar and if in a foreign country they are illegally working aliens. You admitted as much in your post.


.

In the US we know a lot about that.

They are teaching us.

[Zednotzee]

I suspect you could only get away with working under the table by doing 2 or 3 jobs & quickly moving on, plus not making very much money at it- which kind of defeats the purpose. You'd stand a much better chance if you could use a kind of co-operative back-scratching system, as has been mentioned.

[Flatsflyer]

Here in Florida we pay $1.50 per foot every 6 weeks or so, forget about working a few months and then cruising. If you want the job, then you will have to commit to cleaning bottoms for the full year. Too much competition for part timers who try to fly by.

[Ex-Calif]

As general info there have been at least two boats where the couple stopped in Singapore and worked legally.

If you have the required credentials (usually a degree in the field and not over 50?) and find a company to sponsor you, getting a work permit is not that difficult. With the recession it's a bit tougher but it is very possible.

If anyone is cruising Asia and needs to work a while keep that in mind. The last couple worked about 6 months, lived on their boat and then moved on.

[off-the-grid]

Originally Posted by Zednotzee

I suspect you could only get away with working under the table by doing 2 or 3 jobs & quickly moving on, plus not making very much money at it- which kind of defeats the purpose. You'd stand a much better chance if you could use a kind of co-operative back-scratching system, as has been mentioned.

The question is, is it legal to back scratch with the locals? Or do you need a work visa even for that?

[denverd0n]

Originally Posted by grunzster

The question is, is it legal to back scratch with the locals? Or do you need a work visa even for that?

Again, it is going to vary from country to country, as will the penalties for getting caught. You really have to research each country separately.

Having said that, of the countries where I am familiar with the rules, NONE will give you a pass just because you are working on a barter basis rather than for cash. What's more, if you do ANY business with locals you run the risk of drawing the attention of someone who feels you are taking away their customers. Trust me, when a local complains to the authorities that an illegal alien is taking away their customers, the illegal alien is NOT going to be the one who gets the benefit of the doubt!

Again, let me say that I am not trying to burst anyone's bubble here, or dash anyone's hopes. The bottom line, though, is that unless you are willing to accept the risks of working illegally there are extremely few ways for an American to earn money by working in foreign countries.

Good luck, nonetheless.

[El Vagabundo]

Depending on where you are going the easiest way to make money under the radar or legit is teaching english...a bit harder in Japan but in thailand and other asian countries nearby you wont have a problem.. Take a course in teaching english as a second language.

Its easy to get side jobs with a small family or business men wanting to improve on their English skills. i have been traveling abroad all my life and have friends RIGHT NOW making money all over South America, Panama,Spain,Thailand and other places, some have permits and others don't. Average pay is 20 bucks an hour and the average person takes 1 or 2 one hour classes a week... It really comes down to your hustle, If you have it then do it. i have one friend that teaches strippers in Panama and he's been there for 8 years and had never had a "Permit" as a matter of fact he stays over the visa limit all the time .. he just pays the fine.i have a friend in Cancun that is a wedding singer by the name of James "Pumpkin" Mclean, He gets 1000 a wedding and is booked every weekend, another one named Barry Ivan White (not the dead one) gets 20 grand a show,In mexico i worked as an OPC and made tons of cash.. no permit! I did have to grease a few palms here and there... 10 to 20 bucks and I WAS FINE! Its not the locals who are gonna snitch you out! its the jealous expat that will!

In the Caribbean there are tons of "Legal" ways to make money besides dealing with cruisers. send me a PM and Ill give you some ideas... Remember where there is a will there is a way and no one can stop you if you really want it... Dont let others crush your dreams...Keep it movin and make it happen!

EL V

[Bash]

what a goofy world we live in! every spring I take my natural history class to Baja for field work, and every year prior to departure our Studies Abroad office instructs me not to tell customs that I'm there to teach. Rather, I'm to say that my purpose is "to accompany students." One of my colleagues, apparently, listed his reason for travel as "education," and was detained by customs until he could be returned on the next flight home.

Meanwhile, some guy named "Pumpkin" is making $1k per weekend performing in public. Go figure.

[El Vagabundo]

Originally Posted by Bash

what a goofy world we live in! every spring I take my natural history class to Baja for field work, and every year prior to departure our Studies Abroad office instructs me not to tell customs that I'm there to teach. Rather, I'm to say that my purpose is "to accompany students." One of my colleagues, apparently, listed his reason for travel as "education," and was detained by customs until he could be returned on the next flight home.

Meanwhile, some guy named "Pumpkin" is making $1k per weekend performing in public. Go figure.

hes making a grand a wedding and normally does 2 per weekend!! hahahaha

[idpnd]

Having read the thread and all the negative bits, I'm sure few of the posters above have ever attempted to work in a third world country. During my travels I have frequently met people doing just that, never mind the paperwork. In fact, regulation is much more limited down there, and they are usually more relaxed about immigration. I should think the boating community, where a number of older & often relatively wealthy people are sitting in a spot, would be reasonably fertile soil for this stuff!

In fact, a random Frenchie came snorkelling over to a friend's boat in the Canaries the other day offering this precise service..