Fair amount for gas $?

For those of you who own boats and are generous enough to offer pulls, just wondering what you consider a fair amount of gas $ for a couple of pulls to a beginning wakeboarder? Thanks !

most people consider 20$ a very fair amount

I don't personally own a boat but have been riding for a long time...know LOTS of people with boats. I typically offer 5-10 bucks per set depending on how long I ride. Overall, I usually end up paying around 15-20. Depends on gas prices I guess too(2.65 here)...and if I'm bringing drinks or snacks. Also, are they weighting the boat down or not? I guess there are a lot of things I consider.

i just bring a 5 gallon tank with me and put it in there tank

^^^that will get most of the boats we ride behind on plane. lol, thats actually perfectly acceptable for a set right there and convenient too.

usually a 20 for a good set is fine, then figure if you take a second kick another ten and so on.

(Message edited by westsiderippa on July 03, 2009)

When we go out with freinds, the boat owner doesnt pay for gas.

eric your always welcome on my boat!!

I do the same as Mike, I bring one of my 6 gal race cans filled and if we ride all day I'll kick in another $30 or so. When we ride on my boat all I expect is a 4-5 gal gas can but most of my buddies are really good about the gas thing.

Thanks for the feedback! It's helpful. I've been paying $40 for a cpl sets and $50 for 3-4 sets ( which is rare) and not wanting to cheat anyone, but it sounds like people are ok with less; looks like I can afford to ride more this year

If I take people out for an afternoon (say from 4-8:30pm) I usually encourage $10 per person. If we're out for the whole day, $20 (or equal contribution like food, a few gallons of gas, etc)

As a boat owner, I take care of most of the costs myself. My primary goal is for people to have fun out on the water, not to break even at the end of the day. I know people that are absolute nazis about how much people chip in. To them, it's a business and they want to come out on top. On my boat, a good attitude is worth more than cash.

Yes, it is nice when people chip in more than just the bare minimum, but picking up a lot of the bill myself is part of owning a boat. Boats are expensive, if you cant deal with it, don't own one.

That being said, someone who gives me $5 more than I ask for will be invited back every single time.

That makes a lot of sense , Mark, and I'm sure I'll feel the same way when I have my own boat someday - you don't want people taking advantage of you but aren't expecting them to help pay for the boat, either. It's really about having fun and spending time with great people, right?

Other boat owners are great to take out. They always chip in, offer to wipe down and tarp the boat, because they understand. Non boat owners are usually more of a headache to bring out unless you have well mannered friends. I say anything less than $10 per set you take isn't acceptable. Remember the more you pay up and help out, the more calls you'll be getting to come back.

Normally $10 per set from the folks that ride around here. $15 for two sets isn't horribly offensive though. I guess it depends on the company. Some of us that ride on each other's boats just swap pulls.

I normally do 10 to 15 dollars. But I only take two sets at the most (most of the time not even that), and normally that's just about 25 minutes all together. Plus I am about to enter college and have a crappy job that pay's nothing pretty much. I'd put in more if I could...

Are Cali gas prices making that big of a difference.... $20 minimum for the first pull. $10-$20 for the second pull too.

one thing to consider is what the boat burns GPH..
Mine runs about 6GPH.. my buddies Xstar with L18 is 9-10... So I give him more when we are in his boat than normal..cuz the X dranks gas!
So If my boat runs 6 GPH and gas is about $2.50.. $20 is fine.. for a couple of sets

10 a set is average for us.

Mark...well said. That's how I feel too.

it all depends on what gas prices are near you but if you are using a fully weighted up boat, make sure you are putting in 5 gallons per set.

With so many costs associated with owning and maintaining a nice wake boat, $20 for two sets is a great deal. Cleanup should be a given, beer and snacks are always a plus.

It depends on your riding customs. If the lakes you are hitching a ride on have no houses so the owner has to trailer the boat in for the day and stays all day, and you ride more than one set, I could see twenty dollars, but if the guy lives on the lake, you meet them at their place, and take one twenty minute set, then 5 or 10 bucks is fine, IMO. Most wake boats burn somewhere around 5-6 gph unless they are slammed (in my experiences) so 1 hr of riding would be 5gph x gas price (round up to 3 a gal) which is 15, so for a twenty minute set you are burning 5 dollars of gas. When I invite people out, its the second kind of scenario, our boat burns about 6 gph so 10 bucks is more than enough for a ride, bringing a 5 gal can is very generous, considering they are only burning 2-3 gals.

$20 for 1st set,$10 for each additional is fair. A little more when gas is higher. When I slam my boat we average about 5gal per set. Boat owners usually swap pulls in our crew.

When I go with my buddy, we meet at a gas station near the entrance to the lake to drop off cars. He fills the boat up before hitting the water, if it's not already. When we are done, we head back to the gas station to fill up. We all split the cost equally, including the boat owner. Works out great.

My boat runs on thanks, respect and wipe downs. Money is a bonus. I don't invite anyone who won't appreciate and respect my boat. I'd rather have it that way than receive $20 a head from some peeps who are going to piss me off by the end of the day. Just my opinion. Boating is expensive.

^^^That's one of the best descriptions I've seen/heard. To me it's not the gas money that's important, it's the lack of respect by not offering gas money (or some other form of help) that bothers me and makes me look for your replacement.

^^^
^^^Right on Hoser and Dave. That's exactly how I look at it.

Well said, Hoser and Dave.