looking for a room mate/ sailing mate.

Status
Not open for further replies.
Sep 25, 2008
2
newport mk ll Mandeville LA.
I know this may sound strange and I will gladly accept feed back. I'm looking for some one male or female that would like to stay on my boat with me for the summer and learn how to sail. Or if you are a sailor but don't have a boat no more and would like to have a summer vacation. I have a live aboard marina where the boat is in Mandeville LA. No matter what I have to stay on my boat this summer or until it sells. But my fiance has to work and I thought it would be nice to have a friend to sail with,drink beer and fish. I'm very much inlove with my girl so I'm not looking for a fling just a friend. You need your own income to pay for your own flight and your food,beer, ciggs or what ever. I will cover all the boat expence. I feel for the right person this might be a cool thing to see if it would work. You figure $150.00 for rent and utilities and then what ever your personal needs are is pretty reseasonable and you get to sail everyday weather permitting and around June 5th is going to be some big regauda I'm going to and I'm game to sail where ever and when ever weather permitting. And no matter what we always have the marina to run back to. I'm 47yrs old and disabled so I get my ssd check and just looking for someone kinda in the same situation who's tired of sitting around doing nothing. My boat isn't the biggest or the best but she is clean,sound and fairly sweet and easy to sail. Call me if you are interested- 541-570-9564 and ask for me ( Monte )
 
Oct 22, 2008
3,502
- Telstar 28 Buzzards Bay
Do you have a USCG captain's ticket?? If not, what you're doing may be illegal. Renting out your boat may be considered chatering it, and may require a uscg ticket and commercial insurance. ymmv.
 
Nov 22, 2008
3,562
Endeavour 32 Portland, Maine
Speaking as one who has dealt with the USCG inspection branch since 1973, it is a very good point. If they think the boat owner is getting money that he wouldn't have gotten if he hadn't been taking the "roommate" sailing, they can bust him. In practice, it's only likely to happen if they think he's dangerous and want to get him off the water. In those cases, I've known them to claim that the sandwiches the guest bought are "compensation".

It's not a question of being right. The USCG doesn't have to be right. They can be dead wrong but the result is just the same as if they had been right for the months or years of expensive process you have to go through to prove they were wrong, if you can get the courts to pay any attention.

Advertising like the OP is will give them a good opening to put the hook in you.
 
Oct 12, 2008
42
chrysler 26 my house lower Florida Keys
IMHO Sailingdog asks a question that could keep him from getting in trouble with the AHJ in his area.
 
Oct 22, 2008
3,502
- Telstar 28 Buzzards Bay
Thanks Roger... some people just don't realize what the situation is with boats and being compensated for using them. Any REQUIRED compensation can be considered fee for charter is my understanding, and the rental of a boat as a living space may or may not cross the line.
 

Ross

.
Jun 15, 2004
14,693
Islander/Wayfairer 30 sail number 25 Perryville,Md.
How about during the week he rents a berth but on weekends he takes a guest sailing?
I knew a guy during the '60's that had a homeless man sleeping in his VW van at night but who would leave if asked when Chip needed to go somewhere.
Was Chip letting a room for an undisclosed sum?
My take here is that OP wants some company but expects to be paid for the pleasure of his company.
 
Oct 22, 2008
3,502
- Telstar 28 Buzzards Bay
Renting a berth on the boat may be considered a commercial enterprise, because it involves an exchange of funds and a boat... it doesn't matter if the boat is not sailing... just that it is being used as part of a commercial enterprise.

The USCG clearly states that you need a USCG license to charter a recreational boat. It doesn't specify if the charter requires that the person chartering the boat have crew or not. It doesn't specify if the boat has to be chartered for a specific use.
 

Benny

.
Sep 27, 2008
1,149
Hunter 320 Tampa, FL
Mates, the boat is in Louisiana.

Yankee reasoning and customs may not apply. The laws are the same but the enforcement varies widely. A crew member who may contribute $150 towards the expenses of operating a boat for a month would hardly qualify as a charter for profit arrangement.
 

biggio

.
Aug 12, 2007
87
Catalina 27 Mandeville, La.
I met Monte 2 weekends ago he is good company. He's not trying to scam anyone. He is living on his boat and is basically looking for a roomate.
He's from the Northwest and is here in La. alone.
He loves his boat and loves being underway.
He's not in any stretch of the imagination trying to run a charter business.
 
Oct 22, 2008
3,502
- Telstar 28 Buzzards Bay
I don't think anyone was suggesting that he was trying to scam anyone. Most of us are just making sure that he doesn't run into any pitfalls or get into legal trouble in doing this.

I met Monte 2 weekends ago he is good company. He's not trying to scam anyone. He is living on his boat and is basically looking for a roomate.
He's from the Northwest and is here in La. alone.
He loves his boat and loves being underway.
He's not in any stretch of the imagination trying to run a charter business.
 
Nov 22, 2008
3,562
Endeavour 32 Portland, Maine
I don't think anyone was suggesting that he was trying to scam anyone. Most of us are just making sure that he doesn't run into any pitfalls or get into legal trouble in doing this.
Exactly. And because he is such a nice guy, We want to give him the information to make an informed decision. Risk is low in this case but it can be kept low by understanding the issues. Fliers with this wording posted around local marinas and laundromats. for example, are likely to come to the attention of the Coast Guard. It would make a good training exercise in towing home a reluctant boater.

The FAA and the USCG have different standards about passengers for hire but there are some basic principles. The biggest difference is in approach to rule interpretation. The FAA tends to dissect situations with a scalpel. The USCG tends to use the broad side of a large ax and an “We’re the ones wearing the uniforms, a passenger for hire is whoever the hell we say is a passenger. If you don’t like it, see you in court with your checkbook.”, attitude. The situation has improved with their distraction by being absorbed into the department responsible for the war on airline passengers with nail clippers and shampoo, however.

Both the FAA and the USCG put a lot of stress on what the passenger perceives so what the passenger says is important when questioned. If they ask him whether he’s paying to be on the boat and he explains the arrangement, the owner is probably going to have a problem. Being right but in a grey area is about the same as being wrong in this case, at least if your yacht appears to be under a quarter million.

The proper response from your passenger is “Hey dude, he’s my bud!”. Just make sure he understands this and there is no obvious paper trail like marina fliers or sailing forums and you should be fine.

The real problem, as usual, is insurance. This nice guy you don’t really know falls down the companionway. Turns out he has no health insurance or else his insurance company decides to see what they can get from yours. Your insurance company turns up the facts of his residency on the boat and declines to pay because you are not insured as a charter or passenger vessel. Again, you could be right but being recognized as “right” lies at the end of years of legal process that could cost you the price of a boat in the meantime.

Later: I should add a very important clarification about the Coast Guard. The men and women who go out in boats and who boaters normally encounter are GREAT. They deal with the real world and are almost universally reasonable. You are unlikely therefore to have a problem in a random boarding. If you come to the attention of the people who spend their days and careers in offices, however, and they send the boats after you, you will meet a very different USCG.
 
Last edited:
Jun 6, 2006
6,990
currently boatless wishing Harrington Harbor North, MD
I hate folks that do that kind of stuff

I'm an adult and responsible for my actions. If I fall off the dock it is not because the marina failed to put up guard rails. It is because I was dumb.
Seems everybody is looking for some way to extract $$$ for what was, when I was growing up in OH, dumb behavior.
Do I owe the guy who falls off the dock and hits his head on my boat on the way into the water? Do I sue Hunter when the mast comes down because I took her out in 100 kt winds with full sails up? It is not covered in their manual to not go out in 100 kt winds so they must be the responsible party right?

Coffee is hot! If you spill it in your lap it will burn you.
Tailpipes are hot too and have bad stuff inside them, if you suck on one you will get hurt.
Yellow snow is not for eating.
Don't touch the stove when it is lit. It will burn you .

and my personal favorite, If I'm giving you CPR and save your life, you owe me nothing. It is my responsibility to try and save you. I certainly don't owe you the hospital bill for the cracked rib I gave you in the process.

I used to hate lawyers but have come to the conclusion over the years that they are a symptom of the problem not the problem. Unfortunately they are not the solution to the problem.

WE SHOULD ALL RE-READ THAT LAST LINE AND THINK ABOUT IT FOR A MINUITE.
 
Sep 25, 2008
2,288
C30 Event Horizon Port Aransas
Bil, that's like saying people who harm others are a product of their enviornment and not responsible for their actions. Just because a lawyer harms people with in the law does not make it right. I know you acept responsibility for your actions but others must also.
As for the guy wanting someone to hang out with and would liek them to help with the expenses, so what. I am sure there is someone that would like to take him up on that but doesn't know of this post. As for "receiving compensation"...how does anyone ever find out about this kind of thing. In the military it is illegal to committ sodomy with your wife! But who gets prosecuted for that? This is an innocent thing and does not violate the spirit of the law in question IMHO.
 
Jun 6, 2006
6,990
currently boatless wishing Harrington Harbor North, MD
Say What?

People who harm others are IRresponsible not responsible. Almost everyone is always responsible for their action in my opinion. A few exceptions being folks who are mentally ill or acting under duress.
NO ONE is a total product of their environment and we all have freedom to choose between right and wrong.
IMHO forcing another person to pay for your stupidity is wrong.

With that said, this is a sailing forum and I'm putting my soap box away.

So blownaway, how is the search coming?
 
Oct 22, 2008
3,502
- Telstar 28 Buzzards Bay
I'm an adult and responsible for my actions. If I fall off the dock it is not because the marina failed to put up guard rails. It is because I was dumb.
Seems everybody is looking for some way to extract $$$ for what was, when I was growing up in OH, dumb behavior.
Do I owe the guy who falls off the dock and hits his head on my boat on the way into the water?
You might... if you had tied your docklines across the dock and he tripped on them. :) It all depends...

Do I sue Hunter when the mast comes down because I took her out in 100 kt winds with full sails up? It is not covered in their manual to not go out in 100 kt winds so they must be the responsible party right?

Coffee is hot! If you spill it in your lap it will burn you.
Tailpipes are hot too and have bad stuff inside them, if you suck on one you will get hurt.
Yellow snow is not for eating.
Don't touch the stove when it is lit. It will burn you .

and my personal favorite, If I'm giving you CPR and save your life, you owe me nothing. It is my responsibility to try and save you. I certainly don't owe you the hospital bill for the cracked rib I gave you in the process.
If you didn't do the CPR correctly, you may be responsible for the cracked rib. For instance, if you're not CPR certified, you could be help liable, regardless of whether the rib was cracked by accident or through negligence. It isn't as cut and dried. That is mainly because of the lawyers who have won court cases on this issue previously.

I used to hate lawyers but have come to the conclusion over the years that they are a symptom of the problem not the problem. Unfortunately they are not the solution to the problem.

WE SHOULD ALL RE-READ THAT LAST LINE AND THINK ABOUT IT FOR A MINUITE.
Unfortunately, the United States has too many useless lawyers, and an increasing lack of common sense. It has become overly litigious, and increasingly stupid.
 
Jun 5, 2004
241
Catalina 30 MkII Foss Harbor Marina, Tacoma, WA
Personally I think the CG is the least of his worries...if my girl caught wind of a lady liveaboard she'd kill me...twice.
:doh:
 
Status
Not open for further replies.