how much?
 

how much do y'all generally charge people to come out on yalls boat? do y'all charge per pull or just a set amount to come with? just curious how others do it.

Most common around here is typically $20, a 5gal jug of gas or if other arrangements r made. I didnt use to charge but got burned too many times by a few. Also have done every other fillup with regular riding crew.

Never much thought about that. I guess I always figured if i invited them, then if they want to chip in thats cool. If they don't I'm not going to "charge" them. I guess it's one of those things the people who don;t offer to help out don't get invited back. Guys who ride understand the work and the cost and usually are the ones to chip in. When you invite the neighbor he doesn't offer because he doesn't know any better, if he's never had a boat.

Then you have the guy who never pays and is always call you wondering "when are we riding". If you tell him sorry I don't have cash for gas today(more than once) and he doesn't take the hint....move on!! We all know how expensive these boats are and worse yet the price of fuel.

Nothing...Bring yer own drinks and food! I like to think the gesture will be returned with an invite to a BBQ or something...

Another thing my buddy used to do is keep his boat full all the time. On the way home he would stop and fill it back up and then divide it up right there. Works good if the people are riding with you or following you. Then everyone knows it's fair and exactly what was used.

First off...String title has to be one of the most vague ones I've ever seen.


Second...if they are friends or family or friends of friends or family then don't charge. Figure it as a gift and you will have a better time. If you are a floating taxi then that doesn't sound fun.

If they offer money take it if you want...but if you ask them out many people don't realize that it costs money to operate a boat. They view it like skipping through a park or playing a board game.

And i'll clarify on my post...i too dont ask for gas, this all happened when I was in college and my buddies were always hitting me to go out on my boat and they damn well knew the boat didnt fill itself.

But even now...if someone asks me to go out with them, i'll offer money. I got rid of my boat bc I couldnt find reliable crew in any way.

LR3 - that is why I had kids! Instant crew that handles the flag and clean up and won't drink all my beer.:D

I thought I typed more than that but I've been having a lot of troubles on here with my iPhone and google chrome app, along with my local kuwait cell phone service.

I know that feeling very well. Had that same issue with most people who went out. never charged the girls for coming but half the guys that always wanted to go out expected me to cover all the gas and assumed the 12pack of beer they'd bring, which they usually drank most, if not all, was enough to cover them coming. and that was when I had my lifted f150 on 37s that averaged 7-8 mpg.

Well...then there has to be someone on this forum who has a daughter in her 20s, wants an edumacated, son-in-law who enjoys his boating and willing to add kids to add to their boat crew:) lol

i will never ask butt my buddies that chip in /help are first on my list when going out
and one of them always puts more than his share in so he gets a pull anytime he wants

when i go on someone else's boat i try to figure a tank of gas dived by crew number

heading to the cove, booze cruising, boat riding, kids toobing. i will pay for it all. but group of wakeboarders with sacks riding all day. that requires ponying up. my .02

This is more of an issue than it used to be. I started wakeboarding in 1997. Gas was $.99/gallon. The only day I ever ran a tank thru was doing a demo day with a buddy who owned a shop. Back then that was a $30 day. Now it's a $120 day.

But I try to watch my fuel and we only go thru a tank about every 3-4 days. So can usually get close to 2 weekends. But that is also at a cabin with the boat on a lift. Virtually no travel to a riding spot. Pretty much every running minute is riding.

If I was running a tank a day I'd have to find some people with gas money!! LOL

oh yeah dont charge anyone who isnt riding.

I'm not a licensed boat captain, bonded or insured for charters so I do not charge anything. And I would be concerned that asking for money would open up some liabilities I'm not prepared to deal with.

The people who I invite out are smart enough to know they should leave some money in the glove box or throw in a few bucks when filling up on the way home.

Not that I "charge" but around here it seems $10 per set about covers it for the boat owner.

^^^ this.
Covering your butt right there by saying that on a public site so nothing gets brought back to you. I tip my hat to you

I've found that I can buy in with good margaritas and the occasional dinner. Otherwise I'd need a loan for gas, though we do use my boat on occasion as well.

This is what i do. Keeps it fair for every trip. And saves time in the morning running not having to run to the gas station

Man sometimes I wish I was like all you guys posting right now.

No big deal to foot the bill for your buddies to ride for a day?.... We're at a minimum of 20$ a pull right now and it's going back up again with the election coming up. Granted we sack the heck out of our boats but almost 20 years ago that 20 got me through a whole day, 3-4 rides plus my buddies dad buyin me breakfast and lunch

Yeah it must really suck in California right now. Just heard that gas is nearly $6 for 87 octane :eek: dam those heat waves and refinery fires! So what will you do over there with gas being that ridiculous, sail?

^^^no wonder there are so many threads and guys trading their trucks for a prius. I thought my $4.08 for 93 on a regular basis was bad lol

Those are great too but what I really like are those nooners! :)

LOL!!!!!!! Just heard, eh?:rolleyes:

Guess again. We are at 4.10 to 4.50 in sacto and in Santa barbara (normally near the highest) it is only about a quarter more.

There is a station in the middle of nowhere on I5 that I stopped at (south central valley near bakersfield) that was literally over a dollar higher than anywhere I've ever seen. They have their station right off the freeway at an angle so you can't see the prices. I stopped cause I was low once (and figured it would be an easy off/on stop to get me to Ventura), saw the price, and got right back on the freeway.

So, other than the occasional gouger station, we are nowhere near 6 bucks.

I used to ask for money, but I generally don't anymore.... I tell people not to worry about it. But, the regulars will typically leave some money in the glove box or something...

If / when i jump on a buddy's boat I give em $40 each and every time.
my buddies all do the same when they jump on my boat.
gas is close to $5 a gallon here in the bay. $40 barely does anything these days.

I PAID $5.87 a gallon in august for 87 octane on lake Shasta.

I love it when a buddy shows up with a nice topped off can of gas. I'm not a stickler and I understand different people can chip-in in different ways. Being helpful, sticking around to wipe down the boat and back it into the slip is a great way to make-up for being a little light on $$.

I do my best to only invite cool people on the boat and by cool I mean courteous. If you have a habit of meeting me on the water And hopping off before the boat is on the trailer And you didn't leave cash, gas or beer behind--you probably will not be invited out often.

I never ask, but whomever helps and chips in, its all good. One thing I do ask is, that if you do come out, you help with rope and flag and whatever else i need you to do, or else you won't be coming out with me very often.

I never charge, never ask - ever. That said, folks that come ride with me always throw in a few buck. Probably 1/2 the time they throw in as much or more money than what we burned in fuel, sometimes less, and it all evens out in the end. I don't really feel bad since there other costs assoicated with having a boat (purchase price, upgrades, upkeep, insurance) are a lot more than the cost of fuel. Even if they don't throw in any I don't mind.

H ? shouldn't you be working??? today???

Well, I've heard it's been at 8-10 bucks at Nacimiento on busy weekends years ago...at the marina (no idea if this is true or not)...I think it is normal to be much higher at marina's...

...but I was talking about normal auto gas stations. I don't think the percentage is too high regarding people that have to fill up while on the water...at least in Cali.


(captain obvious signing off now :D)

You would think but work has finally slowed down so I'm back to my regular four ten schedule at least for a couple weeks.You ready for the polar Bear??

Get a sticker for your boat. "my boat runs on gas, not thanks" seems to work for me.

Good idea on the sticker^^^

I was waiting for a thread like this for a while ... But I have to say something here. I consider myself very lucky to have a solid crew and they all chip in and help - a big thanks to all of them (you know who you are. :-)
But some just don't get it: if they show up - we fill up the boat with 20 gallons and are out for an hour of riding (2 sets each) and the person is pulling out 6 singles - I don't know what to say. Except that was the last time I take them out. And to top this off: they are perfectly fine to pay 35 bucks at the cable park for maybe 2 or 3 pulls at the cable park @5 min each. Friend of mine did the math: with gas, insurance, depreciation and maintenance it's a buck a minute. I laughed but I think every season after 100 hrs. that'a pretty close. And disclosure: yes an 8.1l engine isn't sipping gas - no matter how much ballast :-(

what was the OLD bumper sticker ? A$$,cash or grass nobody rides for free something like that lol

I lol'd pretty hard at that^^^^

Really gas isn't that high?? I just heard on the news again here in Arizona that so cal is around $6. With gas stations closing cuz the profit margin isnt worth it.

Gas, Grass or Ass - No free riders! That is what you were looking for.

Never ask - never take. I invite them - they invite me - works out pretty even for most. The free-riders just need to be courteous and wanting to learn something. It helps if they show some initiative to get a boat license so they can pull me!

Now if the crew were all out for a pull and didn't want to or couldn't buy in, then it would not be unreasonable to cover the operating cost or at least their portion of it. As Nick said, "do the math." Also, if you factor in capital cost it is definitely over $120/hr for a newer boat. A friend of mine has a float plane. Every time we go catch some fish on the next lake, those fish cost about $100 each, and that is with both at our limit!

Another expression is, "if it floats, flies or f#(ks, don't buy it, rent it, it will be cheaper in the long run!" Of course, you have to be able to get one when you need it. Maybe that's why we buy in.

I was only aware of 2 f's - didn't know the 3rd ... LOL ... boy you have all 3 ... I'm only on 2 so I consider myself lucky ... oh wait - one of them isn't yours and you get paid for it ... guess it's not that bad ... :D (sorry Frank, that was too inviting for not being more specific here ... lol)

It's actually Ass, Gas, or Grass, Nobody rides for free. It was a bumper sticker most often seen on vans. Vans used to be super cool.

My buddy complained about giving me $25 for gas. He pulled the whole "dude I don't have my wallet". The expression on my buddies face was priceless when we ran out of gas in the middle of his set. Seriously, the most perfect scenario ever.

As others have said we typically do $10/pull or $15 for the first pull and $5 for the second. When gas hits over $4/gallon we do $25 for 2 pulls. I have a big solid crew and 90% of them are boat owners so we basically just end up passing $20-$25 back and forth.

With that being said though there are many different types of boat owners out there... Myself and my crew launch the boat, find good water, ride 2 sets each, then head back in typically burning 1/2 tank of gas($80-$100) or so in our weighted boats. We do this about 3 times a week so not asking for gas and footing the $300/week gas bill for us to ride isn't an option with my financial situation. However, I do have other friends that don't ask for gas because their idea of a day on the boat is launching($10) driving 1/2 mile to ski beach, party, party, party then drive back to the launch burning a total of $7 in gas and they do this twice a month. Even then when I go out on their boat I pay for launch, booze and still try to give him $20 for whatever else.

So in theory I think it all depends on people's situation...