Why have a crew?

kid's inheritance

kid's inheritance

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Genuine question , why would you want a crew on your boat assuming it was big enough to sleep them ? We did charter a crewed , converted Gullet (converted to look like a 3 masted galleon, it drew more attention than super yachts !) around the Balearics years ago but that was because the big flappy things were a mystery (still were at the end of the trip TBH ) . But on your own boat? If we had someone else on board , we both think we would lose the pleasure of boating , more like being on a mini-cruise.
We were chatting about possible benefits and other than someone moving the boat to a new location , couldn't understand why
Rob
 
I'm with you in wanting to be alone as a family on our own boat. However there does come a point, especially when entertaining when a crew could come into their own, particularly when the boat is large enough to swallow them up and the crew are invisible when they need to be.

Then there is the technical aspect. Does there come a point where your boat outgrows the ability of you & the missus. Some people may not even want to get involved. They enjoy being able to utter the magic words "you have control" when things start to look a bit hairy :)

I understand from those far more fortunate than my good self that the crew employed on private yachts have an incredible ability to be there as soon as require something and yet totally unseen the rest of the time.

Funnily enough it's something I'm giving quite a lot of thought to at the moment !

Henry :)
 
There are lots of answers to this. Many want crew to run the boat, but on this forum most people would hate that - I would

But when you get to a certain size I'd say (a) crew are essential to do the cleaning and laundry. If you have say a party of eight guests and a midweek change of guests there is absolutely no fun in doing the "hotel" stuff diy. And (b) again with a larger guest party or just a desire for fantastic better-than-restaurant-standard food you need a chef both to buy the ingredients each day and to prepare the meals

The crew for (a) could be off the boat while you cruise for a few days and just spring into action when you return to port. Or have days on and days off. The chef obviously has to be on board. Generally with the size of boat where these things make sense you also have separate crew accommodation. But you do need to hire crew who you like having around becuase even on 80-90 feet there is not total privacy from crew
 
Thank you for that, I never thought of Henry's point about the hairy stuff . Seeing as I ONLY aspire to a Fleming 65 , I shall stop worrying about where Jeeves and the maid are going to live then :D
rafiki_ said:
On Rafiki, I'm the crew.

Helm, lines, sommelier, cleaning, maintenance...........etc.........etc

Rafiki would look very 2nd hand without my crewing.
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On second thoughts , if you can cook and look nice in a French maid's outfit , can I arrange an interview this weekend?
Regards
Rob
 
henryf said:
the crew employed on private yachts have an incredible ability to be there as soon as require something and yet totally unseen the rest of the time.
Click to expand...

this is exactly what I wanted to say about a good crew !

and confirm with JFM, the changing of guests/friends, very short time inbetween, the cleaning and the laundry can be really annoying !

last summer we didn't have crew,
what we usually do, we brief friends in advance that they have to help with the cleaning just before departure, and one of them bringing the bed sheets to the laundry, etc...
but it depends who your guests are, with some you just can't do that.

for the coming season, we want to have parttime crew, only for cleaning and cooking
 
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I guess most people who want a larger boat (with the ability to accomodate more than their family) would expect and prefer to have guests on board anyway, or they wouldn't have bought it, so crew become simply more bodies aboard.

In some cases those wealthy enough to afford to own and operate a large boat also successfully run businesses that employ staff, so having employees around them is quite usual, and they are clever enough to have ones onboard that are easy to get one with in such close proximity.

In fact the busy brain of some managing director's rarely relax, so once aboard, the boat journey and associated issues become the next project...maybe? :)
 
I liken it ownership and useage of aircraft.

If you've got a Cessna parked at your local airfield then you're probably an enthusiast and of course you're going to want to do the pre flight checks and pilot it yourself, that's what it's all about.

If you've got a Learjet parked at Heathrow then almost certainly you're going to want a captain and crew to fiddle about with the technical bits before you get there and fly it whilst you relax and enjoy the flight, walking away leaving them to it when you land.

Same with boats.

A small to medium sized powerboat in Port Solent Marina, you're probably a hands on enthusiast.

A 50 metre superyacht in St Tropez, you probably want to just turn up, relax, and let other people fiddle about running the thing.

Variations at each end, just like there's probably wealthy plane enthusiasts that fly their own Learjet, but broadly speaking that's how I see the crew/no crew thing.
 
I'm considering employing a crew person this for our summer cruise this year. As my SWMBO points out every time we go boating, her life on board is not much different to her life at home in terms of shopping, cooking, cleaning and tidying up after teenagers and guests. I'm thinking that it's not really fair on her as she deserves a holiday as much as I do. I also see it as an investment. The better you can make it for your SWMBO, the less likely she is to kick up a fuss the next time you want to spend megabucks on a new boat:)
 
kid's inheritance said:
Thank you for that, I never thought of Henry's point about the hairy stuff . Seeing as I ONLY aspire to a Fleming 65 , I shall stop worrying about where Jeeves and the maid are going to live then :D

On second thoughts , if you can cook and look nice in a French maid's outfit , can I arrange an interview this weekend?
Regards
Rob
Click to expand...

Look nice in a French maid's outfit? Depends on your perspective, but wouldn't float my boat. Hairy legs, knobbly knees, and I can never get the seam straight with my stockings.
 
Deleted User said:
I'm considering employing a crew person this for our summer cruise this year. As my SWMBO points out every time we go boating, her life on board is not much different to her life at home in terms of shopping, cooking, cleaning and tidying up after teenagers and guests. I'm thinking that it's not really fair on her as she deserves a holiday as much as I do. I also see it as an investment. The better you can make it for your SWMBO, the less likely she is to kick up a fuss the next time you want to spend megabucks on a new boat:)
Click to expand...

You're getting soft in your old age. Next she'll expect servants at home, where do you draw the line? :D
 
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