Rumination on remuneration -- unlicensed personnel

Professional Mariner Forum
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There are lots of things that frustrate me about the “hundred-ton world,” (and yes, I’m knocking out the endorsements and studying-up for the next raise-in-grade). Of course there’s lots I’m grateful for, too, including the ability to make a pretty good paycheck working on a boat.

One of the things that bothers me quite a bit is how little the unlicensed crew make at a lot of companies. Seems like $120-$140 is pretty standard everywhere, but I’ve seen as low as double digits and just a bit more than a c-note a day base where I currently work.

That may be reasonable for a true entry-level opportunity, but with the current manning structure on 100-ton boats, how does a guy move up from that? It’s not like a 100-ton company is going to pay for (or in some cases even reward) a fellow earning his AB, QMED or DDE, though that level of training and experience would be a clear benefit.

I’ve heard personnel managers at a couple of different companies say that “Deckhand jobs are McDonald’s jobs,” and “deckhands are a dime a dozen.”

As a captain, I disagree. A guy who can throw a rope, knows the boat, can hold the wheel while I use the head or grab a cup of coffee, can safely rig a lift and is pleasant to passengers – not to mention service the mains after a run and keep the boat clean without me following-up all the time is incredibly valuable. All that comes with experience and a certain amount of ambition (that will only be rewarded elsewhere, probably).

With the demise of professional deckhands (see thread elsewhere on this forum), the best one can hope for is a guy climbing the ladder to the wheelhouse, but again, these fellows are passing through. The other end of the spectrum is an old AB who maybe can’t pass the physical anymore, but knows his job and just wants to keep working. I’ve been fortunate to sail with a few of those, too.

Anyway, I don’t know what the solution is or if there is (or even needs to be) one. Just been buggin’ me …

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[QUOTE=txh2oman;103489]
As a captain, I disagree. A guy who can throw a [B][SIZE=3]rope[/B][/SIZE], knows the boat, can hold the wheel while I use the head or grab a cup of coffee, can safely rig a lift and is pleasant to passengers – not to mention service the mains after a run and keep the boat clean without me following-up all the time is incredibly valuable. All that comes with experience and a certain amount of ambition (that will only be rewarded elsewhere, probably). [/QUOTE]

Rope?? Uhhh… Captain?

I agree though. In my short time I have seen the quality of deckies degrade.

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I came out here in 02, and started decking on a harbor-coastwise tug. 3 of us, “kelley green” deckhands with snot still running out of our nose’s. The captain said, “Peter said i have to get rid of 1 of you, in 2 weeks, but to keep this fair, im going to keep only 1 of you, adjust accordingly”. We have the discussion here all the time, how the ATB’s have ruined the “tugboat” way. But thats the way things have went, and its actually not to bad. We run with 6-7 men, licensed deckhands, the whole deal. If your not able to wear a few diff hats out here anymore, your out of luck. Like anything, if everyone does thier job, and can assist the rest of the crew, you have a great thing.

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Line, then … I was happy with the vowel rhyme.

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I just so happened to speak to a crew boat captain yesterday. This crew boat was one of two boats that the company owned. Rather sharp and modern crew boats. Included wifi and sat tv. The part that stuck out was this crew boat was manned by 6 men. 2 captains with DP limited, 3 AB’s, and 1 licensed DDE 4000. All of the crew were payed comparatively to the big boat companies. Goes to show that these companies can still make profit with experienced and licensed crew but most choose not to because of greed.

Edit: this was a 100 ton crew boat BTW.

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[QUOTE=justaboatdriver;103509]I just so happened to speak to a crew boat captain yesterday. This crew boat was one of two boats that the company owned. Rather sharp and modern crew boats. Included wifi and sat tv. The part that stuck out was this crew boat was manned by 6 men. 2 captains with DP limited, 3 AB’s, and 1 licensed DDE 4000. All of the crew were payed comparatively to the big boat companies. Goes to show that these companies can still make profit with experienced and licensed crew but most choose not to because of greed.

Edit: this was a 100 ton crew boat BTW.[/QUOTE]

I’m going to assume this operator would be Jackson Offshore. They have 2 crewboats, both are pretty sharp (sisterships) and I’ve heard a little bit about how they operate. The main difference is that these 2 boats are on long term contract with Chevron for an “above average” (almost ridiculous) day rate which allows for this crewing setup. Not to mention Chevron has requirements that dictate this and the day rate so kudos to them.

For most small operators on spot jobs its not feasible for them to have a pay structure like Jackson does. One month your utilization is 100% and the next you have half the fleet sitting in Fourchon and waiting on a job opening. The big boys can do this because they have long term jobs with high customer requirements allowing them to staff up the boat and pay more. Unfortunately its the way things go and I don’t have a clue how you change this. We experimented with having DDE’s on our crewboats a few years back and it worked out great. Your monthly wages are higher on the balance sheet but Repairs & Maintenance (R&M) are considerably lower. To each his own.

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I also imagine they got those boats for a steal since Gulf Fleet was going out of business.

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[QUOTE=txh2oman;103489] Seems like $120-$140 is pretty standard everywhere, but I’ve seen as low as double digits and just a bit more than a c-note a day base where I currently work.

[/QUOTE]

That’s pretty low. I made $125 a day in ‘96 running 40-48’ inland crewboats.

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I HATE the word but in the workboat world it’s not that uncommon, or “wrong.”

“Come on in that stbd quarter and put up a rope” …New York and charleston, hear it all the time

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[QUOTE=“seriously;103806”]

That’s pretty low. I made $125 a day in ‘96 running 40-48’ inland crewboats.[/QUOTE]

He’s referring to deckhand wages. Bridge base is around 300 on crew boats.

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Working on a Towboat with my deckhand 550 feet in front of me I’ve learn that a good deckhand can make me look good & that a bad deckhand can make me look bad. Where I work our deckhands make good wages some earn it , some don’t.

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Re: There USED to be professional Deckhands!
This was written to try to put out into the open the issue of why and how there is a loss in Deckhand professionalism. I can only instill good work habits in someone who HAS a good work ethic, someone who IS motivated, someone who actually has a good head on their shoulders. Too many guys out there have a shitty work ethic, and when you bring this up all of a sudden I am the asshole for critiquing it. At my age I am becoming less and less tolerant of such antics. Yeah, I can work with almost anyone. I can make sure the job gets done. I can do it safely. But, I SEE the BS artists for who and what they are.

Many Deckhands are more concerned with when the ‘movie’ is coming on, or when we will be back in cell phone range instead of actually doing their job, doing it ONCE, and doing it right.

Reading the last three sentences of the OP is the key.

This is not how motivated I was as a deckhand 30 years ago. But while that was brought up, I do recall being brought in to the Galley with the other two deckhands there. The second Mate was there as a referee.

I was accused of: “doing everything on deck” to try to make the other two deckhands look bad!
Of course my response as a brash 21 year old was: “I am not making you look bad, You are doing that all by yourself.” But that ended the bitching! Written by Cappy 208. You hit it right on the nail!!!

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I have a great one in the makings. Kids only been on the boats for 3/4 a year but is going down below to help the chief, and digs into the deck work without being asked. When needed he is only asked/shown things once. They exist but are so few and far between. Closest thing elsewhere in my company (true pros) are about 30 years older.