What is acceptable?

After reading the thread about asking for gas money.....what do you guys think should be the minimum acceptable rate for people with the gas prices we are facing?

$10 bucks for a 20 minute pull and I would even feel a little bad for that. Then again maybe I need to kick down more because I am sitting here while everyone else in my crew is riding. JK guys!! I also make sure to drive, wipe down the boat and tend to the rope as much as I can.

$10 a pull sounds fair to me... I actually told most of my buddies they need to start pitching in. I have been inviting the people I know that always pay instead of the one's that ride for free.. I'm hoping that they'll catch on once they're not on the water anymore

I live in CA and I ask for $20 a day. I make no exception for my guy friends but I do tend to not care if the ladies dont pitch in...it always is a better day with a handful of ladies on the boat.

Yeah $20 dollars is what I throw and I expect everybody else to pitch in as well, couple buddies and yer set

These days, it's a $20 minimum. If there's lake entrance/body contact fees, or if they provide drinks/snacks, or if I spend a lot of time riding it goes up accordingly. I think I gave someone $45 once for a full day out on the lake, and even then I'm not sure it was enough. Boating/wakeboarding is expensive and boat whores (like me) should not try to pretend it's not.

-Steve

$10 a pull sounds a bit steep to me. On a typical day on my boat everyone usually rides 3 times at least. $15-20 for a full day is the going rate for the people I tow. Yes, that means that I have to foot most of the bill, but that's what comes with being a boat owner. Even though gas is expensive, my main concern is that my friends and I are having a good time on the lake and I don't want them to worry more about paying up than having fun.

i usually will throw in some money depends though. sometimes 15 and sometimes 20. i guess i dont need to be asked so i just toss some money. i dont feel im at a carnival and am charged by the pull, but if i throw some in they know i am generous enough to pitch some, wutever i have.

Every boat uses different amounts of gas depending upon how much weight you run with and how many people are in the boat. I usually tell people to just pay me at the end of the day once we figure out how much riding was actually done and what is fair for both parties. I would say that $10 per pull is fair in my boat if you ride for 15-20 minutes. $10 is only 3 gallons at the current moment and that is not much when you are riding behind a SAN with 2000 lbs of ballast.

I'd say pay at least $10 and if you had more fun then going to the movies pay more. Where can you go and be entertained all day for less than $20?

IMO
20 bucks minimum
i just bring 6 gallons of premium...
thats more gas than i will use but why not pay for the boat owners rides too, owning a boat costs a ton of money and if people want to play then pay. and offer to/learn to drive the boat(if owner lets you)you'll be more "valuable"
your 20 bucks is a very helpful drop in the bucket...
or pay what you feel is equitable and then add a little bit more...you'll get invited out on the boat more

if youre only paying $10 you better be a darn good dock bitch

a saying that all boat owners know is that: a boat is a hole in the water into which one pours money.

some of my friends have a ton of money and they let me $lide but i still pitch in on all the work

Its a service industry. if you want an invite back, pitch in heavy. I pretty much give $20 no matter how long the pull. Just let em know I appreciate the invite & I'm always up to share costs. Plus overall $20 is barely a dent in overall costs.

Listen to Steve and Heavy,I think they got it figured out!

bring 5 gallons of gas your own food and drinks. a bag of ice.

I base the money I give per set on the assumption that the boat burns about 7gal/hr of gas. That means for a 20 minute set you are looking at burning 2.3 gal. With gas prices at $3-$4 that would equal ~$7-10. So, with that said, I think $10 is the minimum one should give for a 20 min set.

(Message edited by wakeprodigy on May 13, 2007)

Where I'm at I'm at the lake first before anyone(even the boat owner) When he gets there I plug the boat,Rack the boards,Chill all the beer,Put all the other stuff away,back and park the trailer,tend the rope and what ever else is needed and then I drop anywhere from 10-20 on gas. Alot of times he gives it back.

What I do hate to see and I say something is when its about 30 mins or so before we know we are going ot leave and all the sudden ever on has to go to the dock and they hand over 2-5 bucks and try to skip on the clean up. That sucks.

But all is well...

For me, it's more about effort than money. Like Alex said, just help out and always offer some gas money. Ironically enough, the majority of time I won't take the money, but the gesture shows thought and gratitude!

For our regular crew we do $20 a day per person riding. Some days we only ride 1 set each, some days we all ride 2 or 3-it usually averages out to 2, so reguardless, it's $20 to get on the boat and how much you ride is up to you.

Now when gas prices hit $4, anyone consistently riding 3 sets a day will probably have to pay more, but as of yet I think $20 a day is good.

Most of my friends are cheap bastards & don't think to, or want to pitch in. I've managed to get most of them to pitch in $10 a head when we go out, but they "forget" that sometimes too.

As much as that sucks, I knew when I bought my boat what costs were involved to own & operate it. When the alternative to not getting any $$ kicked my way when we go out is... umm, taking the boat out by myself because I don't want anyone on the boat who doesn't pay, I tend to jut let it go and keep my disappointment to myself.

...Just my .02

$10.00 bucks a pull is the least that one should pay. If gas prices go up then $15.00 per pull. I do not expect riders to share in all costs but people tend to forget how much gas is burned getting to and from the dock. In addition, all the gas burned getting the boat to the water. Should also bring beer, ice, food. I do not believe that the boat owner should have to pay for all these costs as well. When I go on someone elses boat, I believe in paying $15 bucks a pull and bring the beer.

I always give $20 even if I only ride once, always help wipe down the boat and clean up as well.
I like to treat people the way I would like to be treated.

i make my friends pay about $5 and then it usually adds up where i dont have to pay lol.
This was last summer though on a little fishing boat with a 45 horsepower engine. I'd definitely do $10 for a normal sized wakeboard boat though.

For me it all depends on the boat that i am on. One guy charges $6 per set (bout 20 minutes) but when he rides in my boat he pays me the same. The other guy i ride with we just do a pull for a pull.

people time runs?

Yep.

i pay 10 bucks a ride normally, but im 15 and live in the boondocks where i cant get a job so thats becoming to much for me.

but i do drive the boat, i stay to clean when i know i can get a ride back to my house if i do so, and handle ropes, plus i coach and give advice on tricks...

but i do wish i could give more

We started a new deal today. Our "crew" consists of our son's friends, (16-19 years old) they don't have any money. But, they do have time. They will now be mowing our yards at both the resort and the house once a week. They are going to get the pool area at the resort ready for Memorial Weekend, cleaning the pool furniture, bleaching the concrete around the pool, and pressure washing the sidewalk and porches in front of the cabins.
After all that is done, it's just the yardwork once a week. I think that's fair, and it gives us more time to ride if we don't have to do it all ourselves.