Tip amounts for dock line handlers and fuel dock attendance?

[Capt. Rodbone]

I consider myself a good tipper and almost never even with less than satisfactory service tip servers less than 15%. For really good service I sometimes tip twice that amount.
We are starting the GreatLoop and have been sailboaters most of our lives and burned so little fuel I just took it to our boat myself in 5 gallon cans.
Those days are over however and I’m looking for some input from the forum. I suppose it could vary regionally however what do you folks typically tip someone let’s say for starters at the fuel dock? This morning I bought $500 worth of fuel and also pumped out our holding tank and topped off water tanks. I would think a situation like this is typically tipped based on how pleasant they were and their time as opposed to any type of percentage? I was thinking five bucks but I liked this gentleman quite a bit. I don’t know if it is customary for docks to pump the holding tank and then flush it again with potable water but this gentleman took that upon himself while I was manning the fuel hose. I ended up giving him eight dollars and he seemed appreciative. Would five dollars had been reasonable?
Regarding deckhands that help with tying up the boat at Marina‘s, what is the typical protocol and what do you do? Would you tip the same regardless of whether you had requested dock assistance or if the marina has their policy to send someone out regardless just before you pull in? Is five dollars hi, low, or about right for a couple of minutes worth of work? I’m planning to get $100 or so in five dollar bills and keep them in a separate and easy to access spot for these occurrences.
I look forward to hearing the responses and apologize for neither doing a search for the topic nor for doing this by voicetyping as I’m literally speaking it into an iPad while I scurry around with our last couple of days list before final departure

 

[Comodave]

We carried $5 bills in quantity when we are cruising. I give most all of the people that help one. If they do the pumpout and fuel then two. But a lot of the marinas in our area are state owned and prohibit employees from accepting tips. We try but they refuse. At least they know we appreciate it.

If you don’t have a washer and dryer aboard then carry a stock of quarters on board too. Some marinas don’t have change or the office may be closed when you want to do laundry l

 

[kthoennes]

Same here, usually carry $5 bills. That's our usual habit on a quiet day for a simple stop -- say mooring and fuel only for example. $10 for a pump-out because of the gross factor -- unless we do all the hose work ourselves. If there are two dock "boys" (we still call them that here, regardless of gender), then we'll give $5 each because splitting it means they each get a stingy $2.50. I can think of lots of times when we tipped more though. When we took delivery of our boat and motored it from Newport to Albany, that had to be the windiest couple weeks in the history of LI Sound - felt like it anyway. We tipped $10 for each dock handler at Essex Island Marina because the wind was so fierce. Once I miraculously got into the slip, the wind turned and jammed us sideways across a two-boat slip with an empty slip beside us, so they had to work us back straight with great effort. Didn't have to toss them the dock lines, the mooring lines would just stream out horizontally in the wind. I think our highest tip was Black Rock. The dock master there was a very memorable, incredibly helpful guy. He gave his crew of young boys constant guidance on handling the boat, have me a mini-lesson in docking against high winds, and he let us stay tied up to the gas dock while we had lunch, which you normally weren't supposed to do. "Might take us a while to fuel your boat, wink wink, why don't you go have lunch..." -- so I didn't have to move it in the gale twice, from the fuel dock to a short-term transient slip. I remember too, when we got it tied up securely after a white-knuckled entry in a crowded, busy channel and marina, he patted the side of our boat like you'd pat a horse and said, "Good girl, good job." We tipped him $40 and his dock crew $5 each.

 

[garbler]

In like 1967 I worked on the outside ( fuel, temp docking, preferred customers etc ) at Test Harbor in Ft Lauderdale. We were told by management to keep our palms down and smiles up. To never get chatty with the customers daughters and
just do your job. I have to be delicate here but some people always wanted to tip dock help regardless while other clans never. But our Dock Master always wanted his take so he never enforced the house rules. At the bigger New England YC’s from Newport to Marblehead it is poor form to tip. Bottom line is trying to tip where it’s bad form is as bad as not tipping where it’s expected. Answer is I don’t have a clue you just have to feel your way through it but my guess would be offer first.

Rick

 

[O C Diver]

A carry 5s and 10s and tip based on what I feel is appropriate. In some state marinas (I think Michigan) it's against the rules to tip the help. Won't hurt you, but an employee can get fired. Need to be careful for the employees sake.

Ted

 

[psneeld]

Tipping in the hospitality/food industry is one thing as it has evolved that way. Above or below that 15% is just personal "feelings"... I have huge heartburn tipping a breakfast diner waitress just a few bucks after 10 trips or so to the table based on a measly breakfast cost and paying 15-20% to a food server at a higher than average dinner restaurant for a mediocre dinner with marginal service. I try to tip "fair" not canned.

For help around marinas...it is all over the map from summer job kids getting hardly a wage to marina owners, dockmasters way overpaid, family or friends on a decent salary, etc.....

So my advice unless you know it is a club or resort marina or a plain marina where tipping has become standard and the biggest exception is those that help you or do pumpouts.... is to look at tips as gifts. There is no standard so if you want to be nice to that person.... give them something that will make their day....enough for a cold drink, for lunch or take the wife out for a nice dinner if they were super and really helped you out.

For places that I stay for weeks or months...instead of tipping all the time...I just let them know a pizza party or catered lunch with random mornings of coffee and pastries were coming and quickly made real.

 

[Steppe]

I think we have had this discussion on the site before.

Between Olympia, WA all the way to Juneau and the rest of SE Alaska we have never tipped at any docks. Further, in 25+ years I cannot remember ever having someone else fill our tanks or pump out the waste other than ourselves. In the PNW there will normally be a gas dock attendant who will hand you the hose, watch you fill your tank and then happily accept your credit card. Generally there is no one at the sewage pumpout.

And there just aren't a lot of line handlers awaiting you at most marinas, unless you have called ahead and asked for help docking.

Sent from my SM-T220 using Trawler Forum mobile app

 

[psneeld]

You don't have to tip people who aren't there......

 

[Alaskan Sea-Duction]

I think we have had this discussion on the site before.

Between Olympia, WA all the way to Juneau and the rest of SE Alaska we have never tipped at any docks. Further, in 25+ years I cannot remember ever having someone else fill our tanks or pump out the waste other than ourselves. In the PNW there will normally be a gas dock attendant who will hand you the hose, watch you fill your tank and then happily accept your credit card. Generally there is no one at the sewage pumpout.

And there just aren't a lot of line handlers awaiting you at most marinas, unless you have called ahead and asked for help docking.

Sent from my SM-T220 using Trawler Forum mobile app

Good point. I think Roche and Friday Harbor there is some tipping. If I notice college kids helping with lines, I will tip them, but as a general observation in the PNW there is no tipping.

One time I asked the Harbor master in K-Town if he could send someone down to help with the lines. He replied by laughing with a "NO"

 

[Comodave]

Around here just about every time we come into the dock they have at least one dock hand and usually two. If it is really windy they send down more.

We are not rich by any means but we are well enough off to own a nice boat. The people working in restaurants and on docks are not usually as well off as we are so if the service is good I tip well. Usually 30%+ in a restaurant. Usually $5 to $10 on the docks unless the help was really good then I tip more.

 

[sjisailor]

PNW here and the main question is whether dock folks are around long enough to tip. Often they appear and catch a line, then disappear. If it's easy to find them, we tip $5 each.

If they stay around, or help more, or are the attendants at our home marina or somewhere we go often, then $5 up to $20 depending. I figure generosity is good and goodwill doesn't hurt.

I have heard stories of $100 tips from fancy boats but I'm guessing those folks are not reading this thread!

 

[lwarden]

The fuel dock I frequent is a bit different. They have the best fuel prices, but you get a significant discount if they like you, I'm talking 30-50 cents a gallon off. And the guys who tie you up and pump the fuel also follow you in and write you up, so I tip them $20 and it pays off in spades. A little fish talk goes a long way as well since it's known they give fishermen a better deal the yacht club types.

 

[Bacchus]

I agree with the collective thoughts here so far.
$5 as a starting point but I let circumstances influence additions.
If multiple chores fuel, pump out water, etc I'll double it.
Some assistance with docking is minimal other times it's significant... 2 people, very good communication and guidance into a tricky slip I'll adjust accordingly.
The last factor is if I'm planning on staying more than overnight ( a fewvdays) I will be more generous initially and it usually pays off with attentive service.
I've had dock hands treated well stop by to ask if we needed / wanted more ice etc and they would deliver.
Generally I/ you can sense quickly which marinas are service oriented and will go above and beyond to provide a positive experience... just use judgement and trust your instincts... everybody wins

 

[klee wyck]

Hospitality is an art form and that is what we are talking about here.
When folks show up wanting to help, warm and welcoming, and eager to work rather than an obligatory attitude or worse, it makes you want to tip. We carry a stack of 200-peso notes and hand them to everyone in sight down south because they make you want to. Docks, boatyards, food service, etc.
Where I live and northward, we do not experience the urge very often.....so generally we don't.

 

[markpierce]

With restaurant meals rising 30 to 40 percent, shouldn't the tip percentages be reduced? Who has received a 30-40 percent increase in their incomes the last year or two? Hereabouts, some restaurant are charging fees supposedly for employee benefits and recommending 20-25-30 percent tips.

 

[Comodave]

Wait staff around here didn’t get a raise. They have had a very difficult last couple of years, as have others. But without tips they don’t even come near to minimum wage. Would you want to live on that?

 

[psneeld]

I don't think that was Mark's point. Keeping the same percentage on an amount raised much faster than everyone else's wages seems out of line to me too. Food and therefore restaurant prices jumped disproportionately in many situations.

The real issue I discovered after a little research is the server minimum wage, tip credit and the "real amount" of tipping is all over the map. Some servers do extremely well no matter what and others barely survive.

But since I rarely tip on a percentage (start with it but add or subtract based on effort and/or effectiveness) I really don't take it all too seriously and just try to think and act like a kind individual (something totally out of character for me )

 

[Datenight]

I agree with the collective thoughts here so far.
$5 as a starting point but I let circumstances influence additions....

Generally I/ you can sense quickly which marinas are service oriented and will go above and beyond to provide a positive experience... just use judgement and trust your instincts... everybody wins

I love the last two words. We need more of that.

Rob

 

[psneeld]

I love the last two words. We need more of that.

Rob

I agree.

I captained a yacht for a successful businessman a couple times.

One of the favorite things he impressed on me was.... that every successful business meeting ends where everyone is so happy they willfully kick in a few bucks to leave for whomever comes in to clean up the conference room.

He had no time for businessmen who think like the character Gordon Gecko.... "Greed is Good".

 

[Bmarler]

Maybe it’s an east coast/west coast thing. I’ve been boating pnw all my life, never tipped a dock hand. Nobody I boat with does either. Maybe we’re just cheap? Maybe I don’t go to places like that. Not sure. But I can tell you, if someone took a line and then walked away I wouldn’t hunt them down to tip them.

 

[PM]

$5.00 in most cases. Sometimes less if there are two or three dockhands.

My home port is a small family business. The owner does everything. I would like to tip, especially for black water pump out just because it is nasty but I don't want to offend.

My question is: Do you tip the owner or in some cases a manager?

pete

 

[rslifkin]

$5.00 in most cases. Sometimes less if there are two or three dockhands.

My home port is a small family business. The owner does everything. I would like to tip, especially for black water pump out just because it is nasty but I don't want to offend.

My question is: Do you tip the owner or in some cases a manager?

pete

In a situation like that, I might just give them a tip at the end of the season as a "thanks for taking good care of us" rather than tipping every time.

 

[smitty477]

Dock attendants in busy season in the Long Island sound area of NY, Ct, and RI can receive much larger tips than the average posted here.

 

[psneeld]

$5.00 in most cases. Sometimes less if there are two or three dockhands.

My home port is a small family business. The owner does everything. I would like to tip, especially for black water pump out just because it is nasty but I don't want to offend.

My question is: Do you tip the owner or in some cases a manager?

pete

Yes but not $5.

If it were my home port and I saw the owner/manager a lot and he/she was hands on...I would bring a simple gift every once and awhile...after 2 or more pumpouts, more complicated help than just catching a line. A bottle of something, a gift certificate for lunch, etc.

Every end of season for my summers in NJ (including the years I was nearly bankrupt), I would throw a pizza lunch party for all hands. It would cost between $100 and $150 and generally was greatly appreciated. I was a liveaboard and helped out around the marina and the pizza was more of an acknowledgement of respect than anything else. The balance sheet probably had me getting plenty of favors but they appreciated my contribution too...both the party and the season long help.

If you aren't one to or not allowed to lend a hand, then a little more extravagance for the party might be considered.

 

[Benthic2]

The thing I don't understand about tipping is why a waiter/waitress gets a bigger tip when I order the Porterhouse over the pasta at the same restaurant, or if I drink a Topshelf drink versus a glass of water. The time commitment, effort and attentiveness are the same but one meal is going to cost me $50, and the other $20 (probably more...I haven't been out to eat in quite a while). The "percentage system" has always just defied logic for me.

 

[psneeld]

I would guess the higher end places are supposed to get/have better talent as servers.

Obviously we have all experienced that isn't always true and thus why I generally tip the effort versus the bill, with some consideration they are all (in the USA) generally under a highly variable minimum wage for food servers.

 

[hollywood8118]

Being a mostly west coast boater as previously mentioned we rarely have "boat boys' to take lines. We prefer to handle our own lines as we have a specific routine we follow docking and getting " help" most times isn't really helpful.


How do the dock hands feel on the east coast getting the wave off or I'll get the lines comment?
It often appears from comments many east coast folks expect help and many need it as they rarely tie off their own boats.



I have a bud that I sometimes sail with that is so used to docking single hand I have found its better just to stay seated and let him do it all as that is what he likes and is used to. Even though I am vastly more experienced and it is hard to sit on your thumbs and watch him scramble around I know it's what he wants so I have just got over it and watch.


We are in the planning stages to acquire a boat in the East so we will need to get used to a different mindset .
HOLLYWOOD

 

[smitty477]

The thing I don't understand about tipping is why a waiter/waitress gets a bigger tip when I order the Porterhouse over the pasta at the same restaurant, or if I drink a Topshelf drink versus a glass of water. The time commitment, effort and attentiveness are the same but one meal is going to cost me $50, and the other $20 (probably more...I haven't been out to eat in quite a while). The "percentage system" has always just defied logic for me.

Curious what you think about home commissions, boat commissions, business sale commissions, etc.

 

[rslifkin]

How do the dock hands feel on the east coast getting the wave off or I'll get the lines comment?
It often appears from comments many east coast folks expect help and many need it as they rarely tie off their own boats.

It depends. Some dock hands are happy to take no for an answer, others are pretty insistent on helping. If they're of the more insistent type and seem to be competent enough, we'll often have them take the first spring line (with very explicit instructions). But we've definitely had times where we've said "no thanks" and sent them away. We always plan for no assistance available, but sometimes having a person there to just take a line and cleat it makes things a little easier.

 

[ancora]

Dock line handlers, are for people who cannot handle a boat. Our yacht club marina does not have "dock line handlers." It is assumed that members are competent skippers. Since the majority of the 300+ slips are gunnel to gunnel, boat handling is essential.