State of the Industry "Sportfishing"

[frankypettolina]

Jawz is right on- be professional, charge a fair price and do quality work.

Part timers are frightening in any business.

As for me Bill- we are a full time charter boat in OC- I am a professional marine Surveyor year round. It just so happens that there are less surveys to be done in the height of charter season (July and August) and during BFT season in MHC (we do not charter down there for our own reasons)

During the summer i try to schedule surveys when I don't have charters- sometimes it doesn't work out, and on those days I choose surveying over charter fishing, but thankfully we have Joey from the hard head or some other top notch guys that know my boat to fill in for me. either dad or myself is on the boat everyday. Most days it is both of us.

I survey between 100 and 150 boats per year. Some boats can take 2 full days to survey, most are between 1/2 and 3/4 day, followed by 2 to 5 hours of paperwork. That leaves ballpark 150 days open to be a fisherman in the areas my boat is operating. My answer is that i am a fulltime marine professional.

interesting topic

(for those that do not know- over 100 surveys per year is quite a lot- I know some guys that do more, but a majority of marine surveyors are doing between 20 and 50 per year)

[Fritz]

[QUOTE=frankypettolina;859057] My answer is that i am a fulltime marine professional. QUOTE]

I was going to say it, but you beat me to it. A full time waterman. I don't know you personally, but with those creds I don't think anybody should have any problem booking a charter or referring biz your way.

BTW- Do you think having a SAMS designation helps weed out the amateurs? I will bet it helps with charter bookings as well. A national charter boat association with professional designations would do the same thing.

[frankypettolina]

Having either a NAMS or SAMS membership helps, but istill think there is a lot more to it. At least with the letters after your name you have to maintain continuing education requirements and "prove" you worth every five years

[BlueH20Boss]

I hear and agree with a lot about what you guys are saying about part time charter captains and what not, but after reading all of it i kind of have mixed feelings now, personally because i have not gotten my ticket yet.....

The guys who are saying that the policies need to be heightened and requirements juiced up and hours increased and marine school and blah blah, yeah that sounds great to all of you guys now, because you already got your ticket the EASY way....I think if you were just starting out trying to dig your feet into being a ''waterman'' and did not yet have your ticket, then you would be singing a different tune affirming all these increased credentials that are being thrown around.....I do not think a captain is measured by how many books they read or classes they took, nothing prepares someone more than REAL TIME HOURS behind the wheel, and not a bunch of hoops to jump through to thin out the small timers. I agree with what you guys are all saying that some of these BS weekend warrior captains are out there, but leave that decision to ride with them to the guys paying him. Let them research the cap and crew, and see if its a ride they feel safe on.....don't blackball all of the young guys who potentially want to get their license by just saying "yea slap all kinds of requirements and restrictions on the license" Easy for you to say, you already got yours the simple way....It's not memorizing the Chapman book, its spending 100-150 days on the edge, in real time situations. Don't get me wrong, the book knowledge is a must to become familiar with, but 90% of what goes wrong out there isn't cured on some page in a book. Preparation, know-how and experience is what counts, and that has nothing to do with how many semesters you went to school. Thats my two cents...That 4 year degree i got at west chester should not be the deciding factor on if i can handle my boat offshore.

[frankypettolina]

I practice what I preach- besides dad wouldn't let me do it the easy way- I studied, and sat for the test at the regional exam center with test proctored by a USCG officer-

I know too many "captains" that took the class, had someone stand over their shoulder and prompt their answers. I know people who have never set foot on a boat and basically lied about their time so they could take the class and test with their significant other to help them study- they now call themselves captain.

Do i know some quality captains that took the easy way - sure I do. But I know way too many "captains" that I would not let drive my pickup to the marina, let alone take 6 passengers for hire.