What to pay the crew?

You'll want a F/T captain in either case to know and care for your boat. With the amount of chartering I'd expect you to do with a 72 a deckhand/chef might be on an as needed basis. For charters the captain can recieve a % of the charters plus tip as a bonus. That will just be an inducement for the captain though. Don't expect him to consider that in the salary negotiations because it may only do a charter here and there.
I see you're in Ft. Lauderdale. If you intend to charter in the US there will be some other considerations that are covered pretty well in other threads. They could affect whether it pays to charter.

It is a little boat, even though some respondents would have you believe a megayacht salary applies. Despite what a few Sons of Magellan would like you to believe, captains for those boats are as common as bad drivers in southern Florida. Throw a rock down 17th St in Fort Lauderdale and you will probably hit an unemployed captain.

From my take on your posts it sounds like a part timer will work just fine. Unless you have a spectacular "program" and are a marketing genius the odds of this boat having a busy charter calendar is pretty slim, despite what the broker told you.

Figure out what you want to do with the boat first. Look through the jobs wanted pages of the local yachting papers and websites, you will quickly build a list of candidates. Running a boat that size is not rocket science and 100 ton licenses are easier to get than door dents. Find a young one who wants a chance to learn the business and is grateful for the work.

Alternatively, develop a list of older more experienced captains who are interested in doing on call work while they wait for their megayacht to come in. Local brokers will be helpful at providing names for you.

I agree with 99% of Marmot's post except for:

It's amazing how much damage an inexperienced captain can do with a 72 footer. You also don't want too much tonage as their experience may not relate to small boat handling. 100GT will do you fine, and there are plenty of them in that area. Look for one on his 3rd or 4th issue (10 years plus experience). 1st or 2nd issue may have been serving drinks on a dinner boat or working on land and taking his own boat out a couple of times a year.

About the same amount as a complacent old graybeard.

When you are looking at lower level USCG licenses that doesn't really apply, these guys got their tickets by running little boats that don't have multiple mates and ABs and anyone with a 1600 ticket is going to have a lot more to offer than someone with a 100 ton. The formal training and the length of experience (hopefully) under supervision of more experienced masters counts for a lot more than number of renewals.

All an owner has to do is go for a short boat ride with a prospective candidate to know immediately if the guy knows how to drive. But driving skills should be among the least of an owner's concerns.

Mine's direct deposit....

I don't believe this and side more with NYCAP. The megayacht captains from what I have seen, don't know how to repair most of the systems on a smaller yacht or maintain them because they've always had an engineer to do that. Many of the megayacht captains are great at managing expenses, yards, and navigating, but came up as a mate on a megayacht and didn't learn how to fix the systems of a smaller yacht. Or, the appropriate person to even call. They also don't know where to find parts for smaller yachts or how to run them proficiently, because they behave totally different.

I too believe a young Captain can really screw A LOT of things up. I've seen it numerous times. I've also seen them just plain not know what needs to be maintained. I've also seen an over-eager young Captain, not know when to say when and hire a professional and take on projects that even I wouldn't accomplish and really really screw them up.

I specialize in Yacht Management, deliveries, and daily Captain and am based in Fort Lauderdale. Not because I'm some un-employed Captain sitting at Waxy's on 17 street, but because I choose to be in my own bed most of the time everynight, and have the freedom to not take a trip if I do not want to. Besides, I'd have to go fulltime on a 100'+ to make what I currently make, and then be stuck in a location for 3 months here, then 4 months over there.

Just because a Captain is on his first or second issue does not mean he's in-experienced. I'm only on my second issue, but my resume is very lengthy. As Captain, I've done the entire great loop, then entire intracoastal waterway about 8 times, the North-South Delivery at least twice a year, have delivered 3 yachts from Ft. Laud to Belize, made numerous trips from ft. laud to the Carribean as far as St. kitts, st, maarten, st. croix, Did the entire gulf as far a New Orleans a few times,am the relief Captain on a 103' Johnson for long passages. Ran a yacht to 90% of the islands in the Bahamas. Been into Canada twice, as far as Maine on the east coast. My resume rivals at least 80% of the other 100 ton guys out there that are on their 4th issue. I do 15,000 NM's of deliveries a year and have been since 5 years before I got my license. I worked as a mate for years for an excellent captain that was a 1600ton master and did what I do now, and had run a yacht or ship in every sea, and had my own boat continuously since I was 5 years old. All without any issues except 1 damaged wheel coming into provo when I bumped a submerged 1' of piling from the guys that were doing the docks in there. So the moral of the story is, that it boils down to the resume and the person and not necessarily the issue # or the age.

This owner sounds like he likes having a full time crew and his demand or usage prefers a fulltime crew. He wants to have the same employees on his yacht every trip, and uses it enough to justify the crew. A 72' Feretti at a minimum should have a full time Captain. They are more labor intensive then say a 64' Hatteras that has no teak, paint instead of gelcoat, little stainless steel, and simpler systems.

No offence Cap. J. There are exceptions to every rule. I refer to issues because that's a way to cut through the list, but of course what I refer to is experience. In fact, it sounds like the OP could do worse than send you a PM.
Complacent doesn't cut it young or old, and it takes a lot more than "a short boat ride" to know if a cap knows how to run a boat unless that ride ends with spinning the boat into a slip with a foot or two over over its length between bows and a nice stiff wind blowing because one day he'll have to do it not to mention the mechanical & maintenance knowledge needed.

Amazing how sensitive people get when one just offers an opinion on a posted question. would seem there are those who feel a need to perhaps defend their well paid positions, and yes, I have been in the engine room in 18 ft seas in the Windward passage taking care of contaminated fuel problems, with well paid crew heading to their bunk in fear of iminent death, and yes, well paid, 20k for a 3 month trip. High pay does not gaurantee anything....

No it doesn't, but it improves your odds. Gotta go now to take my Lear down to Rio.

That was honest and so true, good job on reporting..!

Hi,

While this is still fresh in your collective minds.

What would you expect the Captain or Chief Engineer to get paid on a 50m plus boat?

The short answer is whatever he charges. Pay it or DIY. But it all depends on the details. Is there medical, dental, 401K, meals, severance, airfare home on breaks, paid breaks or is it 'stay in your hole and eat scraps? Straight pay I would expect very well upwards of 100K although that size is not in my experience so it's just a guesstimate.

150K and 100K respectively, each with a well rounded employment package. (medical, dental, vision, paid holiday, training, etc.)

If you want cheep labor, it's out there. I encourage people to use it.
You get what you pay for.

It's not until you have low pay / low grade skill sets on a multi-million dollar boat, you understand the difference between a 40 or 50K / year Engineer, and a 100K / year Engineer.

So please, go out and get a 50K / year Engineer to look after a 35 million dollar boat. Let me know how it works out for you. I bid you the best of luck.

crew

hi montfino here I have a 86ft montefino and my wife and I can handel the boat very well no need for a crew

a better question would be what would you expect the owners would WANT to pay...... that should have some interesting answers.....

If a hired captain dings the boat with a hard docking, who pays for it?
Does the captain have to carry insurance for this, or is it the boat owner's insurance that pays?
We have had this come up out here a few times.

As with so many jobs, it isn't often that the "starting salary" is great. The #2 executive in my company started with the company 13 years ago. She now makes more than 15 times her starting salary and will take over the company if something happens to me.

She is so good at what she does that I could hire 20 qualified people to do her job and not get a result as good.

Often, one needs to take a chance ... take the job and see how it goes.

If you want to write your own future in a more certain way, you will need to BE the entrepreneur .. or the Ivy League magna grad, doctor etc.

My captain made a little mistake the other day and bent one of the outriggers on a tree. Ad it to the list of issues to be dealt with. It's my boat, not his ... he has no liability unless he does something on purpose.

Mike

About the same as I'd like to pay my mechanic, plumber & electrician, and the odds of it happening without my house or car blowing up on me would be about the same.

There's another case I was looking at awhile back that is more on point, but I think this addresses the pertinent issue:
"Injured seaman's action against master of ship on which he was injured must be summarily denied, where seaman complains of captain's negligence in leaving incompetent person at wheel who allowed vessel to proceed full speed into jetties, because there is no right of action under general maritime law or 46 USCS Appx § 688 against vessel's master for unseaworthiness or negligence. Kennedy v Gulf Crews, Inc. (1990, WD La) 750 F Supp 214."

I don't believe in the $1000 per foot. And I don't think to many owners pay it. The captain on that size boat should be about 100k a year BUT there are all the other items such as how much is the boat used? In charter? Good owners? Benifits?

I own a 106 and run only two crew Husband and wife. They are the best. As my business is down I know I don't pay them enough. But They do get medical, phone , internet, car , food on boat along with meals off the boat with us and 1 month off a year. We think of them as friends and when we go out and explore they both go with us (unless the captain is worried about the anchor or people around the boat he will stay) We have had crew for almost ten years now and all have remained freinds and stay in touch with us. So I would say money is not everthing.