Volume Control At Sea???

[Deep C]

No, I'm not talking about blaring stereos or VHF's turned so high the people on the beach can hear em. I'm talking about voice levels and communicating among crew...

Those of us with time under our belt have seen and heard the full gamut. Oh how many and varried they are...

On the low end theres the hand signaler. I worked for a fellow like this as a mate. I would stand with my shoulder on the tower leg. He's gently tap the tower with his toe if he wanted my attention. We had different signals for different things. Scratching at the nose meant a bait had weed. A point and a wave meant to lengthen or shorten a given baits distance from the boat. A right hand twirl meant it was time to wind em up and head home...

On the other end theres the screamer... We've all heard em. Voices so shrill they drown out the drumming diesels of a fleet. The ones that effect a auditory flogging of their crew...

Somewhere in between is where most of us wind up. I do my best to stay calm even if I'm peeing my pants. Smooth direct commands seem to get the message across just fine. Do I raise my voice on occasion? I don't know a captain worth his salt that sometimes doesn't raise it a few decibles when its called for. When a mistake by angler might cost a fish in a tournament he may well receive an evelevated "REEL". If something is happening that may result in damage or injury, I apply as much inflection as it takes to correct the problem. My boss doesn't care for the raised voice but there are times its necessary.
Now I admit freely to grumbling at low volume when things are not right in ramblings from a few seconds to long drawn out monologues. This is done at low volume so as to minimalize the coarseness of it. It happens in the first place though to vent steam that could otherwise build up into a full on eruption.
I find time is a great quieter between captain and mate. To this day , Deep Deckhand might miss an entire ten minute instructional lecture but he's become good at hearing that little...
"here we go" or "there she is" from me when I smell it about to happen. We have "our corner" I will try to work all big fish to. He knows how I like a pit cleared. He's on the same page about bait position all the way through leadering and gaffing. One less question to ask or command to give goes a long way in keeping things smooth.

So, on your boat what works best? What doesn't?

[CSS]

im just recreational fishing so no gettin loud or pissed off if somebody makes mistake and loses fish its all fun just laugh it off , i know ive done it myself but im not tournament fishing either and my trips dont cost several hundred dollars to go either, on another note one thing i cant stand when charter a boat is a big mouth screamin capt wether directed at mate or customer, in my opinion when a guy charters a boat he paid for the day and if he loses a fish its on him no need for capt to go bullistic, if that happens i wont be back for sure.

[clt_capt]

I do tend to get a bit "excitable" when we get a hookup - luckily the guys I fish with seem to understand... Oh - I own the boat - so I'm excused

[jbonvetti]

Joe Trainor and I on the Low Profile have a good system down we have been together long enough to know what the other is doing and need very little communication, that along with a good what to do and what not to do speech on the ride out works well, yet to have a customer say anything but a compliment.

But I have worked for the foot stomper before, you never know why but you best figure it out quick.

[megabite]

If its over 100lbs the volume usually goes up a few db.

[Wireman]

Yelling at your mates gets absolutly NOTHING accomplished and just makes them more nervous and often leads them to screw up more. Worse then that, it only makes the skipper look like a complete amatuer fool. No owners or guests enjoy being around that.

The best skipper I ever worked for would very calmly call me up to the bridge, explain what I did wrong, and then would offer me a solution so I understood how to handle it the next time it happened. I was never once yelled at, berated, or insulted by him in front of guests, and to this day I have a lot of respect for him because of that. Thanks Rich.

When I went on to eventually run boats, I always remembered that and in turn tried to treat my mates with that same respect. The captain will never be respected if he acts like an ass to his crew, period. It's what seperates the professional crews from the wannabes.

[Deep C]

Excellent point... I have taken the time with Deep Deckhand to work WITH him...If something isn't right usually its hand signals to fix it. Often I come off the helm and just do it myself. Ask nothing of the mate I'm not willing to do myself goes a long way.
If its a series of problems that needs correction I wait for the trip to be over then explain what I "Saw" and "Thought" could be done differently.
Of course if that doesn't work. Putting him in the live well for the ride home, a quick keel hauling, or a quick couple dozen lashes from the cat o nine tails gets the message across...

Actually that above scenario never happens. I'm a very firm believer in never lay a hand on another human being at sea unless it is a life or death situation. Too much can go wrong in too small a space too quick to even consider risking it. Hell, on land taking a swing is equally stupid.

[Big Fish Billy]

Noise scares fish......