How do delivery captains work?

[Boatkied]

So I can share this, and I have friends that do this on the side as well. I hired a captain and he brought in a mate (another capt) and the two are bringing it up from Ft. Myers to Baltimore area. I'm a capt too, but just don't have the time and want to get it home on my own dock at my house. It's a 52 Seahorse and the guy I hired also ran the boat for the broker and owner from time to time, so he knew the boat better than I did.

I'm paying the guys $425 per day, and $50 allowance for food. I thought that was fair and could have found less expensive guys, but I figured the two guys could handle bugs and issues if possible along the way.

I'm paying for marinas, fuel and any maintenance of course.

I did not what them to rush, as we are taking it easy at 10-11kts, which I'd rather pay a day or so extra then have a guy push the boat beyond it's limits.

I did get quotes as high as $850 per day when I shopped it. The key is to interview the guys and there are really good qualified capt's out there and some that I wouldn't trust with my canoe... I hope that helps.

 

[ranger58sb]

FWIW, I probably fall into the category PS describes -- that would dilute the pay pool.


IOW, I have time (usually) and a crew always on standby, but I'd more interested in the details of the actual trip (starting point, route, destination) and experience on different boats... than I am in the money.


Doesn't mean I'd discount a fair day's pay for a fair day's work; still gotta cover expenses and include enough "profit" to convince owners I'm serious. But I'm mostly flexible about the base costs, any separate expenses (fuel, meals, flights and so forth), time allowances, whether I'm doing maintenance or not, etc.


OTOH, I won't take just any ol' trip on just any ol' boat. If the trip doesn't sound interesting to me, or if the boat seems too daunting for whatever reason (maintenance, usually)... I'll just pass.


-Chris

 

[Gdavid]

I'll tell on myself and share a story about how delivery captains don't work. Forgive me if this is the wrong place and time to share but looking back it is a funny story.


In college I paid for school by working on charter fishing boats as a mate during the summers and weekends on the Chesapeake Bay. If I worked hard and maintained my budget I made it through the winter and paid for spring tuition before savings ran out and the spring season started back up. In the fall of 2002 I was behind in my savings when an alumni approached our club sailing team and asked if anyone could deliver a newly acquired O'day 31 from middle river to the D.C. waterfront. I jumped at the chance to make a couple hundred bucks. This alumni was not a charitable and economically stable gentleman looking to throw a struggling student a favor, he was a recent grad entering Howard Law school (white guy on a minority scholarship) trying to secure housing on the cheap. Perfectly nice guy but very limited funds = magnet for problems. So he wasn't the ideal owner and I wasn't the ideal delivery captain, it was a perfect match. The plan was for the two of us to bring the boat down to Annapolis on Friday night, drop him off and pick up my girlfriend and then deliver the boat to D.C. by Sunday evening.
I don't recall if the boat was surveyed, probably not (lack of funds) but we show up to the marina late Friday afternoon and go over the boat for about 10 minutes before casting off. We immediately snapped a section of brittle rub rail on the way out of the slip and kept on going. About 5-10 minutes after clearing the marina the little universal diesel chugs to a halt. Fortunately we had plenty of breeze from the west so our destination just a reach away. 15-20 knots with gusts of 25. The problem was likely fuel and it was getting dark so rather than fumbling around in the dark to replace the filter (the "primary" and only filtration was the unit on the engine) and possible run the battery down bleeding the auxiliary we deployed the sails and mustered on. We raised a reefed main and unfurled 1/3 of the genoa. The furling unit was a continuous line system used a spliced furling line rather than a more common drum setup. In what should have been no surprise at this point, the furling line parted at the splice and the 160% genoa self deployed in the first gust. As best as I can recall, the boat was horribly unbalanced under main alone so I didn't drop the headsail but partially furled it by hand and tied the remaining furling line as tightly as possible using the bow cleat. By this time we were approaching Baltimore. We bore away to the eastern shore to avoid commercial traffic with the intent of crossing back to the western shore just north of the bay bridge where the ship channel is forced into a narrower path approaching the center span. As we snaked through the traffic of Christmas trees the owner remarks that up until this point he could have handled himself but recognizing barges and cargo ships a night was something he was glad to have an experienced (which of course considered myself to be) hand with. He pointed at a tug 1/2 mile away and said that thing is close. I replied, "that tug is not that close but the car carrier next to us is close and the reason we can't see half of the stars right now". He was quiet for a while. Without further incident I dropped him off and anchored out for the night in front of the Naval Academy (you can't anchor there anymore). Picked up the girlfriend in the morning from a dock easy to sail up to and at some point found some spare fuel filters down below. With a long road ahead and a short time to get there we headed toward bay under the rationale that I would change the filter and bleed the injectors while she reached down the bay. Wind conditions were the same as Friday night and before we reached the bay she was uncomfortable at the wheel. We sailed on away from population and marine services, diesel be damned. We rounded point lookout about dusk and started tacking up the Potomac in diminishing breeze. Around midnight the breeze quit so we anchored off of the Virginia coast (Ragged point), what little breeze existed made this weather shore. I was exhausted and set out 100' in about 10' of water. I woke to the unnerving feeling of ones keel bumping the bottom with the trough of each wave at 2am Sunday morning. The wind had clocked to the east and we were now off of a lee shore with a dragging anchor. No time like the present to see about that universal. I changed the spin on filter while we continued to tap the sandy bottom with each 4" wave. Started to bleed injectors using the external electric fuel pump and got less than a trickle. The pump was humming away but nothing doing. Turns out a wire screen in the pump was packed with dead algae. My toothbrush did a passable job of cleaning it out and about 1/2 hour later the auxiliary was sheepishly puttering along just above an idle. Didn't have enough juice to power off but could keep the boat into the wind and hold our ground. Around 0600 we got free with the help of a rising tide and started putting up the river about 3 knots. We made it to a sad little marina by the route 301 bridge and snuck into the narrow channel. We gorged on snack crackers and the selection of bear claws the little store had to offer and shoved off again. Around Quantico the universal quit again so I repeated the exercise of dismantling and cleaning the pump. Celebrated another victory with the girlfriend in a cabin reeking of diesel sprayed about while bleeding injectors. At 3 knots through the water we were down to 1 knots across the bottom at times fighting a strong ebb but I was hesitant to head for current relief of the shallows because the shoals are shifty and abrupt and was done with running aground for this trip. We passed under the old Wilson bridge which had a clearance of 55', the rig was 45' tall (don't recall if that was from the deck or keel step) and it looked like the antennas much be inches from the girders. I know it should fit based on the numbers but my eyes from deck level struggled to believe. I choose to look away and muster through, I don't think they would have given me a bridge opening at 0500 Monday morning interrupting the capital beltway. We backed into the slip around 0600 with a smelly cabin and sooty transom. I collected the hardest earned $300 I have earned and headed off to class.

 

[Art]

Gdavid - Great Story! Thanks.

 

[BandB]

FWIW, I probably fall into the category PS describes -- that would dilute the pay pool.


IOW, I have time (usually) and a crew always on standby, but I'd more interested in the details of the actual trip (starting point, route, destination) and experience on different boats... than I am in the money.


Doesn't mean I'd discount a fair day's pay for a fair day's work; still gotta cover expenses and include enough "profit" to convince owners I'm serious. But I'm mostly flexible about the base costs, any separate expenses (fuel, meals, flights and so forth), time allowances, whether I'm doing maintenance or not, etc.


OTOH, I won't take just any ol' trip on just any ol' boat. If the trip doesn't sound interesting to me, or if the boat seems too daunting for whatever reason (maintenance, usually)... I'll just pass.


-Chris

Well, I'd just encourage you not to undervalue yourself. You're providing a service and it's worth a good bit. Actually in some cases they respect you more when you charge closer to market prices. Your time is still important, even if more flexible. The flexibility is where you have real value to others, not the price.

 

[BandB]

I'll tell on myself and share a story about how delivery captains don't work. Forgive me if this is the wrong place and time to share but looking back it is a funny story.


.

And the girlfriend?

 

[Gdavid]

And the girlfriend?

Ex, and a few others since then but I am blessed with wonderful wife and 3 children now.

 

[Hawgwash]

Ex, and a few others since then but I am blessed with wonderful wife and 3 children now.

Was her nickname by any chance Diesel?

 

[Gdavid]

Was her nickname by any chance Diesel?

No but that would make for a better story

 

[BandB]

Ex, and a few others since then but I am blessed with wonderful wife and 3 children now.

Yes, I didn't see that trip leading to happily ever after, although....I worked with a guy who he and his gf went to Myrtle Beach. He had a sports car convertible. On the way home on Sunday, they had a flat tire. Then they had a second flat and had to pull off the road. They decided to walk to the nearest business or home, did so. Found a closed garage but found the owner However, he couldn't get tires until Monday, but he and his wife invited them to stay with them. Nice small town. They drive back to tow the car and it's been run into while parked but still drivable, if it had tires. The family they stayed with was great as was the food. They got married and have been for twenty years now.

 

[Gdavid]

Believe it or not, I ended it. She enjoyed the idea of a boater more than she actually enjoyed being on the water, struggled to be happy in general. I'll accept my contributions to her issues but it was best to move on.

 

[capt jerry]

my first delv was 1974 and quit about 3 yrs ago, i worked for dealers and owners,it wsas a living untill the tax deal in 1989 on boats and then it became part time job. but it was a good run while it lasted. i charged by the day plus exp

 

[CPseudonym]

Holy cow Jerry I had no idea you retired! You've got my respect because I can only hope to be as active as you at your age. Late congrats from me on your retirement.

 

[ranger58sb]

Well, I'd just encourage you not to undervalue yourself. You're providing a service and it's worth a good bit. Actually in some cases they respect you more when you charge closer to market prices. Your time is still important, even if more flexible. The flexibility is where you have real value to others, not the price.

Yep, didn't mean I'm so flexible as to devalue the work. For me, or for others in the field.

I usually have room to maneuver on scheduling, though, and I don't need to eke the last possible centavo from a delivery... if, for example, weather days interfere with the original plan and the client's original $$ agreement, etc.

-Chris

 

[capt jerry]

Holy cow Jerry I had no idea you retired! You've got my respect because I can only hope to be as active as you at your age. Late congrats from me on your retirement.

thanks, i am a young 86 yr old

 

[Art]

thanks, i am a young 86 yr old

OK, OK... So, what did you retire from Jerry, boat Captaining? Was retirement this year at 86;what do you feel is next??