Why do we tip the mates?

There's been many posts written about this and there's no single answer. Here's my perspective. Mates work hard to make our trips more productive and enjoyable. At least most do, an I'll get to that shortly. Remember these guys are working for a living and as someone pointed out I believe their hourly wage is low and a significant portion of their income is dependant on tips. That being said you should take care of them as best you can. Chances are unfortunately that the same people who leave a $5 tip on a $100 tab at a restaraunt are the same people who will walk of a boat without leaving the mate a thing. It's just the way some people unfortunately are. I always give as much as I can and if I hit the pool I'll give at least 20% depending on two things, the size of the pool and how good the mates are. At times I've given 50% or more of the pool to the mates because they deserved it. This however gets back to my earlier comment, almost all mates work their asses off and should be well taken care off. I have, which I would assume all of us have, experienced mates who think a tip is an entitlement and after doing absolutely nothing to deserve it throughout the trip had their hands out at the end. In those cases I've still given them something but truthfully I should have stiffed them. Again this is only in cases where clearly they didn't do anything to deserve a tip and truthfully the boat would have been better off without their presence. This is obviously a minority of cases but it does happen. My point is acknowledge these guys or gals are there to make a living and make your trip a pleasant experience so compensate them accordingly. Not everyone has the same means so there is no set answer but in general do the best you can and if your lucky enough to win the pool do something even better. If you frequent the same boat believe me they will not forget your generosity and it will be repaid many times over.

Truth be told, it seems like mating is an easy out in the sun job but let me tell you, and I have never mated, these folks work their asses off and their service deserves to be acknowledged by more than just a hand shake.

Dakota