a yacht you can drive yourself?

ROFL ... I can't believe you wrote that! Well, yes, I can, I predicted it. Keep writing, it can only get more amusing.

Of course the likelihood of something happening in the 15-20 minutes between the slips is low, it's in the final few seconds when it hits the fan.

Henning, have you ever heard the old sayings about how a lifetime of doing everything right, every time is wiped out by one second of something going wrong? All the attaboys you've ever earned are erased by one "Oh F--k", well old boy, you just wiped out all your "I am the best" posts with your last wonderful example of a boast gone horribly wrong.

I wouldn't trust you to wash a twotter, much less drive the thing. Your admission of really bad judgement (and pathetic attempts to justify it) proves that those who boast the most ususally have something missing.

Henning, sorry to dump on you, but Marmot is absolutely right (although he could have been kinder in style). We all heard the expression 'jumping off a building doesn't hurt. It's just the stop at the end'. Well the example you chose is full of 'stops at the end'. $250 isn't a professional captain's pay and it isn't rent. It's pocket change. How much is the deductible on that 120 footer. If the owner of a 120 footer only pays an independent captain $250 and won't spring for a deckhand in such a risk filled maneuver he surely will have you paying for the scratches, and that will be a lot of rent. If you're that desperate for work it's time to reconsider your career choice as many captains have this past year. I believe you do some work up here. Any captain up here helping to drive down salaries can count on not getting referred by other captains. That job is $400 PLUS a deckhand or even two. Otherwise let the yard use their people. Better to work at Wal-Mart and get section 8.

$250 is my minimum charge, it gets me for 2 hrs, additional time sees additional billing. Most of these gigs take less than an hour. This is stuff I am doing for the yards and custodial companies, not the owners. I weigh and manage my risks carefully. If I am uncomfortable with the situation, I don't do it. Rarely if I get in a bind is a deckhand going to be able to help me out. If I was desperate for work, I'd go back to the oilfield or tugs. I now have a full time white boat gig, but even freelancing small jobs and the occasional cruise and delivery I still did reasonably well without working much at all. Everyone has their own level of risk aversion, yours is higher than mine. I don't need captain referrals BTW, I have owner referrals. As for driving down the market, you better speak with dealers and brokers, because they are lining up captain and mate for a combined $300 a day for deliveries down south.

Yes yes, and exactly what boat are you running right now?

A fleet of them. But trying to divert your public defrocking into a discussion about me won't get you anywhere. Not even worth a "nice try" Henning. I will let NYCAP give the coup de grace, he is pretty good at nailing guys like you.

Not really interested in nailing anybody, just in making sure professionals can earn an appropriate living. From what I've seen of Henning's posts he seems quite experienced. I just disagree with him on the risks involved here being worth what he's charging. That kind of money gets a 3 hour lesson on a small boat because you can control the time allotted. Otherwise no move of a boat takes 2 hours, especially if you're depending on a yard crew. You can not book multiple jobs in a day that involves moving a boat. As for the

you can't blame a guy for trying. However nobody but a captain crash would take our risks for that kind of money. So if that's the rep a captain wants to cultivate go for it. Just don't expect to be in this business long. This industry is so in need of unionization to stabilize rates, but everybody is so afraid of competition that that will never happen and the dealers and brokers are happy to take advantage of it. I recently heard about one of the best captains I personally know. He took a job with a very large dealership here. He now mops floors in a hospital. Let the cheap dealerships run their own boats and pay the repair bills. If they're slow on paying drag them into small claims court. If they want to pay cheap let them get cheap service and garbage captains. If a captain doesn't value his time it tells you exactly what kind of captain he is; not the kind you want to trust with a million dollar asset.

A fleet of what? In Ft Lauderdale there's only a "fleet" of water taxis or a couple of companies with a few dinner boats. You're a water taxi driver aren't you, you're probably the fee taker at that, that's why you have such fear....

Now I don't know Marmot from a hole in the wall and I'm not a big fan of his style (although he's done a good job of being gentler this year, Thank you.), but I think you may have failed to look to the other side of the 17th Street bridge.
If you look back over Marmot's posts I think you'll find a guy who is a bit obnoxious; definitely sarcastic and can be belittling, but is seldom wrong.
Jeez, Marmot. We're starting to sound like a mutual admiration society. Has hell frozen over?

Guys,

I've been up since 4:00 AM putting together post show features and reviews. With sea trials this week, I haven't even unpacked from the show. I'm a little tired and honestly, a bit overwhelmed with work right now.

One of the most enjoyable parts of my day is reading the posts of our members, especially the constructive, informative experience that everyone in this thread possesses. But when a thread becomes destructive, it's troubling. It creates an environment that is not welcoming.

During the show, I met a number of YF followers, most of them lurkers. In speaking with them - encouraging them to post - I'm being met with a certain reluctance because the level of competence here is intimidating for many. Worse, some fear being belittled.

The posts made by our esteemed members has become an invaluable resource. We should all be proud of our contributions, but equally, we should embrace and respect others that share our enthusiasm. Unfortunately, I think we've reached a point where we need to reflect on what is best for the community.

The thread is closed. Let's move on...