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Hiring a skipper for a charter: what does the crew pay on top of the fee?
Short answer
The skipper's fee usually pays for the work and nothing else.
It is normal for the crew to feed the skipper from the kitty and give up a berth,
and on a one-way trip the journey back is added.
What applies in your case is in the charter agreement or the base's terms.
Crews without the right certificate, or sailing an area for the first time, often book a skipper with the yacht. The quote then shows a fee per day or per week, often payable at the base. Many crews budget on that figure and are surprised on board when more follows. That is not small print working against them, it is simply how skippered charters run: the skipper works aboard for a week, eats with the crew and sleeps on the boat, and the fee normally covers only the work.
Three items are commonly added. First, food: it is usual for the skipper to eat from the boat kitty, on board and in the taverna when the crew goes ashore. Second, a berth: the skipper needs somewhere to sleep, often a cabin of their own, which the crew then loses; when the boat is fully booked that is the key question before you sign. Third, travel: on a one-way charter, or a handover in another port, the skipper's journey out or back has to be paid for. Marina fees, fuel and tourist taxes fall on the crew as on any charter, the skipper changes nothing there. A tip at the end is customary in many areas, but it is voluntary.
So ask before you book, in writing, what the fee includes, whether the base names a fixed daily rate for food, which cabin the skipper will take and who pays the journey home on a one-way trip. Talk openly about the kitty when you first meet, and the last evening passes without awkwardness. And be clear about roles: whoever is named as skipper in the charter agreement is responsible for running the boat. If the hired skipper is only there to advise while someone in the crew helms, settle that with the base beforehand.
Worth remembering
The fee
pays for the skipper's work
Kitty and cabin
usually on the crew
Ask what the fee includes before you book. The skipper's cabin is one the crew does not get.
Questions
What owners ask us about this
Does the crew have to feed the skipper?
As a rule, yes. The skipper usually eats from the kitty, ashore as well as on board. Some bases set a fixed daily rate instead, so ask before you book.
Does the skipper need their own cabin?
Often, and some bases insist on it. That takes a berth away from the crew, so plan the cabin allocation with the skipper in it, not without.
Is it usual to tip the skipper?
In many sailing areas it is common, but it is voluntary and not part of the contract. Whether and how much is up to the crew at the end of the week.
Related
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