dshorwich
Contributor
Ummm...if the contribution is required, it seems a bit of an oxymoron to call it "voluntary". Does Australia have any regulations on this subject similar to the USCG regs cited in post #10?
How do you other boatowners deal with the delicate subject of money and divers?
- Thread starter grey2112
- Start date
Please register or login
Welcome to ScubaBoard, the world's largest scuba diving community. Registration is not required to read the forums, but we encourage you to join. Joining has its benefits and enables you to participate in the discussions.
Benefits of registering include
- Ability to post and comment on topics and discussions.
- A Free photo gallery to share your dive photos with the world.
- You can make this box go away
Ummm...if the contribution is required, it seems a bit of an oxymoron to call it "voluntary". Does Australia have any regulations on this subject similar to the USCG regs cited in post #10?
fisheater
Contributor
As a passenger, I always ask how much I can contribute to "the joint costs of the voyage." If the owner (as is typical) says "nothing," then the after-dive meal and drinks are on me. I insist.
I don't have a high paying job nor do I have disposable income. I have a nice boat, which is why I have no money. 
I work to pay my bills and enjoy diving from the boat. I don't go to movies, nice restaurants and wouldn't know a smart phone from a shoehorn. When I'm not working and conditions are not horrible, I dive. We have a buddy who joins us most weekends and sometimes we invite others when he's not with us. We're going out anyway, so one more isn't going to break the bank.
We also have a system worked out when we get back to the slip. Merry and I have specific duties involving post-dive cleaning, and it really messes up our system when someone wants to help. I may be in the minority, but I invite people because I want to share the experience with them, not the expense.
I work to pay my bills and enjoy diving from the boat. I don't go to movies, nice restaurants and wouldn't know a smart phone from a shoehorn. When I'm not working and conditions are not horrible, I dive. We have a buddy who joins us most weekends and sometimes we invite others when he's not with us. We're going out anyway, so one more isn't going to break the bank.
We also have a system worked out when we get back to the slip. Merry and I have specific duties involving post-dive cleaning, and it really messes up our system when someone wants to help. I may be in the minority, but I invite people because I want to share the experience with them, not the expense.
Darnold9999
Contributor
My boat is not well set up to dive from so I don't take people out on it to dive. However I do take people out to kayak and to just hang out.
If I invite you out on the boat, then I have no expectation that you will contribute - as I would have no expectation if I invite you over to my house. Bring food and booze and we are good.
However - the cost of fuel invariably comes up and as I get about 1 mile per gallon (if I go really slowly) it is an easy conversion to dollars for most to make. i.e. in Canada it costs about $5 in fuel for every mile we travel.
I gratefully accept all contributions, but in the scale of running a boat for a year a couple of hundred bucks isn't going to make a difference one way or another.
Just to give those out there who don't own a boat some idea - my parking bill for the year for a 37 foot boat is $7,000 (it is an old wooden boat so it is boathouse kept which doubles the parking bill and halves the maintenance bill and the time I have to spend on sanding and varnishing), haulout and bottom paint $1,000 per year, insurance $2,200. Maintenance ???? depends on what breaks but figure 10% of the purchase price every year and you might get change, you might not. Depends on how much you do yourself and how much you have to hire someone to do. Nothing on a boat costs less than $1,000 to repair.
As someone said if you have to worry about the cost of fuel you can't afford the boat.
If I invite you out on the boat, then I have no expectation that you will contribute - as I would have no expectation if I invite you over to my house. Bring food and booze and we are good.
However - the cost of fuel invariably comes up and as I get about 1 mile per gallon (if I go really slowly) it is an easy conversion to dollars for most to make. i.e. in Canada it costs about $5 in fuel for every mile we travel.
I gratefully accept all contributions, but in the scale of running a boat for a year a couple of hundred bucks isn't going to make a difference one way or another.
Just to give those out there who don't own a boat some idea - my parking bill for the year for a 37 foot boat is $7,000 (it is an old wooden boat so it is boathouse kept which doubles the parking bill and halves the maintenance bill and the time I have to spend on sanding and varnishing), haulout and bottom paint $1,000 per year, insurance $2,200. Maintenance ???? depends on what breaks but figure 10% of the purchase price every year and you might get change, you might not. Depends on how much you do yourself and how much you have to hire someone to do. Nothing on a boat costs less than $1,000 to repair.
As someone said if you have to worry about the cost of fuel you can't afford the boat.
Peter_C
Contributor
I owned a nice wakeboard boat for many years, and rode behind/on lots of boats. The unwritten rules are pretty much you chip in for fuel if you want to be invited back. At the end of the day you also help clean up. A thirsty V-8 pushing a non planning hull, often running full throttle takes a lot of fuel (Relative of course to something like the Spree). Since it is a good idea to store the boat full of fuel we stopped at the gas dock to fill up, or if trailering at a gas station on the road, and divided up the fuel bill. Typically equal including the boat owner. No one is expected to chip in for maintenance, insurance, nor storage.
The boat I have now doesn't get driven for miles, nor does it hold much fuel, and gets decent MPG. I don't ever ask for gas, but do accept a cold beverage
The boat I have now doesn't get driven for miles, nor does it hold much fuel, and gets decent MPG. I don't ever ask for gas, but do accept a cold beverage
clownfishsydney
Contributor
It is voluntary, as much as it is voluntary for them to be asked out on the boat again if they do not. If people do not like it, they can certainly go to a dive shop and try to get a boat dive (which they cannot in our area as I explained) and pay 3 x times what I ask for.
In the past week I have taken my boat out four times for diving. That means 20 dives for other members of our club that they would otherwise not be able to do. That means I have put in at least 150 litres of fuel (twin motors) as well as two stroke oil and petrol for the car to tow to the ramp. For me to subsidise the diving of this many people would have cost me a minimum of $250 this week (fuel is about $1.60 a litre this week). If people did not contribute, I would have to sell the boat as I could not afford to take it out enough to justify the investment. Then members would also miss out on boat dives.
In NSW (all states have different rules) the authority has consistently ruled that the use of private boats for diving with fuel contribution is okay, despite the attempts of a couple of dive operators to get it ruled otherwise. From memory, the relevant part is "for profit" which I am certainly not doing.
In the past week I have taken my boat out four times for diving. That means 20 dives for other members of our club that they would otherwise not be able to do. That means I have put in at least 150 litres of fuel (twin motors) as well as two stroke oil and petrol for the car to tow to the ramp. For me to subsidise the diving of this many people would have cost me a minimum of $250 this week (fuel is about $1.60 a litre this week). If people did not contribute, I would have to sell the boat as I could not afford to take it out enough to justify the investment. Then members would also miss out on boat dives.
In NSW (all states have different rules) the authority has consistently ruled that the use of private boats for diving with fuel contribution is okay, despite the attempts of a couple of dive operators to get it ruled otherwise. From memory, the relevant part is "for profit" which I am certainly not doing.
Once I dove from a friend's boat, and I brought cash. It was a short ride (10 minutes each way I think) and no launch fee, so I guess that was the reason he would only accept half of the cash I offered. I don't want him (or anyone) to feel like I"m taking advantage of him (them). My parents have a small boat of the same approximate size, and it consumes when cruising about 5 gallons per hour, so at current gas prices, I think $20 per hour the motor is running would cover it (more for larger boats of course as the MPG is a lot lower). But I do like the idea of filling up the tank afterwards and just paying for it myself with credit card (solves the problem of not getting enough cash). No big deal if it wasn't full to begin with. I'd be curious to how others feel (both boat owners and non owners) about my estimate. Boats cost time and money. Boats run on gas, not thanks.
"boat" = a hole in the water into which you pour money
Well, I'll have to admit that I didn't appreciate how costly a biggish boat (>25') really is. I thought airplanes were bad, but I think I'll go back to that and stick with diving quarries - then I get to have fun with both "hobbies"! Now, if I can figure out how to get lift passes <$100/day, I'd have it all covered...
Similar threads
