Tipping a delivery Captain

[jclays]

Just bought a Mainship 350 Trawler. Hired a Captain and his mate to bring her to Los Angles from San Francisco. My question is do you tip the Captain and his mate. And how much. His fee is 2200.00 (5.00 a nautical mile) plus expenses.
Not sure what to do.
thanks
Jim

 

[Comodave]

If they do a good job I would tip them. Is the delivery on time, weather permitting? Is the boat clean at the end of the trip? It should actually be better than when they started as to cleanliness. If so then give them a tip because they did a good job. I would go 10 to 15%, maybe???

 

[BruceK]

I didn`t, and I wouldn`t. But I`m in Australia and we don`t tip like you do. I got charged a day`s prep, but my mover was a marine electrician and did several necessary jobs/enhancements like supplying and fitting a 2nd hand Raymarine radar(E80 display) for $1500,it helped him run day & night and I`m happy to have it.
Weigh it all up and decide, but not until the boat arrives. Imo it should not be an automatic thing, and presumably the guys are self employed, which I think makes a difference.

 

[jclays]

I doubt they cleaned her up. She was a bit dirty when I sea trialed her. Had mechanics service her befor the trip down. They left immediately after due to a small weather window. They left Tuesday night and will be arriving Tonight. Been at sea round the clock. I’m sure she’ll be dirty.

 

[Portage_Bay]

Tipping for that sort of work is not so common on the west coast. As a delivery capt I wish it was.

 

[boatpoker]

Sharon and I charge what we think we are worth and expect no more.
We have refused tips.

 

[mvweebles]

In five years of delivering, i received exactly one tip. It was $500 for a delivery of a Sunseeker go-fast boat with a jet ski instead of a dinghy. Owner was a dot-com millionaire who had purchased the boat in Florida but was bringing the boat from Seattle to Redwood City (SF Bay). Oddly, it was one of my least favorite deliveries as I found the owner annoying as hell.

I took great pride in delivering boats in better condition than when I accepted the keys. Even brand new boats - sometimes meant I changed oil at sea to hit the OEM recommendation of removing break-in oil at 100 hours of operation.

Tips were rare for me at least. I think many people are shy about tipping the owner of a business, which a delivery skipper is. That said, I personally would tip. At least enough for a nice meal - $100 for crew, maybe $200 for captain. Assures my call will be answered down the road.

Peter

 

[psneeld]

Some captains charge at a "professional rate" and some charge based on it's a retirement or secondary job and are doing it somewhat for fun.


If you have a really good, lower pay rate captain that does anything above and beyond, like extra care, cleaning or maintenance...or spends time explaining something...like many people who do something for you...feel free to tip.


The top of the pay line guys, unless they really go above and beyond...I might not.


I agree the "enough for a nice dinner out for 2" for the captain is a good...the captain can decide whether the wife or crew goes....



Curious...how long of a trip is he extimating for the price?

 

[Bacchus]

I have never been in a position to decide. Justvreacting to the comments above which I think are good.
I would be prepared and see how the exchange goes at time of delivery.
I would not expect them to clean much but also would not be happy with any mess.
I would attempt a sit down to go over details of how the boat performed to glean any info or learnings that could help you. Any handling tips they discovered, etc, etc.
If that goes well by all means reward them for going beyond just a delivery.
Just food for thought.

 

[jclays]

Some captains charge at a "professional rate" and some charge based on it's a retirement or secondary job and are doing it somewhat for fun.


If you have a really good, lower pay rate captain that does anything above and beyond, like extra care, cleaning or maintenance...or spends time explaining something...like many people who do something for you...feel free to tip.


The top of the pay line guys, unless they really go above and beyond...I might not.


I agree the "enough for a nice dinner out for 2" for the captain is a good...the captain can decide whether the wife or crew goes....



Curious...how long of a trip is he extimating for the price?

Aprox 450 nm.

 

[psneeld]

Aprox 450 nm.

Sorry, I meant time.... based on boat speed, expected weather, etc... days the captain estimated.

 

[jclays]

They did resolve an electrical issue while at sea and at the next fuel stop repaired a battery cable and walked to the boat yard in port and purchased and installed a new battery. Which I expect to pay for

 

[Fletcher500]

We tip for someone to drop a drink in front of us, so tipping a Captain who has run day and night to make a boat delivery is good form in my opinion. I also tip at the fuel dock, help with a mooring, etc. I relied on tips when I was younger and many of these people do as well, especially in the Summer when they make a large portion of their income.

 

[bayview]

I tip for small jobs where the person has to do a job that may not be as good a use of his time as a big job. I tip to show that i appreciate the work and want I'm to be happy he did it.

 

[psneeld]

Do/did any other delivery or retired skippers here charge by the mile?


Seems strange if its his standard charge no matter the vessel.

 

[Portage_Bay]

Charging by the mile is a new concept to me. I charge by the day.

Do/did any other delivery or retired skippers here charge by the mile?


Seems strange if its his standard charge no matter the vessel.

 

[BandB]

I've never known a captain to charge by the mile. It's time. That's what they have to sell.

That said, the captains I know who do a lot of delivery work get tipped nearly always when doing so for US owners. Typical is anywhere from 10% to 20%.

When they're doing delivery for Central and South American owners or running boats for them, they don't get tipped and they do consider that when determining the rates to charge. However, even then, they often get extra compensation in other ways.

 

[hollywood8118]

I have never expected a tip on deliveries, but I have been given $ 100.00 on occasion or have been treated to some really nice dinners at the end of a trip. I do agree that a good delivery skipper will leave the boat better than the boat was when they get aboard.

HOLLYWOOD

 

[mvweebles]

Do/did any other delivery or retired skippers here charge by the mile?


Seems strange if its his standard charge no matter the vessel.

My last delivery was 2004 and I charged $400/day plus $125/day for crew, plus all expenses of course. I was aware of other skippers who charged by the mile, but not on the West Coast. There seemed to be a very wide gap between West Coast captains where 24/7 runs are typical and East Coast captains that often do day-runs along the ICW. I really only knew of a small handful of delivery captains running the Pacific coast with regularity at the time.

That said, it didn't take long before I built a web page to help people answer the inevitable "how much?" question. I forget exactly, but I think I used $4/mile for captain/crew plus all expenses. Fees were typically about 50% of the overall delivery cost. Of course, there were assumptions about boat speed and weather.

Peter

 

[psneeld]

Never heard of it from an East Coast Delivery Capt.


I can't even see how the mile thing works when one boat might be a newer, twin engine capable of 25 knots and the next was a 7 knot trawler.



Especially when depending on weather (East Coast) the mileage may be quite different based on weather or a bridge outage, draft/tides, etc..etc... Daily rates just seem so much easier to deal with.

 

[mvweebles]

All I can tell you is I saw it in the market. Might have been long distance sail deliveries (California to Hawaii for example). Every experienced delivery skipper I knew who ran the coast charged day rate for every day gone. On very long trips, rate might get adjusted, but that's it.

Thinking of it, probably was sailors. Odd lot when it comes to deliveries. I gave up on them quickly. Slow, and sailors seem to expect a discount because you get to sail their boat.

 

[Benthic2]

$5/mile at 8 knots is only $40/hour for 2 people ????

 

[Woodland Hills]

If the delivery captain is the owner of the business, don’t tip. He is already charging you a price that he thinks is reasonable for his services. If she is an employee of another company then tip her since she has no input on the cost and is being paid a wage. It’s just like at a restaurant or bar: tip the hourly workers, but not the owner. If the business owner wants or needs more income let them raise prices.

I also make a point of explaining this to the owner at the time of payment if that is the situation.

A few decades ago, I won a big jackpot in a Las Vegas casino and had a celebratory dinner. The food was $300 and the wine was $1200. I tipped the servers on the $300 and tried to give the sommelier a $100 bill which she declined. Turns out she was also the manager and was not permitted to accept tips. It was at her instructions that I tipped only on the food. If it is wine or cocktails delivered by the server then I tip on the whole bill, this was not the case however, in this instance.

 

[Woodland Hills]

$5/mile at 8 knots is only $40/hour for 2 people ????

Times 24 hours a day for however many days...... that’s $960 a day. $480 a day per person, not really starvation wages.

 

[syjos]

I charged above market rates for deliveries since I did not enjoy deliveries. I charged enough that I did not expect a tip and rarely received a tip. I charged by the day.

I did receive tips as a boat handling instructor, though I never expected any. Usually $50 to $200. Once $400.

I never expected tips in that profession when I started. It's not like other service industries; waiters, caterers, photographers, taxi driver etc where tips are expected.

In my Mobile DJ business, I received tips at weddings and private and corporate functions. In was routine and expected. Almost never received a tip from DJ'ing Yacht Clubs. Received a tip from a Yacht Club once in 45 years!

 

[mvweebles]

Syjos: how come you didn't enjoy deliveries? I loved the work and frankly, it wasn't a bad income. I only got out because a past colleague made me an offer back in Corp America that I couldn't refuse. I don't know if I could have weathered the Great Recession, but I very much enjoyed deliveries and the people I met.

Curious minds want to know.

Peter

 

[syjos]

Syjos: how come you didn't enjoy deliveries? I loved the work and frankly, it wasn't a bad income. I only got out because a past colleague made me an offer back in Corp America that I couldn't refuse. I don't know if I could have weathered the Great Recession, but I very much enjoyed deliveries and the people I met.

Curious minds want to know.

Peter

The main reason I didn't enjoy deliveries was the time away from home and away from my other businesses. I had several other businesses at the same time; Boat handling instructor, Mobile DJ and Mystery Shopping, which paid more than deliveries in a shorter time.

Additionally, many boats I was asked to deliver were not ready or safe enough to bring down or up the Pacific Coast. Many boat owners wanted their boat delivered in the least number of days to reduce cost but didn't want the boat "beat up". And the few I did were long boring days.

I eventually specialized in delivering broken boats through the Ballard Locks in Seattle to repair facilities. Those were usually half days and I was able to charge a higher fee since the boats had bent props or an inoperative engine, making the lock transit difficult. My wife was the deckhand for most of the lock deliveries, increasing profit. On boats over 50', I hired a third deck hand for the delivery.

 

[mvweebles]

The main reason I didn't enjoy deliveries was the time away from home and away from my other businesses. I had several other businesses at the same time; Boat handling instructor, Mobile DJ and Mystery Shopping, which paid more than deliveries in a shorter time.

Additionally, many boats I was asked to deliver were not ready or safe enough to bring down or up the Pacific Coast. Many boat owners wanted their boat delivered in the least number of days to reduce cost but didn't want the boat "beat up". And the few I did were long boring days.

I eventually specialized in delivering broken boats through the Ballard Locks in Seattle to repair facilities. Those were usually half days and I was able to charge a higher fee since the boats had bent props or an inoperative engine, making the lock transit difficult. My wife was the deckhand for most of the lock deliveries, increasing profit. On boats over 50', I hired a third deck hand for the delivery.

Understood. My trajectory depended on a few lucky breaks. I happened to meet Chuck Hawley of West Marine fame at a Safety at Sea seminar. He needed a boat for MOB drills so I was pressed into service. He introduced me to Georgs Kolesnikov who was doing Tralwerfests. West Marine was their main sponsor at the time so Chuck and I did the MOB drills and general safety demos. I also did Boat Buying 101 and Boat Handling seminars. From there, Georgs introduced me to the PAE folks. It didn't take long before I was running up/down the coast full time on pretty nice boats. In 2003 I logged over 225 days at sea plus five trawler fest gigs per year. Bob Smith and I did the Tralwerfest University thing - he'd haul a FL120 into a hotel conference room, and I'd do docking instruction with at least one day of woman-only instruction.

Honestly, I was really lucky. And I enjoyed it a lot.

Peter.

 

[syjos]

Understood. My trajectory depended on a few lucky breaks. I happened to meet Chuck Hawley of West Marine fame at a Safety at Sea seminar. He needed a boat for MOB drills so I was pressed into service. He introduced me to Georgs Kolesnikov who was doing Tralwerfests. West Marine was their main sponsor at the time so Chuck and I did the MOB drills and general safety demos. I also did Boat Buying 101 and Boat Handling seminars. From there, Georgs introduced me to the PAE folks. It didn't take long before I was running up/down the coast full time on pretty nice boats. In 2003 I logged over 225 days at sea plus five trawler fest gigs per year. Bob Smith and I did the Tralwerfest University thing - he'd haul a FL120 into a hotel conference room, and I'd do docking instruction with at least one day of woman-only instruction.

Honestly, I was really lucky. And I enjoyed it a lot.

Peter.

Yes, you did have some lucky happenstance. Or smart. I was not as smart and missed a few opportunities.

Back in the late 1990's at the winter Lake Union Seattle Floating Boat Show tent, there was a couple sitting at a table selling subscriptions to a new boating magazine. When they discovered that I was a boat driving instructor and buyers consultant, they asked me to write articles for the magazine. I declined because it didn't pay very well and I couldn't imagine the magazine surviving. And writing seemed tedious. The couple was Bill and Laurene Parlatore and the magazine - Passagemaker.

Another time, I was helping a client purchase a Westport Yacht before the Bayliner family bought the company. One of the managers at Westport mentioned needing delivery captains and instructors and suggested I apply. I never followed through because I had other businesses to run, Westport was a long drive and Westport Yachts was not doing well. Couple years later, they were aquired by the Bayliner family and with the infusion of cash, sales took off.

 

[Nomad Willy]

I’m very unlikely to tip for services rendered that are typical and what is expected while such services are provided. Only if special effort is taken and only then if necessary or obviously desired would tipping be a thing to do.