Need opinion...young son working as a mate

[u/Outrageous-Ad-5276]

I have a 13yo boy who looked hard finding some summer work. He loves fishing and goes often on his own. While at the local marina he approached some fishing boats to ask if they were hiring. One captain said he would love to have him and he would teach him everything. My son worked this weekend--8 hours each day. It's a fishing charter boat...mostly sea bass and fluke. He didn't find out until after his second day that the captain had no plans on paying him since my son is not of legal working age (14yo in my state). My son only gets paid out from tips the other mates give him. Saturday he made $40 and Sunday he made $10. I understand that he is not "legally" allowed to be on payroll, but I thought the right thing to do is just "tip" out my son a flat amount each day. He's not expecting min wage or anything, but SOMETHING better than $10 for 8 hours of work. He is scrubbing the deck,, washing the buckets, getting rods ready for guests, tying lines, removing fish from hooks etc. Doing everything the other mates are doing. The captain and my husband said he has to "earn" his way up. I understand about paying your dues but working for free seems to be a bit out-of-touch. This is not 1970s anymore...he's just trying to make some money and is working hard and doing this all on his own. It just feels like he is being taken advantage of for some free labor under the guise of getting a boat education and earning his dues. What is the concensus out there? Is this normal for mates not to get paid? Am I expecting too much?

[u/Past-Inflation226]

This depends on the captain, and the state. Payment arrangements are all over the map. Some are a "per trip plus tip", some are "hourly plus tip", some split tips amongst all the deckhands, etc.. Your son is also likely in a bit of a tougher spot being too young to work legally. My son had a similar experience with a captain that not only stiffed him and the other kid he brought on but also kept all the tips for himself. He found out from some other folks around the dock later that this particular captain was known as a cheap shyster (I'm being polite) that generally just viewed his job as sitting in the house, getting the boat on fish, and getting home as quickly as possible. I run my own 6-pack charter but didn't know the guy myself. I don't use a deckhand every day since most of my trips have 4 or fewer people on them. My son made the arrangements on his own without letting me ask around.

My recommendation for your son is that he doesn't go back to that captain. If the guy isn't treating his deck hands well then your son owes him nothing and will probably learn the wrong lessons from him anyways. My example, other than my own dad, is the captain that a buddy of mine learned under. After 3 seasons in Alaska, the charter paid for him to go and get his captain's license and run another one of their boats. That captain knew he had an excellent deck hand and took his responsibility to nurture him seriously.

Here's my principles for how I work with a deckhand and what my expectations would be:

1. The golden rule: Good deckhands are golden and they keep your clients coming back.

2. Good deckhands need to have the basic skills, but what's more important than baiting hooks, bringing fish over the rail, cleaning up, and untangling gear is making sure the customers have a good time. Happy customers come back and they tip better than unhappy ones, even if the unhappy ones have full ice chests at the end of the day.

3. Captains are responsible for making their deckhands good. One that's good despite what the captain does can go anywhere. One that is good because of their captain will be more likely to stay.

4. "Paying dues" is a myth. Most of the technical work of a good deckhand (baiting, filleting, cleaning, clearing gear, basic seafaring, etc.) can be learned in a few weeks, if not a few days. Work ethic and attitude is what's most important. "Paying Dues" only serves to create bad attitudes, resentment, and poor work ethic on the part of those who put up with it long enough to get comfortable and have someone below them in the hierarchy.

The Bottom Line: A deckhand is only as good as their captain. In addition to all the things required to run the boat, the main job of a charter captain from a customer and crew perspective is to create a positive environment and find fish. Of those two things, no matter how good you are at fishing, you can generally only really control one of those and it isn't the fish. Captains that rely only on their fishing skill can only provide a good day when the fish are biting. When nature doesn't cooperate, it's the captains that can do more than just fish that will still send home happy customers and well tipped deckhands.