Crew Wanted: Checklist For Voluntary Crew

[strique9]

I think it's odd to challenge a skipper's upfront requirement of the his crew. For me, I want more miles and if that means no smoking, no drinking, no whatever; that's a sacrifice (though small) I'd be willing to take. With my limited experience, a skipper with some structure makes me comfortable.

On the topic of crew selection. Because I hire a lot of people, I've been certified by Predictive Index to evaluate characteristics that people will express in various scenarios. The more stressed and tired an individual becomes, the more accurate the prediction becomes. If any skippers are bringing me aboard, I could provide evals for all crew and skipper for free.


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[jreiter190]

When I go cruising next year, I'll look for a stable couple, give them the forward cabin with a double bunk and room for their gear, pay all on board expenses (room and board), and a salary of 1K per month. The guy will be young enough to do the grunt work that I'm too old to handle (I'm almost 71); the gal will not be too proud to be the galley slave. They will provide passports and sign shipping articles as paid crew. They will have the means to travel and pay their own shore side expenses. No drugs aboard. At sea, one sundowner. Ashore, do as you like. In port routine requires three hours work on the boat. At anchor, a watch will be maintained and one person on board at all times. My cell is 772 801 4166 , my email is jreiter190@gmail.com My boat is a 1965 Alberg35.There's no house stuffed into her; Karen is a sea going vessel properly equipped for nearby foreign voyaging.

[WolfgangSeaLife]

great thread.
Can someone evaluate all this and put in a usable check list
Add techniques and ways to verify.
Blog it or send it to members on request.

Suggestions for different check lists:
Differentiate for what type of passage (distance, climate, etc)
What job on board?
Paid or volunteer?

Here are some problems that I have experienced:

Crew lied about experience.
References were fishy, or not honest.

Credentials were good but capabilities poor.

Total character change when under stress, panicking.
Drugs hidden, I noticed when way off shore.
Health problems
Over-ambitious, eager but hasty, hurting and injuring themselves.

Fearful and overcautious. Jumping ship, after minor problem.
Drinking problem.

My solutions: (all of it. I violated and paid)
Getting several good references.
Meeting people, not for dinner or drinks. Listening, watching.
Sailing and professional record.

Crew checking boat and captain:
There will be mechanical problems and delays, expect them.
None of my crews checked me out, but we had met.
Request last boat survey and insurance.
Get references from other crews.
Get details about past passages, repairs, problems

My crews told me terrible stories of totally unqualified skippers, where the crew had to save skipper and boat.
Check equipment yourself, taste the water, check the fridge and the foods.

Be prepared to turn around.

Get yourself a good checklist!!!

Understand that there are risks. Can you deal with them? How?

[Heath68]

I have just returned from Cornwall where I was rescued by the coast guards lifeboats and ALL (me thinks) because I didn't check before i offered to help...

I've recently qualified as a Day Skipper and wanted mileage to build experience. The cat (as that's what I'm buying so am hoping for experience on) was described as being recently done up so it sailed very well and just needed an interior refit before its new owner was taking it single handed to the West Indies.
I went up north in the UK to meet him but the engine had failed so it was delayed (i should have took more notice of this maybe).
A week later I went to South Wales and jumped aboard to help him take it round the coast.. on my way there he asked if I had a compass.. his had broken apparently. It was a 1970 Snowgoose (Prout).. once aboard He explained that in order to get away he needed to hotwire the engine to get it started.. which he did but didn't show me.
Underway he explained that the mast wasn't great as the gap in the runner meant the mailsail connectors may come out. The boom traveller also couldn't be fixed meaning it could easily swing each way.. i tied it to one end. Underway (set off at 9pm) we set the foresail only to see it had a rip along half of one length.. so power was "compromised" under sail I thought.
The new owner told me we'd have to motor a lot as we were against the wind (force 5) and he was trying to make progress.. although as the autopilot was broke it'd be someone on the helm at all times. I took the 3am til 10am shift during which I got soaked. During the next day the skipper told me he didn't think we had the fuel to motor to the port he wanted to reach. Early evening I asked if it wasn't prudent to go to the nearest port (we hadn't seen land since we'd set off) so we could refuel and continue.. he wanted to press on. The skipper (without a life jacket and me unable to start the engine) attaches a storm jib to try and help. By around 11pm the following night in Force 7 with 40mph gusts and not having eaten much all day we arrived "not far" from Falmouth. The choice was drop a drogue and wait til dawn or try and tack using the ripped foresail and tack back to try and go to harbour. He ties and drops the drogue and we sleep until dawn.

Dawn arrives and the drogue has not been tied on properly, tired, wet since we'd set off with a wet bed, no mobile phones, slowly failing house batteries and other problems means I insist we talk to the coastguard. He advises us to head towards Newlyn (or Newquay.. i don't know I didn't take the call). Newlyn is within power range (we are again against wind and current but with tide).. he drives back round Lands End towards Newquay and tells me he doesn't have enough fuel to get there.

I insist he calls in St. Ives and from there a lifeboat helps us pick up a visitor pontoon. I take the opportunity to jump ship and get to shore (the quickest the lifeboat crew have ever seen apparently).

So.. as a new sailor trying to gain experience I think any suggestions to avoid a repeat of my first sailing experience since getting day skipper is a very good idea indeed!!!

[DumnMad]

Heath68. Tell you what mate, you got experience money cannot buy.

[wtmf]

I like your responses, the Oceans are no problem BUT the weather is the great unknown. If you are going to fear everything stay home. Packratlodge said it best "Would I do it again, Hell yes in spite of the captains. I crewed with a 70,000 nautical mile captain and one night he comes out on deck, my watch, and he says, "we are either going due North or due South." I looked up at the sky, found the Big Dipper and told him ,"due North." to which he responded "due North or due South." I looked up just to confirm and said "Due North." I don't know if he was testing me but I know how to find that and the Southern Cross. I only take the long way on land.

[Mirage35]

I just noticed another posting for "female crew wanted". Now, I'm an older guy, so can only imagine what the women have to deal with, but if a posting said "male crew wanted" I'd sure expect it to explain why that was a more important criterion than sailing experience, etc.

[Scatterling]

Originally Posted by Teknav

... Transportation Worker Identification Credential; TWIC. To get one, you must be a US citizen.....

Interesting thread. This comment about US citizenship isn't accurate. I am a Canadian citizen and a TWIC holder.

[s/v Beth]

Its also interesting to me how my view has changed over the life of this thread. I have met some outstanding sailors. I do not ask them virtually anything, I just are happy to crew with them.
I don't know if you can make a seaman. They either have it or they don't. Most of them, interestingly enough, were once rock climbers or other adventurers. They just gravitated to sailing as they grew older.

[G4MJW]

Hw do I edit a "Crew" listing? Seems no way at least on mine, to edit it???

No problem with my normal postings!

Steve/G4MJW

[crpcrp]

If I am skipper and looking for crew I ask for references from past skippers they crewed for (personally talk to the skipper concerned).

If crew I turn the tables and ask for references from crew who previously work for the skipper, then talk to them.

If no crew references, this kind of suggests no previous passages, so stay away.

Dependant on contact info being available and making sure the reference is not a good friend pretending. This with the other suggestions above will help.

I also look for family cruisers rather than single owners if possible and a breakdown of electronics (often tells a tale) and if they have an EPRIB or just shoe string approach.

Checking the registration details of the vessel against the relevant register also confirms a lot, especially age of vessel and how long the current owner has had it.

[Trim50]

Looking to crew with someone in Turkey for a few weeks. Where do I start?

[captain58sailin]

kiwiladysailor , I would always listen to the little voice that tells you something is not right, either about the situation, person or boat. Most of what involves selecting crew is not about the experience they have, as much as problem solving ability (being able to think around corners) and good judgment (such as knowing when to call the skipper out.) If you can tie 5 or 6 key knots and know when to grab a fender and move it to stop from damaging the boat (yours or the other guys). As many here will agree, common sense is not all that common. I once had a paid crewman, who had little experience, but was a willing worker and did a very good job for me while we were on the hard, but when we set off on an 800 mile crossing, he hit the bunk and I didn't see him again until we were getting ready to tie up the boat, so for all intents and purposes, I was single handing the entire trip, which is fine by me, like boaty61, most times I prefer my own company. For crew looking at a prospective boat/captain, before meeting the Captain, take a look at the vessel and see if it is well kept, neat and orderly, that is not always a red flag, but it is a clue. When talking with the Captain, does the Captain complain how it is someone else's fault something went wrong? Unwillingness to take responsibility for something that went wrong on the vessel is a big red flag for me. Then there is the Jekyll and Hyde syndrome, nicest guy on the dock turns into a screaming meme offshore. Getting the Captain likkered up before the trip for an insight to their unguarded behavior is one way to learn about them, it is also a way to get on their good side. I have worked with all manner of crew and Captains over the years, both the scrubs and the highly credentialed individuals and as far as I can tell, it is a crap shoot for getting a good crew. Dock talk is a good way to gather intel, however as people wag their tongues, bear in mind the source and what agenda they may have, and decide for yourself. I would much rather have a willing, enthusiastic newbe, whom I can teach, than a know it all pro that won't listen. Keep your eyes open, sometimes the smallest detail can give you a true read on the situation. How do they react when something doesn't go their way, or if something breaks unexpectedly, some negative reaction is expected, however if it develops into tool throwing and swearing, you might want to watch out. As far as my vessel goes, it is a dry boat, no drinking, or illegal drug use, once we make landfall go ashore and do what you like, but don't come back to the boat unless you are sober. As far as sex goes, it's your willy, you can wash it as hard and fast as you like. I am very clear with my crew about what is expected as far as performance expectations go and the communications are always clear, and if someone doesn't understand, we will work on it until there is understanding. I adhere to the Japanese philosophy of "Fix the problem, not the blame." I always advise my crew not to say "I can't" but to say "How can I?" For me going to sea is as much a spiritual journey as it is a physical one. If you can't relax and have fun with the ones you are sailing with, get the hell off the boat, life is too short and uncertain. Fair winds and following seas.

[Sailin fool]

[QUOTE=GermanCook;1563938]Normally a professional reknown Crew Agency (not to be mistaken for one of those free Internet "Crew boards") is safe to accept a job. (and to find crew members for owners, albeit slightly more expensive)
Without and on the "free" job market It is always a gamble to decide if one takes a job or not. I recommend lots of skype interview including small talk with the owner. Ask innocent questions about his prior problems with other crew, which will give you valuable hints on HIS personality.
As strange as it sound, but if you have any doubt, try to apply the same interview techniques as an employer in order to find a bit out about the Owner. (google it!)
But even then one can be heavily disappointed, as owners can turn out completely different when met personally.
If one finds himself thousands of miles away from home then, this can be pretty difficult.
I have lately applied as deckie/engineer/cook and was accepted only to find out that the owner was a sort of "philosophizing dreamer" with total unrealistic expectations.
He expected to apply Socratic methods on each and every single situation (sic!) in order to achieve the "perfect" solution.
As nice as it sounds and maybe even works in shore based life, at Sea this can be extremely dangerous.
The result of that "philosophical approach" was that his yacht was sitting 8 months in a shed without the minor modification could have been made in somewhat a week. The (very capable) yard workers did not mind, they got paid by day and were always willing (and smiling) spending 7 hours a day explaining to the owner what they did or were planning to do.
Having then read through the older logs written by past crew (which were a lot and always changing!) I made up my mind and left. The man was simply dangerous to himself and his crew.

Having written that, it is very unlikely to find "weirdos" among Yachtowners, most of the time they are wealthy and successful people and this requires a rather sane mind. They may be eccentric in the common sense, but personally I find that rather refreshing.[/QUOT

CEOs are four times more likely to be sociopaths so maybe because he has money doesn't make him sane. Thanks to everybody who has given there two cents on this topic. This is great stuff for a newbie such as myself to hear. Happy sails

[Pilot Gene]

As a volunteer crew it is all about attitude and ability to adapt. Started many years ago crewing with professional delivery cptns and learned right off you have to go along to get along. Then crewed for a few private owners who "knew everything" but could not fix anything. Prepair yourself (I went to Yanhmar repair school), bring your own gear, be flexible and know when to keep your mouth shut, there's always more than one way to do something. Enjoy the free ride. After several boat ownerships there is a lot to be said about them getting the fuel, repair, yard and insurance bills.