Owners hire a delivery skipper or extra crew for several reasons: the boat is being moved to another port, the owner is short of offshore experience, or a long passage needs more hands than the household can supply. This guide sets out what to check before you hand your boat to someone else, and what to put in writing.
What a delivery arrangement should cover
A delivery is a bigger risk than most owners expect, because a stranger is taking your boat into conditions you cannot supervise. Before you agree, settle these points:
- Route, timing and stops: the legs, the planned ports, a latest departure date and what happens if weather forces a change of plan.
- Who has the final say: the skipper's authority to delay, divert or shelter, and who is told when a decision is made.
- Costs: the fee and how it is calculated, and who pays for fuel, berths, provisions, repairs, flights home and any days lost to weather.
- Standard of the boat: a written inventory and photographs of the boat and its equipment before departure, and a defects list agreed by both sides.
- Reporting: how often the skipper will report position and condition, and by what means. See the guide to offshore communications for what the boat should carry.
- Handover: how the boat is returned, what is checked on arrival and when the fee is released.
Check the skipper
Ask for a history of passages on boats of a similar type and size, in similar waters, with references you can call. Ask which certificate the skipper holds and what it covers. Rules about paid skippers and commercial operation are set by the Australian Maritime Safety Authority and, for some situations, by state agencies, so ask AMSA or your insurer whether a particular delivery is treated as commercial. Do not assume a certificate from another country covers the same situation.
Tell your insurer first
Many policies limit cover to named skippers or to crew with a stated level of experience, and they restrict the waters and seasons in which the boat is covered. A delivery may need written approval, and it may need a survey or a particular endorsement. The insurance guide covers navigational limits, skipper evidence and cyclone exclusions. Get the approval in writing before the boat leaves the berth.
Preparing the boat
A delivery crew can only deliver a boat that is ready. Complete the safety and mechanical checks first: the pre-departure overview lists them, and the guides to safety equipment, the engine and the medical kit go into detail. If the passage crosses a border, the skipper needs the vessel's documents and the correct clearance: see clearing out of Australia and, for Indonesia, the cruising permit guide.
Adding crew for a long passage
If you are crewing up rather than hiring a skipper, be as clear as you would with a paid delivery. Agree in writing who pays for food, fuel and flights, what the crew member is expected to do on watch, and what happens if the arrangement does not work out in a foreign port. Crew from overseas need visas for the countries on the route, which is covered for Indonesia in the permit guide above. Ask each person about medical conditions and medication, and check that everyone is comfortable with the safety equipment, including the life raft and beacons.
After the delivery
Walk the boat with the skipper against the inventory and defects list, check the engine hours and fuel, and note any damage before signing off. If something has gone wrong during the passage, tell your insurer promptly and keep the log, photographs and receipts.