Captain
$435
per day, starting
USCG 200-ton licensed master.
Rates and fees
You are hiring a crew at a daily rate.
We are licensed U.S. Coast Guard professional mariners. Our rates reflect industry standards — we plan meticulously, and we are not the cheapest option on the dock.
Deckhand
$240
per day, per hand
Trained professionals, employed by the captain.
Provisions
$58
per person, per day
Food and water aboard. Varies with location.
Rates are quoted at the discounted cash price. Everything below the crew line is passed through at cost, with nothing added.
Crew required
The boat decides the crew, not the budget.
Crew size is a safety decision. It scales with the vessel and with how the passage has to be run — a boat kept moving around the clock needs people to relieve each other.
| Vessel | Minimum crew |
|---|---|
| Sailboats, any size | Captain + 1 or more deckhands |
| Sailboats running 24 hours a day | Captain + 2 or more deckhands |
| Sailboats over 65 ft, or very long passages | Captain + 2 or more deckhands |
| Powerboats | Captain + 1 or more deckhands, scaled up with size |
Billed at cost
What sits on top of the daily rate.
None of these carry a markup. They are the real costs of getting a crew to your boat, keeping her running, and getting the crew home again.
Travel to and from the vessel
Round-trip transport by whatever is practical: rental car and fuel, train, airfare, bus, or rideshare. Priced from our base in central Florida to your departure point, and home again from the destination.
Crew travel pay
Based on the distance, the time the travel takes, and what transport is available in that area. Typically one day at half the crew’s daily rate and one at full.
Fuel, oil and consumables
At the owner’s expense. A credit card or fuel deposit is required if you will not be aboard — we need a way to pay for fuel and dockage in your absence.
Dockage
Passed straight through with nothing added. We do not run the boats around the clock, so we sleep aboard in marinas where no suitable anchorage is available.
Accommodation ashore
If the vessel has no proper berths, hotel costs and transport to and from lodging fall to the owner. Occasionally needed during travel to or from the boat as well.
Transit fees, port costs and sailing permits
At the owner’s expense, with no add-on.
Worked example
Near Norfolk, Virginia → South Florida
Roughly 800 nautical miles at 7 knots — about 114 hours under way. At 12-hour summer days, call it 10 days. An illustration, not a quote.
- Crew — 10 days at $675/day1 captain at $435 + 1 deckhand at $240
- $6,750
- Provisions — 2 crew, 12 days$58 per person per day, including 2 travel days
- $1,392
- Crew travel pay — 2 daysOne day at half the daily crew rate, one at full
- $1,012.50
- Travel costs$550 out to the vessel, $300 home
- $850
- Estimated total
- $10,004.50
Why speed matters
One knot is worth thousands of dollars.
The same 800-mile passage, costed at different cruising speeds. The speed we calculate from is the speed you give us.
| Cruising speed | Days under way | Estimated total |
|---|---|---|
| 6 kn | 12 days | $11,587 |
| 7 kn | 10 days | $10,005 |
| 8 kn | 9 days | $9,214 |
| 10 kn | 7 days | $7,632 |
| 12 kn | 6 days | $6,841 |
Overstate your boat’s speed and the estimate misses by days, and you pay for those days at the agreed daily rate. Please don’t exaggerate. If you are not certain what she actually makes, say so on the form and we will work from a conservative figure.
Payment
Deposit, balance, cancellation.
- Cash in person
- Zelle
- Wire transfer
- Cash App
- Credit card
- Check
Wire transfer and Zelle are preferred for the deposit. Checks must clear before departure and are not accepted for final payment unless agreed in advance.
Deposit
Roughly one third of the estimate reserves your slot on the calendar and commissions the crew. It must be paid in full no later than four days before departure.
Balance
Due on completion of the delivery, including travel and any pass-through expenses. Checks are not accepted for final payment unless agreed in advance.
Quoted at cash price
Estimates are quoted at the discounted cash rate. Wire transfer and Zelle are preferred for the deposit. Where a payment method carries a processing fee, that fee is added to the final bill — the amount is set by the provider, not by us.
Cancellation
If you cancel, 50% of the deposit is non-refundable. The captain may postpone for weather or an unsafe vessel, and every effort is made to reschedule on the same terms.
Costs and customs
Money questions.
What costs extra, beyond the crew’s daily rate?
Everything the boat itself incurs: fuel, marina and dockage fees, repairs, crew travel, provisions aboard, and tips for marina dockhands. These are passed through at cost with no mark-up added.
Do private yachts have to clear U.S. Customs coming home?
Yes. Every vessel returning from a foreign port must report to U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Failure to report is a federal crime carrying fines, imprisonment, and seizure and forfeiture of the vessel.
Start here
Want this run for your boat and route?
Send the vessel details and the passage, and the estimate comes back with your numbers in place of the example’s.
We do not share, rent or sell your information. Data is collected only to produce the estimate you asked for.
