What Does a Mate or Deckhand Do?
Builds guide sites for a livingPublished July 21, 2026Last updated July 27, 202613 min read
- The mate works the deck while the captain runs the boat, so they are who you will actually talk to.
- The federal occupational category is built around merchant shipping and reports a 2025 median of $51,520.
- That median counts wages and cannot count gratuities, which is where much of a charter mate's income sits.
- Published customs put the tip at fifteen to twenty percent, framed as customary rather than optional.
- Some boats do not clean fish at all and send customers to dock staff for a fee, so ask before you land.
The federal occupational code that a charter mate technically falls under describes somebody tying barges into tow units, attaching hoses to transfer liquid cargo, reading pressure gauges into engineering logs and lubricating shafts and bearings. It reports 32,100 people doing that work at a median of $51,520 a year. Almost none of it describes a day on a charter boat, and the statistic cannot see the part that actually pays. Definitions like this one are collected on the glossary hub.
The official job against the actual one
| Federal description | Charter deck reality |
|---|---|
| Stand watch for obstructions | Watch six anglers, not the water |
| Rig and stow cargo gear | Rig baits, all day |
| Maintain the engines | Untangle lines |
| Lower and man lifeboats | Gaff, unhook, rebait |
| Wash down decks | Wash down decks |
| Median $51,520 a year | Wages plus tips, and the tips dominate |
What is a mate?
The second person on the boat, and the one you will actually talk to.
On a charter carrying more than a couple of anglers, the captain runs the vessel and finds the fish while somebody else works the deck.
That second person is the mate, sometimes called the deckhand, and the two words are used interchangeably in the trade.
The captain is on the bridge for most of the day, so the person teaching you, rigging for you and handling your fish is the mate.
On smaller boats there is no mate at all and the captain does both jobs, which is a genuinely different product.
Whether a boat carries one is largely a function of size and trip type rather than of quality.
The distinction between the two roles on the water is set out in the charter versus guide piece.
What does the federal classification say?
Almost nothing that applies to a fishing charter.
The occupational classification covering deckhands is sailors and marine oilers, and its official summary is written around commercial shipping.
It describes standing watch to look for obstructions in the path of a vessel, measuring water depth, turning the wheel on the bridge, and using emergency equipment as directed by the captain, mate or pilot.
It adds breaking out, rigging, overhauling and storing cargo-handling gear, stationary rigging and running gear, along with maintenance to preserve painted surfaces and to maintain line and ship equipment.
Its listed tasks include tying barges into tow units for tugboats, attaching hoses to transfer substances to and from liquid cargo tanks, and lubricating machinery such as gears, shafts and bearings.
Its reported job titles run from able bodied seaman and bosun through to oiler and tankerman, with deck hand and deckhand somewhere in the middle.
The classification is published at the occupational information network.
So a charter mate sits inside a category built for merchant shipping, which is why the official picture is so misleading.
What do the published numbers say?
$51,520 a year, and the figure is nearly useless here.
The same classification reports median wages of $24.77 hourly and $51,520 annually for 2025, across employment of 32,100 people in 2024.
Projected growth for 2024 to 2034 is described as slower than average at one to two percent, with 3,900 projected job openings across the decade.
The top industries listed are transportation and warehousing, and government, which tells you where those 32,100 people actually work.
Charter fishing does not appear, because the sector is tiny inside that category and the work is seasonal.
More importantly, a wage median cannot capture cash gratuities, and on a charter deck that is where much of the money is.
So the published figure describes a tugboat and tanker workforce, and using it to estimate what a charter mate earns would be an error.
What earnings look like from the operator's side is a separate question, addressed in the tipping piece.
Why the tip dominates, using published numbers only. One Montauk operation publishes that the mate tip is not included and that 20 percent is customary. Take a single published charter price of, say, a full day at $1,000, which is within the range operators in this corpus publish for a full day inshore. Twenty percent of that is $200 from one trip. The occupational classification reports a median hourly wage of $24.77 for the whole category, so a ten-hour day at that median is $247.70 before tax. In other words, a single customary tip on one charter can approach a full day's median wage for the entire occupation, and the mate is also being paid something by the boat on top. Run it across a busy week of five trips and the gratuity component alone reaches $1,000. None of this is an earnings estimate for any individual: charter prices vary enormously, tips are discretionary and frequently smaller, the season is short, and no published source measures charter mate income. It is offered only to show why a wage median from a shipping-dominated category cannot describe this job.
What does the mate actually do?
Everything between the fish and the cooler.
Before you arrive the mate has loaded ice, checked tackle, rigged leaders and prepared bait, which is an hour or two nobody bills for.
On the run out they set the spread, brief the anglers and quietly work out who has done this before and who has not.
Through the day they bait hooks, clear tangles, set drags, hand rods over, coach the fight, gaff or net the fish and get it into the box.
They also manage the part nobody mentions, which is keeping six people with hooks moving around a wet deck from injuring each other.
On the way in they clean the deck, wash gear and often start on the catch.
And afterward they finish the boat while the customers are already in the car park, which is the invisible half of the shift.
What all of that is bundled into is set out in the inclusions piece.
Do mates clean your fish?
Sometimes, and plenty of boats deliberately do not.
Cleaning is a real job in its own right, and some operations hand it to specialists rather than to the crew.
One Outer Banks operation says so plainly, telling customers that its own staff will not clean fish but that the staff at the dock will for a modest fee.
Its stated reasoning is practical rather than dismissive, noting on its own questions page that even the most experienced angler cannot fillet as fast or as efficiently as the dock crew, particularly with triggerfish.
That arrangement is common in busy ports, where a dedicated cleaning table turns over boat after boat.
Other operations include cleaning as part of the trip and the mate does it, which is a genuine difference worth asking about.
Either way, somebody is getting paid for it, and it is better to know which before the boat ties up.
The full picture on catch handling is in the fish cleaning piece.
How much do you tip a mate?
Published customs cluster around fifteen to twenty percent.
One Montauk operation states on its published rates page that the mate tip is not included and that 20 percent is customary.
An Outer Banks operation frames it more loosely, saying the decision is entirely yours, that mates appreciate being told when a trip went well, and that a rule of thumb is to tip as you would in a restaurant.
It then names the same band, describing 15 to 20 percent as a normal tip if you feel inclined.
The restaurant comparison is the useful part, because it tells you the money is expected as a normal part of the transaction rather than as an exceptional reward.
Bring cash, since the ticket price and the deck are separate transactions and a card payment rarely reaches the crew.
Where a boat has two mates, ask how it is divided rather than assuming.
Because customary amounts vary by port and by trip type and change over time, confirm the current expectation with the operator when you book.
Who employs the mate?
Usually the boat, and sometimes barely.
Arrangements across the trade range from full employment with a wage to day rates paid in cash to arrangements that are mostly tips.
That variability is itself the reason the published wage data does not describe the job, since a great deal of the compensation never appears as wages.
It also explains why crews turn over, since a season of uncertain income is hard to build a life on.
The people who stay are frequently the ones on their way to a captain's licence, treating the deck as an apprenticeship.
Sea time earned as a mate counts toward credentials, which is the career logic behind an otherwise punishing job.
What that credential path involves is covered in the guide licensing piece.
Does a mate need a credential?
Frequently yes, and the classification says so.
The occupational description states that workers in the category must hold government-issued certification, and tankerman certification when working aboard liquid-carrying vessels.
Its task list includes maintaining government-issued certifications as required, which is an unusual thing for a job description to spell out.
On a charter boat the specific requirement depends on the vessel, the water and the state, so a blanket answer is not available.
What is consistent is that a mate is crew rather than a passenger, and crew obligations attach differently.
Confirm the exact credential requirement with the relevant maritime authority before working on a for-hire vessel in any capacity.
Vessels themselves are also inspected, and one operation notes that its boats are inspected annually by the coastguard.
Which boats carry a mate at all?
Bigger ones, and the number of anglers decides it.
A skiff with two anglers does not need a second crew member, and the captain handles the whole day.
Once a boat carries four, five or six anglers all fishing simultaneously, one person cannot keep up with the deck and the wheel.
Offshore trolling in particular demands a mate, because a spread of rods needs continuous attention and a hooked fish needs immediate hands.
Party boats sit at the far end, where several mates work a rail of thirty or more anglers.
One Montauk operation prices its trips on one to four passengers and still treats the mate tip as a separate line, which tells you the role exists at that size too.
How boat size and party size interact is set out in the party size piece, and the walk-on format in the head boat piece.
How do you get the most from a mate?
Tell the truth about your experience in the first ten minutes.
A mate is reading you from the moment you step aboard, and being told directly is faster and more useful than being watched.
Saying you have never done this is not embarrassing, it is the single most helpful sentence available to them.
Ask questions early rather than late, since the first hour is when they have time to teach.
Do what you are asked immediately when a fish is on, because the instruction is about the fish and not about you.
Stay out of the way during the run and the setup, which is when the real work happens.
And thank them specifically, because a mate who hears what worked will do more of it.
What happens when the mate is also the captain?
The day changes shape, and so does the tipping question.
On a small boat with one person aboard, that person is navigating, finding fish, rigging, netting and teaching simultaneously.
Something has to give during a busy patch, and usually it is the teaching, because the fish and the boat cannot wait.
Anglers who want continuous coaching are frequently better served by a larger boat with a dedicated mate than by a single-handed operation.
The tipping convention also shifts, because a customary percentage aimed at crew reads differently when it goes to the owner of the business.
Most people resolve it by tipping anyway and at a similar rate, on the reasoning that the work was done regardless of who did it.
Asking the operator directly is the cleanest route, and nobody finds the question rude.
That specific question is worked through in the owner-operator tipping piece.
Does a mate change what a trip costs?
Yes, and it is usually invisible in the headline.
A second crew member is a real cost, so boats carrying one price to cover it whether or not the rate sheet mentions the role.
The gratuity sits outside that, which means the deck crew is partly funded by the customer directly rather than through the fare.
That arrangement is why two boats quoting similar day rates can differ substantially in what you actually spend by the end.
One Montauk operation makes the structure explicit by publishing the customary percentage alongside its rates rather than leaving it to the dock.
Comparing two quotes without adding the expected gratuity to each is the most common budgeting error on a charter.
Where a trip is shared between unrelated parties, ask how the gratuity is expected to work, since one boat may receive several separate tips.
How shared bookings are priced is described in the charter share piece.
What does the mate do when nothing is biting?
More than on a good day, usually.
A slow trip is where a mate earns the money, because the fish are not doing the entertaining and somebody has to.
They change baits and depths, move rods, retie, and keep suggesting adjustments long after the anglers have stopped believing.
They also manage mood, which is a genuine part of the job and never appears in any description of it.
A crew that stays engaged through a blank morning is the clearest signal you are on a well-run boat.
Conversely a deck that goes quiet and stays quiet is telling you something about the operation rather than about the fish.
Judge a trip on that rather than on the cooler, because the cooler was never entirely within anybody's control.
What weather does to all of this is covered in the cancellation piece.
What surprises people most?
That the official job description is about barges.
The classification a charter deckhand falls under lists tying barges into tow units and transferring liquid cargo among its tasks.
The second surprise is the size of the whole occupation, at 32,100 people in 2024 across every kind of vessel.
The third is its published median of $24.77 an hour and $51,520 a year, dominated by transportation, warehousing and government employers.
The fourth is the projected growth, described as slower than average at one to two percent over the decade to 2034, with 3,900 openings.
The fifth is that a single customary gratuity at 20 percent on a good charter can approach a whole day at that median wage.
The sixth is that some boats do not clean fish at all, sending customers to dock staff instead.
Taken together, the official data and the working reality barely touch.
The mate, in order
Deck, teaching, fish, gratuity.
The mate works the deck while the captain runs the boat and finds the fish.
Their real product is the hour of teaching and the hundred small interventions that keep a trip working.
They rig, bait, untangle, coach, gaff and box, and they do the loading and cleaning nobody sees.
Whether they clean your catch depends on the boat, and some ports hand that to dock specialists.
Published customs put the gratuity around fifteen to twenty percent, stated as customary rather than optional.
Bring cash, because the crew is a separate transaction from the ticket.
The federal wage data for the occupation describes merchant shipping and should not be read as charter income.
And the deck is where captains come from, which is the career reason anybody takes the job.
No figure on this page estimates what a charter mate earns. The wage, employment and growth numbers belong to a federal occupational classification dominated by transportation, warehousing and government employers, and they describe that whole category rather than the charter fishing sector inside it. Gratuities are not captured in wage data at all, and no published source measures charter mate income, so none is asserted here. The two tipping customs quoted are the published statements of two named operations, in Montauk, New York and on the Outer Banks of North Carolina, read on 27 July 2026, and they describe those businesses only. The arithmetic panel multiplies one published percentage against an illustrative trip price to show why a wage median cannot describe this job, and it forecasts nothing. Credential requirements for crew on for-hire vessels depend on the vessel, the water and the state, so confirm the exact current requirement with the relevant maritime authority before working aboard one. Tipping customs vary by port and change, so check the current expectation with your operator when booking.
How this was checked. The occupational material is quoted from the summary report for 53-5011.00, Sailors and Marine Oilers, published on O*NET OnLine and marked as updated 2026, read on 27 July 2026. Taken from it: that the occupation is described as standing watch to look for obstructions in path of vessel, measure water depth, turn wheel on bridge, or use emergency equipment as directed by captain, mate, or pilot; break out, rig, overhaul, and store cargo-handling gear, stationary rigging, and running gear; perform a variety of maintenance tasks to preserve the painted surface of the ship and to maintain line and ship equipment; that workers must hold government-issued certification and tankerman certification when working aboard liquid-carrying vessels; and that the category includes able seamen and ordinary seamen. Its sample of reported job titles is given as Able Bodied Seaman, Able Bodied Watchman, Able Seaman, Boat Crew Deck Hand, Bosun, Deck Hand, Deckhand, Deckhand Engineer, Oiler and Tankerman. Among its 28 listed tasks, taken here: tie barges together into tow units for tugboats to handle, inspecting barges periodically during voyages and disconnecting them when destinations are reached; attach hoses and operate pumps to transfer substances to and from liquid cargo tanks; handle lines to moor vessels to wharfs, to tie up vessels to other vessels, or to rig towing lines; read pressure and temperature gauges or displays and record data in engineering logs; stand watch in ships' bows or bridge wings to look for obstructions in a ship's path or to locate navigational aids, such as buoys or lighthouses; maintain government-issued certifications, as required; examine machinery to verify specified pressures or lubricant flows; maintain a ship's engines under the direction of the ship's engineering officers; break out, rig, and stow cargo-handling gear, stationary rigging, or running gear; lubricate machinery, equipment, or engine parts, such as gears, shafts, or bearings; lower and man lifeboats when emergencies occur; and sweep, mop, and wash down decks to remove oil, dirt, and debris. Its workforce figures, attributed on the page to Bureau of Labor Statistics 2025 wage data and 2024 to 2034 employment projections, are median wages for 2025 of $24.77 hourly and $51,520 annual; employment in 2024 of 32,100 employees; projected growth for 2024 to 2034 described as slower than average at 1 to 2 percent; projected job openings for 2024 to 2034 of 3,900; and top industries for 2024 given as Transportation and Warehousing, and Government. The Montauk material is quoted from the rates page of Four C's Charters, Montauk, read the same day: that rates are based on 1 to 4 passengers; that fish are professionally cleaned, bagged and iced; that the mate tip is not included, with 20% described as customary; that a 50% deposit is required on all trips; and that all trips are dependent on the weather, with all money refunded or the trip rescheduled where the captain cancels for weather. The Outer Banks material is quoted from the frequently asked questions page of Hatteras Fishing Captain, read the same day: that on whether to tip the mates, this is entirely up to you, that if you have had a great time you should let the mates know it, that a general rule of thumb is that tipping mates on a boat is similar to tipping in a restaurant, and that generally 15 to 20 percent is considered a normal tip if you feel inclined to do so; that the operation's own staff will not clean the fish you catch but the staff at Oden's Dock will for a modest fee, because even the most experienced fisherman cannot clean fillets as fast and efficiently as the staff back at the dock, especially triggerfish; that full-day offshore trips fish in the Gulf Stream around 25 to 30 miles offshore while half-day offshore trips fish around 5 to 7 miles offshore, in both cases off rocky outcroppings or wrecks on the ocean floor; and that its vessels are inspected annually by the US Coast Guard. No figure on this page is derived from any aggregator or survey of charter crew pay, because none was found.
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Get a free website previewMates and deckhands, the job and the gratuity
What is a mate?
The second person on the boat, and the one you will actually talk to. On a charter carrying more than a couple of anglers, the captain runs the vessel and finds the fish while somebody else works the deck. That second person is the mate, sometimes called the deckhand, and the two words are used interchangeably. The captain is on the bridge for most of the day, so the person teaching you, rigging for you and handling your fish is the mate. On smaller boats there is no mate at all and the captain does both jobs, which is a genuinely different product. Whether a boat carries one is largely a function of size and trip type.
What does the federal classification say?
Almost nothing that applies to a fishing charter. The occupational classification covering deckhands is sailors and marine oilers, written around commercial shipping. It describes standing watch to look for obstructions in a vessel's path, measuring water depth, turning the wheel on the bridge and using emergency equipment as directed by the captain, mate or pilot. Its listed tasks include tying barges into tow units for tugboats, attaching hoses to transfer substances to and from liquid cargo tanks, and lubricating gears, shafts and bearings. Its job titles run from able bodied seaman and bosun to oiler and tankerman. A charter mate sits inside a category built for merchant shipping.
What do the published numbers say?
A 2025 median of $24.77 hourly and $51,520 annually, across employment of 32,100 people in 2024, with projected growth for 2024 to 2034 described as slower than average at one to two percent and 3,900 projected openings. The top industries listed are transportation and warehousing, and government, which tells you where those workers actually are. Charter fishing does not appear, because the sector is tiny inside that category and the work is seasonal. More importantly, a wage median cannot capture cash gratuities, and on a charter deck that is where much of the money is. Reading that figure as charter mate income would be an error.
What does the mate actually do?
Everything between the fish and the cooler. Before you arrive they have loaded ice, checked tackle, rigged leaders and prepared bait, which is an hour or two nobody bills for. On the run out they set the spread, brief the anglers and work out who has done this before. Through the day they bait hooks, clear tangles, set drags, hand rods over, coach the fight, gaff or net the fish and get it into the box. They also keep six people carrying hooks from injuring each other on a wet deck. On the way in they clean the deck and wash gear, and afterward they finish the boat while customers are already in the car park.
How much do you tip a mate?
Published customs cluster around fifteen to twenty percent. One Montauk operation states on its rates page that the mate tip is not included and that 20 percent is customary. An Outer Banks operation frames it more loosely, saying the decision is entirely yours and that a rule of thumb is to tip as you would in a restaurant, then names 15 to 20 percent as a normal tip. The restaurant comparison is the useful part, because it says the money is expected as a normal part of the transaction rather than as an exceptional reward. Bring cash, since the ticket price and the deck are separate transactions.
Do mates clean your fish?
Sometimes, and plenty of boats deliberately do not. Cleaning is a real job and some operations hand it to specialists rather than the crew. One Outer Banks operation says plainly that its own staff will not clean fish but that the staff at the dock will for a modest fee, reasoning that even the most experienced angler cannot fillet as fast or as efficiently as the dock crew, particularly with triggerfish. That arrangement is common in busy ports where a dedicated cleaning table turns over boat after boat. Other operations include cleaning and the mate does it, which is a real difference worth asking about before the boat ties up.
Does a mate need a credential?
Frequently yes, and the classification says so. The occupational description states that workers in the category must hold government-issued certification, and tankerman certification when working aboard liquid-carrying vessels. Its task list includes maintaining government-issued certifications as required, which is unusual for a job description to spell out. On a charter boat the specific requirement depends on the vessel, the water and the state, so a blanket answer is not available. What is consistent is that a mate is crew rather than a passenger, and crew obligations attach differently. Confirm the exact requirement with the relevant maritime authority before working aboard a for-hire vessel.
Sources & methods
- 53-5011.00 Sailors and Marine Oilers, tasks, titles and 2025 wage and employment data (O*NET OnLine)
- Rates, mate tip not included and 20 percent customary (Four C's Charters, Montauk, NY)
- Questions page, 15 to 20 percent mate tipping norm and dockside fish cleaning (Hatteras Fishing Captain, NC)
Every figure here is traced to a named public source and checked against it. Licensing, tax, and fee rules change. Verify your state’s current rules with the agency directly before you count on any number here.
Evan Knox
I build booking websites and run the ads and search for owner-run fishing guides, one operation per stretch of water. My first guide client, Bowman Fly Fishing, grew its revenue 4x in a year from that work. Field Notes is where I put the straight numbers on the business of guiding.
More field notes
A great mate makes the trip. So does being easy to book.
I'm Evan, and whether you run the boat or work the deck, the anglers reading this are booking the charter they can find and reserve online first. I build booking sites and run the search and ads for owner-run charter operations, one operation per port, so your calendar fills without you working the phone after every trip. Text me at (470) 777-9686 and I'll build you a free preview of your site before you pay a thing.