Boat, guests, money, etiquette

Jack2048

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
Oct 20, 2011
Messages
132
Hello everybody,

I have a question of how do you handle the issue of friends / guests chipping in for riding on your boat?

Do you ask them to chip in ahead of time?
If so, how does your does your conversation go for this topic?

If you have not previously discussed money, afterwards, if they ask how much they should chip in, what do you say? How much $$?
If they chip in, do you count how much they gave? Or as long as they give some (i.e. you see a couple of 20s and other bills), they're good?


I had some casual friends come out recently, and they didn't chip in. They are a bit younger, and I think just lack of age / experience contributed and I did invite them, so fair enough. But this is the first time this has happened. Over the years, people have always been forthcoming and generous. So , no problems.

I would not want to say something like "hey, would love to have you out on the boat, but please make sure to help out."

What do you think is a proper amount to expect / say if asked?

I have a 23' runabout that I trailer for 45 mins to the ramp to give you a baseline of what's involved.
 

Yachtsman1304

Seaman
Joined
Mar 2, 2009
Messages
67
I bet you will get all sorts of different responses on this one. My rule is I don't generally give "boat rides". Maybe I have become crusty, but most of the time it is not worth the headaches. Now, I admit I am OCD about my boat and I do not deal well with people not treating my stuff like I do. Call it a character flaw.

I go with the thought that I expect nothing and if they DON'T **** me off, and I have a good time, I will invite them back. Unfortunately common courtesy is something of a lost art anymore.

If you give boat rides expecting people to contribute, you are setting yourself up for disappointment.
 

NYBo

Admiral
Joined
Oct 23, 2008
Messages
7,107
You have to be careful accepting money from anyone you take on your boat, even if you don't solicit it. You could be considered to be taking paying passengers, which opens a very large can of worms.
 

Jack2048

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
Oct 20, 2011
Messages
132
Good point, you want to make sure that this is not a "for hire" excursion. The money is only for helping out w/gas and wear and tear.
 

Tnstratofam

Commander
Joined
Aug 18, 2013
Messages
2,679
I don't ask for nor do I expect money when I go to the lake from anyone I invite, and unless you're invited your not going to be going to the lake with us. That eliminates joy rides with us. The Admiral and I are very cautious about who comes along. The first mate can have a friend or his girlfriend along if he wants, but 4 people on our fishing boat is all that will comfortably ride. On the ski boat 6 is the max even though it can seat 8. I've only got 6 people I would invite along, and the Admiral's list is much shorter so we usually don't have a problem. Funny no one has asked me to take them for a ride. Maybe my sparkling personality scares them off.:D
 

JoshOnt

Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Aug 12, 2013
Messages
487
I never expect them to give me money, it is nice if they chip in. Most if we just go out for a drive don't chip in but when I take the boat to the family event in the summer and take the younger ones tubing and for rides I normally get parents chipping in same as they do with everyone else who brings a boat. We normally pool the money and split it out according to who used the most gas. But yeah if you ever expect them to chip in on gas then you will often be disappointed.
 

Ned L

Commander
Joined
Sep 17, 2008
Messages
2,266
You have to be careful accepting money from anyone you take on your boat, even if you don't solicit it. You could be considered to be taking paying passengers, which opens a very large can of worms.

I think the C.G. Does allow for some cost sharing now, ... But I still go by this and would never expect or accept anything from an invited guest.

I don't know how else to say it other than that is quite tacky. "Hey, want to joint us on our boat this Saturday?... Ok, that will be $xx, thanks".
 
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southkogs

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Jul 7, 2010
Messages
14,785
I'm on the "guests are guests" side of the fence. If I'm going out, and we wanna' take some friends along then they are our guests and we treat. We may suggest bringing food and beverages of their preference, but boat and gas are on us (though many offer to help).
 

MTboatguy

Fleet Admiral
Joined
Jul 8, 2010
Messages
8,988
I don't even worry about it and if anyone offers, I refuse, if I have asked them out with me to go on my boat or go camping, I already accept the costs are mine and mine alone, I make sure I have the food and fuel to run and so that everyone can eat. To me, it is just not that big of a deal, if I get to the point where I have to get money to play with my toys, then it is time for me to sell them.
 

WIMUSKY

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Sep 26, 2009
Messages
19,790
I ask for nothing and sometimes provide lunch too, or we'll go to an eatery on the lake. And I may travel 3hrs to the ramp.
 

RGrew176

Commander
Joined
Mar 20, 2002
Messages
2,089
When I invite people out on my boat I do not expect them to pay for the trip since I invited them. Some guests have offered to chip in but so far I have not taken any money from them. Now with the higher costs of fuel I might reconsider accepting offered funds but I still will never ask up front. Without fail everyone I have ever invited out has brought food and drink with them to share so that is payment enough I would say.

A few years ago I had to go to a meeting with members of the boating association I belong to. A couple other members asked if I would mind using my boat to take them to the meeting we were all going to. They said up front that they would contribute to the cost of fuel. When we got back they handed me money that just about covered the total cost of the fuel used. There were 6 of us going counting me and the amount of money they gave me covered 5/6th of the cost of the fuel used. That was the only time I would have asked for money up front but they were on top of it by offering to share the cost up front prior to the trip.
 

coolbri70

Lieutenant Commander
Joined
Oct 6, 2011
Messages
1,554
i never ask my guests to chip in, and i pack food and drink, towels etc. but i only invite close friends and they have done stuff for me. like today i took out my buddy that just helped me rebuild my porch and shingle my roof. my brother likes to help with gas and food when he comes, but i don't ask for it.
 

smokeonthewater

Fleet Admiral
Joined
Dec 3, 2009
Messages
9,838
Do you invite friends over for dinner and give them a bill before they can leave...

What a silly question..... If you feel you need your "guests" to help you pay to operate your boat then of course you mention I ahead of time..... Where I would say 'hey you wanna go out on my boat Friday" maybe you would say "hey I want to go boating and if you can help me scrape up the fuel money you can come"
 
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littlerayray

Lieutenant
Joined
Feb 17, 2013
Messages
1,456
I don't ask either since I invite people and I always bring extra drinks and sunscreen since they don't realize how dehydrated or how strong the sun is I sometimes suggest stopping at a restaurant and sometimes they offer to pay but for the most part I've never asked for cash nor has anyone offered since I invited people out if for what it's worth if it's hurting the pocket book so much that you need help for gas maybe you should consider selling IMHO or just stay home none boaters don't understand the cost
 

Mischief Managed

Lieutenant Commander
Joined
Dec 6, 2005
Messages
1,928
I never accept money for boating except from friends that we vacation with on the lake every year. They don't have a boat and always fill the tank at least once during the week since we use the boat constantly and go through at least 150 gallons of gas. I never ask them for money and I don't even pretend to refuse it, I just say "thanks" and fill the tank. I happily accept meals from "day-trippers" and those that provide them get a second invite, those that don't even offer typically don't get a second invite unless they are young and naive and/or poor.
 

Scott Danforth

Grumpy Vintage Moderator still playing with boats
Staff member
Joined
Jul 23, 2011
Messages
47,306
I do not ask for people to chip in, however Ihave had people come along and insist on buying us lunch for taking them out.
 

oldjeep

Admiral
Joined
May 17, 2010
Messages
6,455
This comes up every year and the answer is - it depends on you. If you are invited to be on my boat then I don't expect or want your money. If you happen to bring a couple extra beers then they will be graciously accepted, if you don't bring any then you can have some of mine. If they insist on buying a burger at the lakeside place then I say fine. I don't operate a charter service, anyone onboard is family or a friend.
 
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cptrick3

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
Apr 11, 2015
Messages
157
If I invite I pay. In all the years I've been boating I've only really accepted money one time. I had a much bigger boat, (twin 454s) and one of my crew chiefs asked if we could take his crew out for a day. I said sure, you pay for the gas. At the end of the day we took on 300 gal of gas.
 

Natesms

Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Sep 8, 2012
Messages
464
I never ask for money, but I'll take some cash if people offer and most of my friends always do when we take the big boat out. We give them a place to stay and take care of everything all weekend so they are usually happy to, but I'm not expecting it.

Non-boaters just don't understand the cost and you can't expect them too. Sometimes you have to educate them a bit in certain situations. I had a friend ask me last summer to "run down and check out this band". The "run down" part was going to cost $200 in fuel and I wasn't that interested so I just let them know that. Told him I like driving if he wanted to put the fuel in, he opted out.
 
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