Fair price to climb a mast?

NUTMEG

NUTMEG

Well-Known Member
Joined
1 Sep 2009
Messages
1,923
Location
Essex
www.theblindsailor.co.uk
Eldest son, a climber, is going up my mast to replace bulbs, anchor, tri, steaming and deck LED's. I was going to bung him £50 plus a few pints. A mate on a nearby boat wants said son to fit a NASA mast head and a bracket and Glomex. What should I suggest as fair payment?

Son has fitted several on his own boat as well as mine over the years and knows what he is doing. He is an experienced rock climber and has the use of my Bosuns Chair as well as his own harness etc.
 
Blimey I had no idea it was so lucrative. I was once given a bottle of wine after climbing someone's mast, he was stuck 300 mikes from home with a broken furler. Maybe I shouod have charged more.
 
I'd work out an hourly rate for a fairly skilled labourer. £200 per day? Actually working for about 4 hours out of the 8 in a working day, so £50 per hour worked seems fair.
 
Cost me £80 for a rigger to go up and do a vhf ariel a few years ago. Took about and hour for him and his mate. No compliantly about the cost. Actually, I thourght it was more than fair.
 
What is this world coming to.
I give my son the option, either I crank him up the mast, or he cranks me up.
He looks at the size of me and always chooses to go up.

Plank
 
A note of caution.

I have several professional purchasers of my product (MODS AKLERT!)
and payment for services (especially inherently dangerous ones) involves H&S issues.

If anything goes wrong there could be trouble.

Stick to a bottle of wine (or a crate) and keep it quiet!
 
Presumably the professional riggers people are comparing with pay tax and national insurance (PAYE+Class 4 = £14.50 for lower rate, £21 for higher) and have insurance in case they drop a screwdriver through someone's deck?

Dinner, bottles etc. are appropriate payment for favours. Money makes something a business.
 
Last edited:
laika said:
Presumably the professional riggers people are comparing with pay tax and national insurance (PAYE+Class 4 = £14.50 for lower rate, £21 for higher) and have insurance in case they drop a screwdriver through someone's deck?
Click to expand...

Indeed. One instance;- one up the mast, one on the winch, one with clip board overseeing safety. Get you wallet out!

Hum.
 
PlankWalker said:
What is this world coming to.
I give my son the option, either I crank him up the mast, or he cranks me up.
He looks at the size of me and always chooses to go up.
Plank
Click to expand...
Same here: I quite like getting a look at the masthead myself, but he always insists on going up.....
 
Daydream believer said:
Having to pay your son anything at all does not say a lot for your relationship with him does it
I think that if I had to admit that to the world I would feel I had failed somewhere along the line
Click to expand...

Whilst admitting your poor relationship with your wife, as indicated in your signature, is perfectly OK??
 
Pay attention to the OP. My understanding is that he is choosing to reward his son for his services, as many a decent parent will. His query relates to recompense for services for another party, which is more than reasonable, IMHO. £80 would be my guesstimate for the work described.
 
Last edited:
Kelpie said:
Whilst admitting your poor relationship with your wife, as indicated in your signature, is perfectly OK??
Click to expand...

That's due to the feline in feminine - totally untrainable

However, on the "son" front I do admit that he was heard to say to his mother
" If he thinks I am going up that b..y mast he has another think coming"
So that is probably why he is so quick to offer to do the winching without ever being asked
 
If your son wants to do the job then let him negotiate the price, as if you do this part he may not be happy with the price (unless you can get a higher rate).

If he does not want to do the job, then ask what is the highest rate a boat yard would charge then say more than that. I used to get asked to do jobs for a drink, I used to say they had to pay me more than I could get as the overtime rate for that day. Surprising the amount of people that did not want to pay a reasonable rate.
 
If he's doing it for cash, he needs to get serious about the HASAWA malarkey.

Seriously.

Doing it for friends, a few pints? a bottle of something stronger?
Personally I've 'earned' a few pints, a curry etc from this.
And 'paid back' a few outings on people's boats.
I've also done it for no more than helping a random member of my club, because other random club members help me or do stuff that I value.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Share this page

Top