# Fair price to go offshore?



## MarkDiaz

What's the NORM for having friends to go offshore with you? I have most all the gear, take the boat home and clean it myself and make the monthly note on it. I have several friends/co-workers/family and friends of friends that want the deep blue experience. Some have gear, most of my peeps don't. Thanks for your opinions. Mark D


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## AC123

*Fair*

Split the gas, ice and fish evenly. Pitch in for lost tackle. Everyone brings drinks and food. Thats fair enough.


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## AirbornXpress

*That's true*



AC123 said:


> Split the gas, ice and fish evenly. Pitch in for lost tackle. Everyone brings drinks and food. Thats fair enough.


Depends on how far ya go, normal trips around $150-175 a head. When we get back everybody works, some cleaning boatsad3sm (not me)some cleaning fish


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## RB II

AC123 said:


> Split the gas, ice and fish evenly. Pitch in for lost tackle. Everyone brings drinks and food. Thats fair enough.


This is about as fair as it gets. Split gas for the truck also. Maybe captain eats and drinks free.


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## dejavu000

HydraSports said:


> This is about as fair as it gets. Split gas for the truck also. Maybe captain eats and drinks free.


Captain/Owner shouldn't have to split fuel or bait either IMO.


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## kevindog312

Depends on the boat and how far you go. 

We throw in Ice, bait, fuel, fish cleaning, and boat wash (i'm at a marina) and divide it by the number of people on the boat. If your folks don't have their own gear I would throw in lost tackle/gear. However if the crew decides they want to cover the entire cost and keep me (the boat owner) out of it I don't argue. I fish a 26 footer with twin engines in the 50 to 80 mile range and the cost is usually $125 to $185 per person. I don't throw in a "surcharge" for the cost of boat ownership ((e.g. storage, insurance, maintenance etc. etc.) or the cost of fuel for my truck. IMO if you are expecting your crew to pay for all that stuff then you couldn't afford buying a boat and probably should never have bought it in the first place. Plus, I never ASK the crew to pay for anything. All the folks I fish with seem to understand the cost of fishing offshore. With that said, if someone doesn't offer to pitch in or offers far less than everyone else it is not likely they will be asked to return.


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## centex99

I always chip in my equal share of expenses(bait/etc/etc)/$ for lost gear plus my share and partial share of owners on gas for boat... ie 4 people including owner, I'd pay for my 1/4 of gas plus 1/3 of the owners 1/4 of gas... Sometimes I chip in a bit more depending on everything...
I'm also up for an equal amount of work cleaning fish/boat/etc...


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## fish_eater

divide evenly. not suppose to make profit.


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## MarkDiaz

I think that KevenDog123 told me what I wanted to hear. I am the type that likes to have everything loaded the night before (fuel,gear, ice, etc). So I accumulate all those expenses prior to hitting the water, and most meet me at the dock. We load their gear and off we go. We get back and some throw me a bone, some ask how much, some hit me hard with cash and tell me the best time ever to let me know when I'm going again to call them. I have regulars, singles never to return(seasick like a ), and a few freebirds. Kevins way of those that understand anti-up will get the call back and the freebirds numbers get misplaced. I'm not trying to make a profit, just trying to be fair. Thanks for all your responses. 

Tight lines


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## cobia 254 cc

centex99 does more than his share. :smile:


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## Momma's Worry

$200 each would be fair for a 12hr out 50 mile run...........if you just show up with nothing .....go out ,come back in to the dock and then just leave everything to someone else and go home..........


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## BullyARed

If the people haven't fished and have not spent more than $100 for a fishing pole or reel, they think when you invite them, it would be a free trip! So, when you ask them to pitch in, more likely they will back out the trip. So, if the guy offers $20.00, just tell him he can get on and off the boat immediately and that covers a boat lap dance.


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## FISH TAILS

*Split it all evenly*

I have always heard it split evenly for the legal side of it but like others have said I chip in at least the split and offer tackle bait etc. I understand that you have a boat and a lot of bills I do not and do truely appreciate being given the opprotunity to go like many others on this board. I would love to go out 3 times a week if I could afford to but can't and do not get that many offers. I think this thread has explained it well. Thanks again for thinking of us non boat owners with the invites.:walkingsm


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## CoastalOutfitters

speaking specifically of "buddy" trips

if you are pitching in only for boat fuel, bait and ice, you are not treating the boat owner fair, esp, if you use /lose his gear. 

He has storage, ins., maint., gear replacement , fuel additives, etc. not that you necc. owe for it, but his expenses are there.

pay your share well and get invited back on the A list.

Also, you should expect to clean fish , the boat, wash the tackle and rods, etc.

alot of the boat details can be done on the way in, pre-scrub cockpit, de-rig rods, bag trash, bag/pitch leftover bait, rinse out coolers, buckets etc.


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## Capt. Hooky

I never make profit and always pay my side of it. I always tell everyone, assume we are going to bur 100 gallons of fuel and a gallon of oil. Plus bait, ice, tackle ect.


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## SpecialK

I have always thought that this was the fair way...
Boat owner covers overhead...
Guests split all fuel actually burned, bait, lost tackle, ice etc. The boat owner already provided the ride. Why should he have to buy the fuel also?


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## acoastalbender

Are there any boat owners who were forced to buy their boats. Yea, silly question. I'm a boat owner and if my fish buddys offered to pay their share and mine I'd look at it as a gift but turn them down. I didn't get into boat ownership while I was sleep walking and if I didn't have good fish buddys to go with I'd go a lot less.....I don't care to worry more about being reimbursed than fishing and having a good time. Anyone with common sense
knows what the right thing to do is and does it.


.


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## mattndubya

I tend to agree with acoastalbender.
I do not invite people with me because I need help financing my trips. I invite them because they are my buddies, and it's what we do. We all have different toys and each one of us let the others share in the fun without worry of paying any kind of money. 
If someone offers to help pitch in for a trip, then cool, or if a group of my friends pitch an iddea to go out they always offer to pay expenses. But I do not invite people and then expect them to pay for expenses. The way I see it, I am gonna go fishing with or without them,.


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## REELING 65

BullyARed said:


> If the people haven't fished and have not spent more than $100 for a fishing pole or reel, they think when you invite them, it would be a free trip! So, when you ask them to pitch in, more likely they will back out the trip. So, if the guy offers $20.00, just tell him he can get on and off the boat immediately and that covers a boat lap dance.


...Now that is some funny chit right there. :biggrin:


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## B-Money

fish_eater said:


> divide evenly. not suppose to make profit.


If owner gets to marginalize everything...then anything under $500 per rider is fair.


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## mj270wsm

split all expense with all riders owners free ride , he already paid his :brew2:


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## B-Money

If you want to get asked back, round up alot and help wash off the squid juice when you get back to the dock.


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## Texas Walt

The most frustrating thing for a boat owner is to come home after a long offshore trip and have the other fishermen want to split up the fish and go home, leaving the captain to unload and wash the boat alone. This has happened to me a few times and those who have done this will never see the cockpit of my boat again. The other thing that some don't realize is how much money that is invested in equipment. I had a guy drop a $350 rod and reel overboard and it didn't seem to bother him...he never offered to pay for it. On the other hand, he'll never board my boat again.


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## Crossroads

I am a 62 year old that drives a displacement speed trawler. I don't really want to make offshore trips, especially overnighters by myself so it is in my interest to find a crew. When I go offshore, I like to have a couple of guys on board that enjoy the trip with or without "catching" because a slow boat makes for long days, I expect people to take care of my boat but have been disapointed a few times. Sometimes I furnish the fuel myself and just ask the crew to bring food and drinks because I don't want the trip to be a financial burden especially if the crew is driving in from out of town. I would rather have a good crew member ride free than just a cost sharing lazy guy.


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## fultonswimmer

*Offshore*

If you ever have a chance to go offshore with Crossroads, I would suggest jump on it. The "Captain" and his "Admiral" will treat you first class and you just might learn something. I know I did and I hope to get out with Bill and his partner sometime in the future. I also thought what he asked at the end of the trip was more than fair, perhaps he should have charged more than what he did.
That is my 2 cents!
Mike


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## MarkDiaz

Figured out how i will do it. How many peeps go, even chop on fuel, ice, Bait, crew feeds and hydrates the captain on my boat. Split the fish and i'll clean the boat . For me its being on the water, thats my happy place. I want to go tuna and wahoo fishing. I'm out of sabine pass so if there is any experienced seasoned salts I'm ready. Your boat or mine. Thanks Mark


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## Dick Hanks

I think that Mark has picked up the best of a lot of ideas that have been tossed around. I like the things he splits evenly and the crew should keep the captain full, fat and happy. I, as a captain, would like help with some cleaning. Don't care if it's cleaning the fish or the boat... same to me. Just save me a bunch of time. I would explain the value of tackle and the user is responsible for it.


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## centex99

Mark, sounds fair to me... I'm always up for a trip, though am not an experienced seasoned offshore guy... let me know what you like to drink and eat, and I'll be there though!


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## Bill Fisher

i always let everyone know up front what to expect in the way of fuel costs and would take anyone offshore that volunteered to pay an equal share of the expense........... i also included myself in the sharing of fuel expense

however, being the captain/owner, we fished the way i wanted to fish and for what species i wanted to target

for a day trip i had everyone bring their own food and drinks and told'em if they wanted to keep any fish they needed to bring at least 200 lbs of ice

however, if anyone or group of "peeps" were to volunteer to pick up the entire fuel bill for a trip, i'd consider letting them have a say as to what the targeted species might be

go with _me_ kicking-in-on-the-fuel and you're going be trolling for big game (marlin, tuna, sails, wahoo, and dorado)............

pick up the entire fuel expense and i might letchoo drop for AJ, snappers, grouper, or whuddever else floats yer boat

lost lures i could deal with....... it happens........ even if they're $100+

drop a rig overboard,.............. i expect it to be replaced

i would also point out replacement values of my expensive rigs beforehand thinking that that might give'em an incentive to hang onto'em pretty tight and be careful with'em

i clean and care for the boat and equipment........... guests clean fish

if i could afford to swing it, i'd love to take folk out and watch'em catch whatever fish they might like for me to put'em on but i never could justify it to myself condidering what a sportfishing yacht cost along whith all they expenses it includes.............. as-much-as i like big-game fishing, i figger if i could afford to take everyone for free, i could afford to hire someone to run the boat, deckhand, and let _me _fish and drink beer all day :biggrin:


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## fernht8

hahah i agree with everyone on this tread. be carefull DO NOT put a price on what people have to pay, unless you are a captain and are paying your dues to the state, and gov, remember we dont like problems with uncle sam!  but our hobbie is very expensive, if you want to play you have to pay! people need to understand that, just be cool and "mention" the hassle of gasing up, bait, tackle and "hint" 9 out of 10 people will offer to pitch inn. GOOD LUCK!


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## Mattsfishin

I agree with several of you on here. Several years back a friend had a boat and all the gear. When we went with him we paid for all the fuel, ice, bait, and tackle we lost. Since he provided the boat and tackle we would not let him pay for anything. It is still a good deal in my books. I just need to find another friend with a big boat.

Matt


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## TheSamarai

Split everything evenly. When I used to hop on my friends boat to go offshore, we would figure out how much would be spent and chipped in the money once we got on the truck. We would fuel up boat and truck, buy groceries for trip, bait, ice, launch fees. Clean up boat once we got back. Then on ride home we would calculate total expenses and if there was something left it was split up otherwise we would chip in. This was made aware to us by boat owner before the trip and was reminded anytime any one new came along. Worked out very well.


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## TheSamarai

If you have friends who have boats its usually not a problem cause they know the value of a trip. Its those newbies who have never owned a boat or incurred such expenses that really are a pain to deal with. That's why we collect money upfront. My friend would have no problem dropping someone off if we got to the gas station and he finds excuses for payment. This has worked seamlessly for his boat and any other trips on my boat or other friend's boats.


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## Hesser

I worked a 40' charter (6 pack) boat a few times as a deck hand and also paid to charter the same boat. To me, the captain never needs to be part of a split. If the crew fishing can't cover the expenses of a trip, they should fish off the dock. There are people that would kill for a chance to fish and have the money but don't know who they could fish with. One thing that everyone that fishes on someone elses boat must do is pitch in. Help the captain anyway he wants, treat his equipment like it is your own, offer - don't be asked. Follow these rules and you will be the first call when it's time to go.


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## BullyARed

I have some good friends and they are welcome to ride free with me on my boat. Very often they just fill up the tank. We just enjoy the good time on the water.


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## Bull Red

I think it's best to estimate the costs and get your money up front and work out the other details. This isn't always an easy subject to bring up, but I've had people skip out when we hit the dock more than once and that's pretty agravating. Like others have said, most experienced fishermen will offer to pay for things and help with the clean up. They get invited back, the freeloaders do not. And anytime someone invites me fishing or hunting or whatever I always offer to pay and help out any way I can.


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## CoastalOutfitters

ea brings their own drinks

crew buys the food

the very base expenses are....fuel, poss. oil, fuel treatment, bait, ice, tackle

truck fuel, insurance, storage, boat note, slip rent, lodging, etc. all can vary , but are expenses the boat owner has to pay

if you just pay the bare minimum equally, you getting one heck of a deal as a crew member, so help out w the boat cleanup and fish cleaning


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## cobia 254 cc

Mattsfishin said:


> I agree with several of you on here. Several years back a friend had a boat and all the gear. When we went with him we paid for all the fuel, ice, bait, and tackle we lost. Since he provided the boat and tackle we would not let him pay for anything. It is still a good deal in my books. I just need to find another friend with a big boat.
> 
> Matt


Matt you would be welcome on my boat anytime with an attitude like that.


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## Levelwind

cobia 254 cc said:


> Matt you would be welcome on my boat anytime with an attitude like that.


This.

The difference between a legal sharing of expenses and an illegal charter is the odd concept of "consideration". If there is an agreement of payment, it is consideration and it is a charter. It has NOTHING to do with profit or loss. Sharing expenses is totally legal, as are gifts. I invite freinds to go fishing on my boat. I also run "gas money trips". but there is NEVER an agreement on payment.


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