Whats best crew wanted site, how much charge backpacker passengers

[manawatuman]

Hi, I m on crewbay looking for crew for next year, it seems to have plenty of people, is there other sites to find competent crew.
On a catamaran with 4 double rooms, what would be a good price to charge novice sailors how just want to sail with me and have an sea adventure, I was this $20 per night per cabin. Trying to cover costs.
Cheers

[denverd0n]

Personally, I think a good price to charge them would be $0. If you make them pay a daily rate, don't be surprised if they expect to be treated like passengers.

If you want them to share expenses, then you split up the costs evenly as those costs come up.

And especially if you really want "competent" crew, you don't make them pay a rate. Truly competent crew will expect you to pay them!

[CarstenWL]

... I would consider www.findacrew.net (although to get most of it you might want to subscribe as a 'paid Premium Member').

Regards,

Carsten

[Stumble]

Originally Posted by manawatuman

Hi, I m on crewbay looking for crew for next year, it seems to have plenty of people, is there other sites to find competent crew.
On a catamaran with 4 double rooms, what would be a good price to charge novice sailors how just want to sail with me and have an sea adventure, I was this $20 per night per cabin. Trying to cover costs.
Cheers

If you charge them as passengers then I hope you have commercial insurance, have a captains license, and with this many passengers have the vessel inspected. Otherwise your day rate won't matter because you will pay all of it to your criminal defense attorney to keep you out of jail.

[Privilege]

I'm in a similar situation to you manawatuman and I'm also on crewbay. I'm looking for someone who wants to sail with me long-term on an adventure. Coming up with a $ figure was very hard and talking about it online even harder. This was my thought process in relation to shared costs; insurance - although I have not yet priced it, I assume that it's going to cost somewhere between $5-7K a year. This is not just insurance for the boat, but more importantly, third party insurance in case the person sailing it causes third-party damage. Therefore I think it's fair to share that cost. Maintenance - As well as general maintenance, wax, paint, cleaners etc. the boat will likely have to be slipped on average once a year, usually for maintenance sometimes for repairs. Add bottom paint etc... If a person is just joining you for a few weeks then none of the above applies but if someone is going to sail with you long-term, then I think it's fair to share these costs. A rough guess is that these costs would amount to around $600-$700 per month each for two people. Therefore, your $20 per night seems reasonable to me, however I agree with the above comments which suggest that charging someone per night sounds more like a charter for which people will expect charter-type service. Personally, if I found the right person, I'll just be upfront about costs and will split the appropriate costs evenly without setting a daily or monthly amount.

[Celestialsailor]

Originally Posted by manawatuman

Hi, I m on crewbay looking for crew for next year, it seems to have plenty of people, is there other sites to find competent crew.
On a catamaran with 4 double rooms, what would be a good price to charge novice sailors how just want to sail with me and have an sea adventure, I was this $20 per night per cabin. Trying to cover costs.
Cheers

I tried crewbay for awhile. What I received were goofy entitled millenniums. Usually 20 yr. old couples who had no experience. I had one couple contact me that had pictures of them sticking their tongues out to show their piercings. I wasn't interested and gave them friendly advice to loose the pictures and refine their profiles. That was met with sarcasm. I feel sorry for the unsuspecting skipper that gets them.

[manawatuman]

This guy seems to have it together and charges 20 to 30 dollars a day.
https://runawaysailing.wordpress.com

[barnakiel]

I have seen charges that average to about USD 40 per head per day. Boats sailing from Canary Islands to the West Indies / Brazil / etc. Backpackers, no skills, etc.

I would charge more if the boat is nice and comfortable (say a cat ...)

Still, you can only charge as much as they are willing to pay. So you will know that you ask too much if they go to the other boat.

b.

[Privilege]

My plan is to sail over the horizon and stop when I find a place I like. That stop might be for a week or a month depending on a variety of factors. I also have the option of moving on if I'm not particularly interested in where I find myself. I imagine that if someone is on my boat only for a week or two, they are going to want to travel and see as much as they can. That is unlikely to work with my unhurried schedule to nowhere.
I think that your asking price of $20 a day is reasonable as this is to assist with the expenses of running the boat and does not provide for any realistic profit to you. If however you have four-six people paying $20 per day per head, then it is worth it to be more accommodating to their wishes. I don't think that there is a right or wrong answer here but I'm interested to hear the thoughts of others as it will be a decision I will be making in the not too distant future.

[Dulcesuenos]

As a captain you are responsible for the crew. If one gets hurt, wants to leave but has no $$ for a way off island it can become your responsibility etc. If you charge them, a whole new set of issues arises.
Better to get decent crew that are competent sign an agreement they are not paid crew, make sure they have their own travel/ emergency ins( its cheap) etc..

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[a64pilot]

Coming from Aviation, cost sharing has always been allowed, meaning a non Commercial pilot can take someone somewhere as long as they are sharing expenses, however there is I believe a man still in Prison who accepted a small amount of money from a Woman to give her a ride in his Stearman, not even close to gas expenses. There was a crash and she died.
So be very careful if you take money from anyone, for any reason. I'm not sure how to go about it to make sure it's sharing expenses, language your using here makes it sound like Charter to me.
Then if you go overseas, your in their jurisdiction and the rules may be very different?


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[Jim Cate]

You don't mention where you intend to do this "chartering"... and it matters. If in the US, the warnings posted (#4) by Stumble are in effect, and if you don't heed them, you will very likely regret it.

If in some foreign port, different laws regarding licensing and equipping are covering your activities. They may be more or less stringent than US laws. But further, there will be local chaps who are in the same business of fleecing backpackers (or whatever you wish to call it). They will NOT like some furrin yottie trying to cut in on their practice. The means by which they express their displeasure are not constrained by PC. Physical violence is a real option for folks w ho do not get the message. Or, they will simply notify the local LEO in charge, and he will take over.. and physical violence is once more an option to get your attention.

Scoff if you will, but we have been in areas where this has happened... even in such sorta civilized places as Sydney Harbour! It isn't a joke... you may get away with it, you may not. The downside is considerable.

Jim

[GILow]

Originally Posted by Jim Cate

.. even in such sorta civilized places as Sydney Harbour!
Jim

Err... Really? Civilised? ;^)


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[Jim Cate]

Originally Posted by GILow

Err... Really? Civilised? ;^)


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Ahhh, Matt, as a visitor I try to be polite, even in difficult situations like this!

Jim

[Island Time O25]

As I've crewed 1-2 week long trips unpaid on few dozen occasions, 3 or 4 1,200-1,500nm non-stop trips, here are my 2c worth.

The skipper/owner was often upfront re: expenses i.e. the daily stuff was to be split among the crew, 2 or 3, rarely 4 people - food, any marina fees, diesel, etc. and he was to skip that part of the contribution. Anything which broke and was not the fault of the crew was on him. Of course we were always welcome to pitch in for replacement or assist with fixing it. Anything clearly broken/damaged by the crew would be expected to be fixed/reimbursed by the crew. And among the crew we would usually agree to split such expenses, especially since we knew each other, often sailed together before and are/were at more or less similar level of competence. On most trips the crew would also get together before or after the trip and pitch in for a decent present to the owners - be it an new phone or an i-pad or whatever. This little gesture probably always assured us many a repeat invitation.

A side question to the knowledgeable. This guy has the unlimited tonnage captain's license from a European country. Back in the day he used to skipper tankers, icebreakers, etc. Does that license supersede the need for a 6-pack license if taking on a paying crew, especially given the fact that the vessel is not documented with CG?