Working as Crew on Deliveries

[ClChnge]

I'm in the process of selling my HVAC company and will be "retired" in a few months. I have a home in Cape Coral that we plan to move to permanently. Being that I'm only in my mid 50's I'll be looking for something to occupy my time. Does anybody have any insight on how to get involved as a crew on making deliveries? I have been boating my whole life, my current boat is a 43' Portofino that I've owned for over 20 years. I'm looking more for an experience and something to occupy my time than an income on this.
Any help is appreciated.


Troy

 

[Wdeertz]

I’ve found crew at this site https://www.findacrew.net/. You could post your availability there. Both boats/captains and crew post and the site is helpful to find matches.

 

[AlanT]

I’ve found crew at this site https://www.findacrew.net/. You could post your availability there. Both boats/captains and crew post and the site is helpful to find matches.

+1 for findacrew. I used it and scored a crew position on a J44 from Baltimore to Virgin Gorda at a time that I was seeking ocean sail experience. Worked well for me. Desired skillsets aren't always what you think. In my case I was selected for my cooking skills.
~A

 

[Delta Riverat]

Cool.

No army marches far on an empty stomach. I bet that holds for navies too!

 

[Comodave]

When we were delivering one of my boats from Seattle to LA I had 4 guys crewing for the trip. I said that everyone had to take a turn cooking, and I hate cooking, but one of them said he wasn’t going to cook. I said ok you don’t eat any of the food we cook. He cooked when his turn came up…

 

[mvweebles]

Speaking as a past delivery skipper who kept pretty busy, its really hard to just sign-up to be crew. My deliveries were long distance along the Pacific Coast so different than East Coast deliveries I'd reckon.

At the time, I was a main presenter for TrawlerFest so I met a lot of people who were interested in being crew. I met some of my best crew that way. But I had a list of folks who I knew and trusted who were almost always available so I rarely needed to go deep into a list. A 'corporate America' mentor used to say he wouldn't hire someone unless he knew them; or someone he knew knew them. Well put and that describes how I would hire crew. Someone had to vouch for them - boats are just too small to have a bad fit. A good attitude is by far the most important attribute. My worst crew (by far) was a guy who was halfway through his second circumnavigation. Im sure he was fine on the open ocean where nothing happens. But coastal? He was awful. One of my best pick-up crew was a retired Sheriff's deputy. First Responders are well trained for delivery work.

For someone like the OP, beyond the above, hard part is you would need to be willing to travel on very short notice - as in a couple days. The main reason someone would select you as crew is they were unable to get someone else.

Good luck -

Peter

 

[SteveK]

When we were delivering one of my boats from Seattle to LA I had 4 guys crewing for the trip. I said that everyone had to take a turn cooking, and I hate cooking, but one of them said he wasn’t going to cook. I said ok you don’t eat any of the food we cook. He cooked when his turn came up…

I would have said you buy dinner for all of us then for every shift you miss

 

[Wdeertz]

I would have said you buy dinner for all of us then for every shift you miss

I guess that would need to be on the backside of the passage ???

 

[Comodave]

I would have said you buy dinner for all of us then for every shift you miss

We weren’t stopping that often. He actually fell asleep on watch and we were running in circles in the Pacific for a while. Not the best crew member…

 

[SteveK]

Keel haul him.
I was in an overnight sailboat race, my turn on watch, I asked why are we headed in the 180 direction? The wind had slowly clocked and the on duty kept the sails filled without concern for the compass.

 

[Wdeertz]

keel haul him.
I was in an overnight sailboat race, my turn on watch, i asked why are we headed in the 180 direction? The wind had slowly clocked and the on duty kept the sails filled without concern for the compass.

????

 

[Comodave]

You can fix ignorant but you can’t fix stupid…

 

[Delta Riverat]

Well...ya know...when you're in a race...

Gotta make speed!

 

[Hippocampus]

My whole adult life I’ve crewed. This was while having a boat of my own. Sailing and boating should be a continuous learning experience. Crewing you learn what to do and not do with your own boat and how to be a better skipper.
I’ve learned to not trust the products of the various schools. Nor do I trust US credentials that are self attested. The only formal credential I have some trust in is the UK Yachmaster system.
As usual Peter is right word of mouth is best. On passage I’ve tried to take 4. No married couples. Three I already have confidence in and have good reason to believe they can stand single watch and know what to do when things go south. But for the fourth I want a newbie. As owners we need others to catch the bug or our sport will disappear. Still I carefully vet the newbie and that one isn’t without some experience.
I’ve used crew lists from rallies such as salty dawgs and Herb from OPO when forced to but as Peter says word of mouth comes first. In sailing it’s easy. You work your way up the size and distance ladder racing. First beer can. Then class. Then blue water races. Along the way you meet people. For power it’s more difficult and usually I know a guy who knows a guy.
When looking at crew experience comes first, then personality, health and fitness, then associated skills ( mechanical, electronics, healthcare, etc.). Having a skill set that puts you apart makes it more likely to be chosen. I didn’t have much trouble with my medical background, racing background and knowing celestial. For an owner collecting a crew list is a major undertaking. But over time you can select enough people you want on repeat passages to reliably have crew for your passages. It’s breaking into enough owner lists that will determine if you can reliably get crew positions.
Nearly 100% of my list is people who own boats or work on boats (navy, law enforcement, fire).
Think you’ve made a good decision. It’s a great way to learn. Nothing teaches like experience.

 

[DavidM]

I have been retired for more than a dozen years and have used this forum to obtain gigs on east coast deliveries with a new boat owner. When someone on this forum asks for advice on routes and anchorages for an east coast delivery, I PM him my interest in joining his delivery. I usually pick trips where my location (Ct or Fl) makes it easy to get to the beginning or end of the trip. Roughly half of these PMs are never answered and half of those that are result in a trip. I only ask to be reimbursed for travel expenses and food on board.

I have done deliveries where the owner was very experienced and just needed an extra hand and some where the owner just purchased a trawler and his only boating experience was with small outboards. In those cases I spent a day reviewing the boat systems with the new owner (and often finding things that needed attention before we left) as well as practicing docking until the new owner could do it on his own.

I make it clear to the owner that he is the captain and makes the final decisions along the way, but I will give him my best advice. Not sure if that absolves me of liability particularly in the case of a newbie, but so far so good.

With the OP’s experience with his 43’ Portofino he could do much the same.

FWIW after about a half dozen such trips with the new owner, I made some friends for life as well as someone I wouldn’t have a beer with if I ran into him later. But all trips were completed safely and successfully.

David

 

[Sailingveterinarian]

Walk the docks. Talk to people that are delivering boats. Volunteer to go along and work in exchange for expenses….food and the trip home.
Build up your resume.

 

[Pau Hana]

First and foremost- be honest and know your own skillset. Nothing worse than letting ego take over and ruin the day...

 

[PNK]

Working as Crew

There are a couple of sites that list boats looking for crew, as well as crew looking for boats, that seem to be pretty good:

"crew seekers.net"
"findacrew.net"

The majority of the boats looking for crew tend to be sailboats, but there are some power boats as well, in the US as well as abroad.

There is also a Facebook group for the same purpose; sorry, though, I don't know the name, as I don't use Facebook, but a buddy told me it is out there.

Good luck, you could wind up with some pretty interesting trips on some great boats.

Peter

 

[mvweebles]

.........
I make it clear to the owner that he is the captain and makes the final decisions along the way, but I will give him my best advice. Not sure if that absolves me of liability particularly in the case of a newbie, but so far so good......

We've just finished the Baja Ha Ha (800 nms to Cabo San Lucas). 120 boats (all but 6 being sailboats) with two stops along the way. On approach to the first anchorage at 2am, a 39-foot sailboat hit the rocks and sank. There was a 200T delivery skipper aboard who, by his own account, said he was there as an advisor only - owner was the captain. He then went on to make some really bad decisions (again, reading his words without interpretation).

The owner is mumm on the subject. Leads me to believe she has lawyered up and plans to seek redress from the skipper.

The skipper's own words are included in this report from Latitude 38. In short, he blames the boat's poor condition and wonky electrics that caused skittish autopilot. He made a decision to head to 30-foot waters to 'ease stress on an old rig.' I cannot tell you how nuts this is - again, these are his words. No interpretation needed. Why anyone would admit to this and expect to keep working as a delivery skipper is beyond me.

https://www.latitude38.com/lectronic/2023/11/10/#baja-ha-ha-close-and-boat-bum-gal

DavidM - I'm sure you're not the cowboy type. But you're right to be skeptical whether your 'advisor-only' status would keep you safe from prosecution. That said, if I were you, I'd keep doing what you've been doing. Sounds fun and helpful. And you dont strike me as a doer of dumb things.

Enjoy!

Peter

 

[jimfrens]

Check out “World Sailing Hitchhikers & Crew” on Facebook.

 

[psneeld]

We've just finished the Baja Ha Ha (800 nms to Cabo San Lucas). 120 boats (all but 6 being sailboats) with two stops along the way. On approach to the first anchorage at 2am, a 39-foot sailboat hit the rocks and sank. There was a 200T delivery skipper aboard who, by his own account, said he was there as an advisor only - owner was the captain. He then went on to make some really bad decisions (again, reading his words without interpretation).

The owner is mumm on the subject. Leads me to believe she has lawyered up and plans to seek redress from the skipper.

The skipper's own words are included in this report from Latitude 38. In short, he blames the boat's poor condition and wonky electrics that caused skittish autopilot. He made a decision to head to 30-foot waters to 'ease stress on an old rig.' I cannot tell you how nuts this is - again, these are his words. No interpretation needed. Why anyone would admit to this and expect to keep working as a delivery skipper is beyond me.

https://www.latitude38.com/lectronic/2023/11/10/#baja-ha-ha-close-and-boat-bum-gal

DavidM - I'm sure you're not the cowboy type. But you're right to be skeptical whether your 'advisor-only' status would keep you safe from prosecution. That said, if I were you, I'd keep doing what you've been doing. Sounds fun and helpful. And you dont strike me as a doer of dumb things.

Enjoy!

Peter

While anyone can be sued for anything in the USA, I used the same tactic on several deliveries.

Had the owner sign that he was captain and I was navigation advisor....and all responsibility for safe navigation were ultimately up to the captain.

With the very well established maritime legacy of "captain is ultimately responsible", I am not sure how much giving "navigational or other advice" would carry much more than partial negligence depending on what it was and whether the "captain" agreed or disagreed with it.

I believe for smaller recreational craft, and being a delivery captain where the owner is aboard.....I think it clearly has to be in writing and understood who IS the captain.

It's pretty apparent when law enforcement boards a vessel and askes who the captain is and pushes to make sure. Really apparent in cases where a licensed guy is not thought to be the captain on commercial vessels....but also very true on recreational vessels. Because it is easy to have the owner not the captain or the captain not the "operator at the wheel"... it can be sticky until it is made clear who IS the captain. Then the vast majority of blame always seems to fall in that direction.

 

[mvweebles]

While anyone can be sued for anything in the USA, I used the same tactic on several deliveries.

Had the owner sign that he was captain and I was navigation advisor....and all responsibility for safe navigation were ultimately up to the captain.

With the very well established maritime legacy of "captain is ultimately responsible", I am not sure how much giving "navigational or other advice" would carry much more than partial negligence depending on what it was and whether the "captain" agreed or disagreed with it.

I believe for smaller recreational craft, and being a delivery captain where the owner is aboard.....I think it clearly has to be in writing and understood who IS the captain.

It's pretty apparent when law enforcement boards a vessel and askes who the captain is and pushes to make sure. Really apparent in cases where a licensed guy is not thought to be the captain on commercial vessels....but also very true on recreational vessels. Because it is easy to have the owner not the captain or the captain not the "operator at the wheel"... it can be sticky until it is made clear who IS the captain. Then the vast majority of blame always seems to fall in that direction.

I seem to recall some recent chatter about foreign fishing boats playing loose with captain designations to skirt regulations. Veil was pretty thin and easily disposed of by regulators/LEO. I would think that having a signed document/email stating "I am not the captain, only an advisor" is a pretty clear indicator of the intent to skirt responsibility.

Back to the OP's question - I attended a bar-party for the closing Baja Ha Ha ceremonies and talked to a guy who had hitched a ride on the Ha Ha - sounds like he's had several long rides, mostly on the east coast (Bermuda/Newport; Caribbean, etc.). He was around 50 y/o I suppose and lived in Driggs Idaho. I asked how he found rides being from Idaho. He said he was originally from Milwuakee Wisconsin and used to hang out at yacht clubs so just hung around boat and people and volunteered a bunch. Really nice guy - I can see why he'd get invitations. I can tell you that Latitude 38 (SF Bay magazine) hosts crew parties all the time.

Peter

 

[psneeld]

Concept of recreational vs commercial pretty different...

If owner of rec vessel aboard, me thinks a short term contract spelling out duties doesn't skirt anything as there is no requirement to have licensed crew or captain aboard at all.

At some point, establishing yourself and a start of reputation is a place to start. Might consider clubs or organizations that will gine you some sort of certification or ketter or recommendation. Other than that it is usually slogging your way though word of mouth recommendations.

 

[DavidM]

Thanks Peter. I try not to be a doer of dumb things, but sometimes dumb happens.

But at 77 and with my wife requiring daily care I probably won’t be doing boating things, dumb or not. We still camp with our motor home though.

Oh and FWIW I wasn’t worried about prosecution, but litigation is quite another matter.

David

 

[psneeld]

That's about the size of it, if you're on a boat and anything goes wrong, you may now be under a microscope for any and all reasons.

That's why I cancelled my marine business LLC and worked under someone else's business insurance.

 

[rgano]

I think you will not have a hard time picking up trips on the east coast where there are so many more options for both routes and stops. If you are not interested in cruising the coast for multiple days, say so to avoid any unnecessary back effort on the part of either party. Also be sure whether this will be an owner-aboard trip or only a professional delivery skipper aboard. When I was delivering a vessel, I preferred the owner not be aboard because I was always going to have more knowledge and better judgment than anybody who felt he needed a professional skipper for the trip, and I did not want to be in a position to yield my safety to another whose decision could trump mine. I have done it both ways, but 90% with no owner aboard.