coxswain and deckhand wages

[southstraddie]

Hi,

Just investigating the feasability of a charter business, anyone know typical wages offered for deckhands, coxswains (restricted/unrestricted), and master 5s on hourly, daily, or overnight rates?

And any idea on good places to look for such employees?

Cheers

[Captain Seaweed]

I would like to know the sam if anyone is pm ing

[hilta1]

Hi, i have a full coxswains ticket, one of my sons has Master 5 and the other son has full coxswain, i am coming to Queensland next week with the thought of gaining casual work, Kids May follow later, Would be interested to see what the going rate is up that way so will keep an eye on this thread, will be interesting! Regards Hilta

[Bogger]

Hello .
I deckhanded on the local charter boats up untill maybee 2 years ago ..1 company paid me the proper way ..( taking tax out ) and i was getting 160 a trip ..another was paying me cash in hand 200 a trip.
I think the skippers were getting 100 bucks per trip more than me .

Hope this helps :)

[mal555]

Vessel delivery skippers usually charge around $300.00 per (24 hr.) day plus expenses, Master 5, approx. $25.00 per hour casual, depending where you are.

Who ever you employ, don't just take their word for past experience, check up and ask for a practical demonstration of their boat handling skills.
There is a lot out there with lots of theory and no real skill, also deeply lacking in passenger relations ability, it will reflect badly on your business.

[no chicken tonight]

go to the wage line web site and look for the award for Masters/Mates/Engineers. Each area of Qld has their own award, ie NQ, Port of Brisbane, SEQ Etc.
Then, most crew on Gold Coast are employed and paid on ABN, as boat crew often work for more than one operation.
As for finding crew, you will sift through a hundred morons before you find a good one.

[business class]

off the gold coast on a full day a skipper will get around the $300 and a good deckie will get from 150 to 200 depending on how good you are i guess..... this is for an 8hr day on the water, not takeing the time to pack the boat then unpack and clean which is around the hour i guess.... if your looking to do overnighters and so on id say your expenses will be alot greater, how much im not sure as i havent done it..... hope that helps you a little

[Smithy]

I've always looked at this way, Coxswains are Cert II so TA level and Master V and better are Cert III so trade level equivalent and should be paid accordingly. Some big private game boats have full time skippers and deckies and it has to be salaried as one day you might be flat out 18 hours a day and then you might only need to go to the boat once a week if it is layed up. I'd guess the top guys are on triple figure salaries. If you are talking a multi million dollar boat, a percentage like that is miniscule to the overall running cost of it but worth it's weight in gold if you have the right man for the job. The old 10% of the cost of the boat in yearly running would be pretty true.

All the other posts and comments are pretty spot on.

[hilta1]

Hi guys, i actualy edited my original post as i didnt want to offend anyone, What i took out was "you pay peanuts you get monkeys" It is a pity the industry has got a few people in it that perhaps shouldnt be! But yes you get what you pay for!! Regards Hilta

[mal555]

Hi guys, i actualy edited my original post as i didnt want to offend anyone, What i took out was "you pay peanuts you get monkeys" It is a pity the industry has got a few people in it that perhaps shouldnt be! But yes you get what you pay for!! Regards Hilta

Agree with what your saying. You've really got to love what you are doing, playing with boats commercially, because you aren't going to get rich.
I'ts a great lifestyle if it's suits, and great if the owner is reasonable to deal with, but at the end of the day if it all goes tits up with a boat load of paying guests, the skipper has his neck on the block.

[southstraddie]

Many thanks for the info guys - greatly appreciated

[Captain Incredible]

Gidday All,

If the blokes who are interested in joining the Industry want to send me a PM I can let them know what is happening in the North Moreton area as far as charter wages go.

The reality is that a business pays what it needs to attract competent staff who will do a good job to enable the business to make a profit. No profit= no business= no employment.

Given the GFC, the high aus dollar reducing the number of overseas tourists to nothing, and our two speed economy where tourism is actually the fifth gear, being employed in any tourism activity at the moment is a bonus.

If you can't get a job in the mines or in transporting crew to rigs, etc and you HAVE to work locally, then be happy with what you can negotiate, register for unemployment benefits, and also do odd jobs on the side.

I'd like to be more positive for all of us concerned. What would be a step forward is for anyone interested in working in the charter Industry to register with MARINE QLD on 3390 4657. There is the potential to have your CV distributed more widely through the light commercial community as well as creating a network which MQ charter busines owners can draw on in the case of crew shortages.


Cheers,

Keith