Captain's Liability For Guests Aboard

[bobconnie]

Whats the Coasties call ya ?? If they ever hail ya it will be as skipper till they know better !! Just my 2 cents

[David_Old_Jersey]

I must confess I am with ex-Calif on this one - For me Captain (on a recreational vessel) is simply a role - not a rank. I therefore have no problem with (and it is quite correct for) officialdom to treat me as Captain (of a specific vessel) and for me to fulfil that role.

But I always cringe when someone calls themselves "Captain" for no apparent reason. and try not to smirk too much if they are also wearing a hat (online I imagine they are wearing one!). But to be fair, that don't happen much around these parts......probably to do with cultural reasons (folks taking the piss ).

IMO if you need a hat (real or imagined!) to be in command then you are probably lacking in some confidence.

[Coops]

I work in a chandlery part time and we sell "captain's" hats.The only folk who buy them are "first boat" buyers of Rivieras, which, over here, are power boats bought by folks that don't know anything about boats. Everytime someone comes to the counter with one, we ask if they have one.

Coops.

[Wotname]

Originally Posted by goboatingnow

That may be your view but captain is a term used everywhere to mean the person in command.

Dave

Not sure where you are from Dave, but "everywhere" is a bit strong. In this part of the world, the person in charge of a recreational vessel is usually just called "Skip", "Skipper" or "Boss" (usually by the crew) but almost never "Captain" except as noted by Coops.

[atoll]

here in cornwall amongst commercial fishermen,you are addressed as either "cap",if you work on boats regardless of position,or "me hansome" if a landlubber.............

[Dockhead]

Getting back to the OP's question - I AM a lawyer, and if I gave any advice I would have to charge a lot more than $250 an hour . I won't give any advice, but I WILL share what I do about liability on board my own boat - I have a very good insurance policy, with a reputable company, with high limits (about $7 million for 3rd party liability). I take scrupulous care not to violate any terms of the policy. And then I simply don't worry about liability.

If someone is injured on your boat, in 90% of cases you will ultimately be responsible for it, and it doesn't matter whether you are skipper, captain, or Grand Admiral of the Fleet.

That's why God invented insurance . So that you can have fun on your boat and not worry about such things. I take crew sight unseen all the time. Strangers come on board, but they aren't strangers by the time they leave. It's half the fun.

[atoll]

Originally Posted by Dockhead

Getting back to the OP's question - I AM a lawyer, and if I gave any advice I would have to charge a lot more than $250 an hour . I won't give any advice, but I WILL share what I do about liability on board my own boat - I have a very good insurance policy, with a reputable company, with high limits (about $7 million for 3rd party liability). I take scrupulous care not to violate any terms of the policy. And then I simply don't worry about liability.

If someone is injured on your boat, in 90% of cases you will ultimately be responsible for it, and it doesn't matter whether you are skipper, captain, or Grand Admiral of the Fleet.

That's why God invented insurance . So that you can have fun on your boat and not worry about such things. I take crew sight unseen all the time. Strangers come on board, but they aren't strangers by the time they leave. It's half the fun.

does the policy cover crew mutiny,and them all demanding you pay their air tickets back to their country of origin?

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by atoll

does the policy cover crew mutiny,and them all demanding you pay their air tickets back to their country of origin?

You're not liable for that as long as you have non-paying guests on board, as opposed to hired crew. Which is also a requirement of your insurance policy, by the way. Now if you fed your mutineers to the sharks, and made it look like an accident, that might be covered

[Tony B]

Originally Posted by Dockhead

....... I AM a lawyer..... If someone is injured on your boat, in 90% of cases you will ultimately be responsible for it..........That's why God invented insurance . So that you can have fun ...and not worry about such things. I take crew sight unseen all the time............

While everyone is trying to play lawyer, it sure is nice to have a real one on board.
I can't believe I said that.
Thanks
Tony B

[captainKJ]

can we start with the lawyer jokes now

[atoll]

Originally Posted by Dockhead

You're not liable for that as long as you have non-paying guests on board, as opposed to hired crew. Which is also a requirement of your insurance policy, by the way. Now if you fed your mutineers to the sharks, and made it look like an accident, that might be covered

it is the getting them to walk the plank,and enjoy the trip that was problematic,guess i should have paid more attention in the diplomacy class

[goboatingnow]

Originally Posted by Wotname

Not sure where you are from Dave, but "everywhere" is a bit strong. In this part of the world, the person in charge of a recreational vessel is usually just called "Skip", "Skipper" or "Boss" (usually by the crew) but almost never "Captain" except as noted by Coops.

Skipper is just a slang , rather like " the old man". The term captain is primarily honorific. A commercial captain is correctly called a master mariner. ( and that's what his ticket says)

I carry a commercially endorsed yacht master I see no problem with the use of captain in leisure vessels. The term captain does not imply a particular level of qualification.

Dave

[Capt Phil]

Originally Posted by Ex-Calif

At the risk of being pedantic this is the definition that I most agree with.

Scroll down to Skipper.

According to this citation - I am sure there are other contrary ones

A Captain is licensed and in command
A skipper can be non licensed and in command

Sea captain - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This thread has taken an interesting turn, one I hadn't really thought about... I have always used the term Captain and Skipper interchangeably as one of deference to whomever is in charge aboard. Never drew the distinction between licensed or unlicensed. Growing up on the water, I worked for many 'old salts' who were Masters with unlimited tonnage certifications but were driving towboats in the PNW. Similar characters were unlicensed but had decades of experience and were great teachers and mentors.
Folks started referring to me as Capt when I was about 40 so thought I better sit down and become licensed but my idea of skipper/captain never really changed. Thanks for the clarification... Capt Phil

[VirtualVagabond]

Originally Posted by Dockhead

You're not liable for that as long as you have non-paying guests on board, as opposed to hired crew. Which is also a requirement of your insurance policy, by the way. Now if you fed your mutineers to the sharks, and made it look like an accident, that might be covered

Nice.. subtle little plug for taking care of the sharks..... very smoothe, Mr Dockhead, suh!

Is that a good enough start captainKJ?

[xymotic]

I would be less worried about "liability" and more worried about simple Landlord-tenant law.

If she claims to live there, then without a written agreement you will have a hard time getting her to leave. The law will require due process, properly serving her a 30 day eviction notice, etc. If she chooses to fight you on it you will have very little say in the matter.