October 25, 2011
We thought it would be interesting to revisit a survey we conducted at the height of yachting’s previous boom. In the fall of 2008, we asked yacht crew about the kinds of work they do that seemingly has nothing to do with yachts.
At the time, we were educated to learn that most crew perform non-yachting-relating duties, and surprised to learn that most fully expect to.
Though much has changed in yachting in the intervening three years, not much has changed when it comes to non-yachting-related duties.
In your current job, do you have responsibilities that outsiders might see as having nothing to do with yachting?
In 2008, a bit fewer than 60 percent had these responsibilities. Now, a bit more than 60 percent do.
“Over the years, I have become an extension of the owner’s personal and professional activities,” said the captain of a yacht 80-100 feet with the owner more than seven years. “Knowing the customers and family that share time on the yacht, it only became fitting to do that on land as well as the sea.”
“I have a great situation where the boat sits for more than half the year and I get paid the same as someone that travels a lot more,” said the captain of a yacht 100-120 feet in yachting more than 15 years. “I have no problem with doing a few odd jobs for the boss.
“He pays me very well and occasionally he asks for a favor and I do it,” this captain said. “Maybe I drive him to the airport, pick his kid up at school, fix a door at his house, etc. After eight years on the same boat, I welcome any job that doesn't mean staring at the same old projects.”
We tried to crunch this number by gender, curious to see if these duties fell to women more than men, but more than 80 percent of our respondents were men, so we fear it’s a bit irrelevant. Still, here it is: Half of women said they are asked to do non-yachting tasks; three quarters of men are asked to do them.
“We do [peripheral duties] in rare occasions, and we don't mind,” said the captain on a yacht 120-140 feet with the owner about five years. “If it was a regular obligation, the situation would be different.
"On the other side of the fence, the owner on several occasions has used his contacts to help us," this captain said. "I think it is a reciprocal relationship.”
Beyond the current job, we were curious about outside duties throughout a yacht crew member’s career, so we asked Have you ever been asked to perform periphery tasks in jobs on previous yachts?
Once again, the percentage of crew who said yes is basically the same as it was three years ago, about 80 percent.
“In my experience, all requests have been within reason and certainly legal,” said the captain on a yacht of 160-180 feet with the owner about five years. “Periphery tasks are acceptable and often help the efficiency and enjoyment of service in relation to the owner/guests time on board.”
“We are in a personal business,” said the captain of a yacht 140-160 feet. “I consider it an honor to be of service if I can.”
“I was on a yacht for 4 1/2 years that was docked behind the owner's house,” said a deckhand on a yacht 120-140 feet. “When in a situation like that, you are going to be asked to help with other things. I had the time so it was no big deal.”
Another bit of data that held true from 2008 to 2011 was that the larger a vessel got, the less likely crew were asked to perform these periphery duties. On vessels less than 140 feet, 70 percent of crew report being given periphery duties. On vessels larger than 140 feet, that drops to 39 percent.
Learning that periphery duties often closely align with yachting duties (e.g., keeping the owner happy), we asked What kinds of non-yachting duties do you do (or have you done)?
Despite the dip in the financial markets and the subsequent changes to the yachting industry, the types of duties yacht crew are asked to perform haven’t changed much.
They commonly include running shore-based errands such as picking up the owner’s personal dry cleaning (57 percent of respondents), driving the owner about town (46 percent), and managing or doing house renovation projects (40 percent).
“It's a slippery slope, especially on smaller, more personal yachts,” said the captain on a yacht less than 80 feet with the owner less than 10 years. “The tasks often overlap, as in while shopping for the boat, ‘why don't you pick up some (fill in the blank)?’”
Other tasks that many might see as not related to yachting include caring for the the house or house sitting in the owner’s absence (38 percent), walking and caring for pets (33 percent), arranging personal details such as setting doctor’s appointments (32 percent), fixing or installing home audio-video equipment (30 percent), fixing the owner’s personal car (26 percent), fixing the owner’s home computers (25 percent), working cocktail parties at home (tending bar, serving, etc.) (25 percent), and caring for children or grandchildren (21 percent).
“I was amazed to see the list of extra jobs as something non-yachting,” said the captain of a yacht 80-100 feet in the industry more than 25 years. “We do anything it takes to make life easy for the owner.
“One owner told me, ‘your job is to make me efficient’,” this captain said. “Sometimes that is training his staff to help on the boat, sometimes it's taking family to the airport, sometimes it's going to fix the generator at his ranch, and anything else he needs. Then we go back to the boat and carry on with our duties.
“I never thought of any of that as non yachting. I just thought it was all part of the adventure.”
A large number of respondents answered “other” to this question and included a bunch of tasks we didn’t even think of including, such as removing marine growth from pilings.
“Charter aircraft, limos, interview candidates for captain’s positions on associates’ vessels, manage surveys for associates’ vessel purchases, screen brokers, write specifications for new builds, new build system design, set up companies to purchase electronics wholesale, interview yards for new builds and write reports on findings,” said the captain of a yacht 120-140 feet in the industry more than 10 years. “The list is endless.”
Rarely, however -- both in 2008 and now -- were yacht crew asked to perform or arrange anything illegal, such as hiring prostitutes (4 percent).
“I have been asked but never did something illegal (e.g., not declare weapons, not declare onboard guest to customs and immigration),” said the captain of a yacht 80-100 feet.
It seems silly now that we asked this next question, but in the interest of keeping the 2008 survey and this one as similar as possible, we again asked Are you compensated in any way (in salary, bonus or time) for those duties?
Once again, little has changed since we asked this question three years ago. About 70 percent of yacht crew said they are not compensated for the extracurricular duties they perform, both then and now.
“Not paid extra for all the over-and-above tasks, but it sure is appreciated and recognized at the holidays and in other ways,” said the captain of a yacht 80-100 feet with the owner more than 10 years. “It makes life interesting. We get to play with expensive toys.”
“In the big picture, this is a real small issue,” said the captain of a yacht of 120-140 feet in the industry more than 20 years. “We are in the personal service business. All of my yachting employers have understood our primary function is on board. A trip to the airport, a car wash, checking out the house while they are gone has never been a negative issue with myself or the crew. There is way too much good stuff that we get to take advantage of to ever complain.”
Should periphery duties be accepted as part of the job of working on a yacht?
This question was a little less lopsided this year than it was in 2008. Back them, 70 percent of respondents agreed that non-yachting duties could and should be asked of them.
Today, just 54 percent felt that way.
“Crew should do periphery duties as part of the job of working on a yacht, but there should be clear and defined boundaries of what is acceptable,” said the captain of a yacht of 160-180 feet. “When these events arise, owners and guests should gently be told that this is an unusual request, but we'll do it anyway to give them good service. It could be a run away train if left unchecked.”
“Looking after large, crewed yachts is a full-time job,” said the captain of a yacht 120-140 feet in the industry more than 30 years. “As the captain, I try to manage all the duties, but mowing the owner’s lawn, taking his wife to the dance or walking his dog is not one of them. I may assign a crew member to do a non-related job if they are free.”
“It is important to stay in the owner's good graces, within limits,” said the captain of a yacht 140-160 feet with the owner less than three years. “Like a family member or close friend, I am always willing to go the extra mile when necessary, as long as a particular non-yacht-related duty does not become a permanent part of the job. It's all about mutual respect. Most owners I know do not take advantage of my willingness to assist them beyond the yacht.”
“Recognize that we all, including captains, are in the personal service business,” said the captain of a yacht 80-100 feet in the industry more than 30 years. “If you can't or won't accommodate the boss or his family for occasional (legal) non-yacht tasks, then perhaps you need to re-think the relationship and/or your chosen line of work.”
“In these times of high unemployment, I do periphery jobs to remain in good standing with the owner,” said the captain of another yacht 80-100 feet in the industry more than 30 years. “If I don't do them, someone else will. My boss is constantly reminding me ‘of all the crew that should consider themselves lucky to be employed.’ I can read between the lines.”
“Most people get into yachting for the varied lifestyle,” said the captain of a yacht 80-100 feet in the industry less than 10 years. “My wife occasionally becomes hostess on the boss' private jet, and I recruit for and manage his personal estate where he lives, which often happens to be thousands of miles from the yacht.
“We also are possibly the busiest small yacht on the planet, especially with regard to itinerary and sea miles, but love the fact we can work on more skills every day than a single yacht department would ever allow in a lifetime,” this captain said. “We don't live 9 to 5 jobs, but like I stated, that is the reason we got into yachts in the first place.
“Oh, and when it is time to leave the yachting life, you can't tell me we will not be better prepared for the land-based transition,” he said. “Relish the experience. Most people don't get it.”
We wanted to know one additional thing that we didn’t ask three years ago. With the change in the economy, we were curious if yacht owners -- or even former yacht owners -- kept their crew on the payroll as best they could, so we asked Have you or a fellow yachtie been reassigned to the owner's personal or professional business?
About a third said yes.
A captain with more than 25 years in the industry offered an in-depth response to this query, including his impression that crew on smaller vessels (90-130 feet, he said) work harder and get paid less than those on larger yachts.
“Owners of these smaller yachts more and more ask crew to do extraneous things not related to yachting or expand their job description due to layoff of crew,” he said. “The stew … has been asked many times for her assistance at the owner’s home for everything from stew and cooking duties for parties to medical assistance for an owner. She’s been asked to organize stored things at the home and shop for things for the home with the owner’s wife. She even slept on an office floor on a blow-up bed to be there to accommodate them for a party at their home.
“Now that the yacht will not be used much anymore due to owner health problems, the stew has been asked to join them at their homes as cook, stew and part-time nurse. She told them that she was hired for the stew position on the yacht and not for their home and she prefers to work on a yacht. (The owner is also underpaying her considerably.) She will probably quit before she goes to work full time with them at their home.
“If you care to keep your job these days, you better do what they ask,” he concluded. “There will be someone waiting in the wings to take your job from you.”
The more things change, the more they stay the same. One respondent offered this as proof:
"Many years ago an ad appeared in the Miami Herald’s classified section: Captain wanted for 53-foot Hatteras motor yacht. Chauffeur’s license necessary. Knowledge of gardening helpful.”
To read some more comments from captains and crew, click here.
We conduct our monthly surveys online. All captains and crew members are welcome to participate. If you haven’t been invited to take our surveys and would like to be, register for our e-mails online at www.the-triton.com.
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