Tournament Partner Agreements (contract)

[Seaweed]

Partner Agreements

I am shopping for a partner for next year. I have a couple of guys in mind but what I need to know is something I am hoping the that this bulletin board could help me with.

What exactly should I expect from a non-boating partner?

What should the non-boater expect from his boating partner?

I thought it would be an interesting proposal for all of us to write up a contract for each side of the tournament angling partnership.

It is my hope that through discussing this here we can cover all the bases and help us all to understand our commitment to our partners.

Any and all input would be greatly appreciated.

[JP]

Interesting topic. A contract is a great tool, but if u are not fishing for big money and prizes, it's kind of over kill. I have fished touramnets for a while now and never once had a contract done. Standard rules aply though;

1. Split tourney costs 50/50
2. Depending on if your partner is riding to the launch with u, At the end of the day, fill the car and the boat and split that expence 50/50.
3. Any and all winnings are split 50/50.
4. Each person is responsible for their own personal expences(Tackle and gear).

Unfortunately, owning a boat is expencive with oil, insurance, ect..., but it is your choice to have the boat. I don't know of anyone that has charged the non boating partner more(either by way of entry fee or a flat fee).

As for the legal portion of the whole thing. I would have to say that if u think the person u chose to fish with may not honour their end of the bargin, then don't fish with that person. REMEMER FISHING IS FUN FIRST , competetive second.

Just my 2 cents. Iether way Seaweed, good luck to u and see u on the water.
JP

[Bass Bandit]

I'm also in agreement with JP
If someone needs a contract to become fishing partners. Then maybe they shouldn't fish together.
Everyone that I have fished with has pulled their own weight in one way or another.

[Sluggo]

Here is the way I worked it with my partner this year. He had the boat.

1) Entry fee for BAOO membership split 50/50.

2) Gas / oil for boat split 50/50

3) He perfered to use his truck to haul the boat so we split truck gas 50/50. (I would meet him at his place in the am.on tourny days)

4) Any money won during the series was to be split 40% boat owner, 40% non owner and 20% to the boat itself. The purpose for 20% being dedicated to the boat was to cover misc items such as batteries, maintenance, insurance or whatever the boat needed.
(unfortunatly we never had the opprotunity to split any $$ this year)

This system worked out very well for myself and my partner. We were a first year team and it looks like well be back next year.

In some cases a written contract may not be a bad idea..... like if you do not know the person at all. But if you are fishing with a buddy I would really hope it wouldn't be necessary.

[MichaelVandenberg]

Sluggo,

Very interesting point for number 4.

Never thought about doing the 40/40/20 split on winnings. These days with the cost of everything, it probably is a good idea to designate some money exclusively to the boat.

Cheers,

Mike

[Sluggo]

Hey Mike,

I feel what it really does is gives the boat owner the feeling that you actually care and respect the fact that this is their boat and you realize they don't maintain themselvs for free. The way I look at it, if it wern't for my partner I would not be tournament fishing since I don't care to compete out of my 15' alluminum.

[Markus]

I like that Sluggo. That's a really good idea.

[Sluggo]

Yeah I think it works alright. I can't take credit for the idea though. It was my brother in law that suggested it.

[JP]

Great idea, y didn't i thinfk of that

JP

[Seaweed]

This was a good information string.

I was trying to discover if most teams have anything like this and quite frankly if you can`t understand why someone would want to know if most teams have agreements between teammates then you have forgotten what it was like to be new to the sport of tournament angling.

I just want to do what is right for me and my partner.


I greatly appreciate the input that I got on this subject and you know what I will probably use what I learned here when I talk to my partner about an agreement for next years angling.

[eye-tracker]

Hrrrm...
I usually fish with novice anglers so I do not charge or split the costs. I would be out fishing anyway so why charge a non boater for any boating/truck cost. Maybe I am looking at this the wrong way?

[M.T. Livewell]

Hrrrm...
I usually fish with novice anglers so I do not charge or split the costs. I would be out fishing anyway so why charge a non boater for any boating/truck cost. Maybe I am looking at this the wrong way?

ET, I think the big differentiator is the words tournament series.
For me personally, I could not afford to pay the 'team' entry fee for a league without a partner. So, we split the cost of the 'team' entry fee down the middle.

A verbal agreement worked well for me this with my partner. Things were clear up front, particularly the expense money I was asking to operate my boat. In some cases, things may seem expensive, but in most cases, it is a heck of a lot cheaper for the none boater.
i.e. no initial cost of purchase
no maintenance items like batteries, battery chargers, trailer tires, grease, etc
included the cost of gas
included the cost of oil
included the boat being towed to our launch location.
included insurance costs.

Ya, it really is a matter of perspective. Looking from the other side, one might question why not just rent a boat vs paying to jump in with someone else. But, when you rent a boat, you don't get (in my case) a 17' boat, with 90hp, and very fishable, with a livewell, and net, a full windshield and rain cover, etc. When you rent, what do you get is an empty hull, with a real small outboard, and maybe seats.
And don't forget, you get to spend the day with me ... priceless!

M.T. Livewell

[eye-tracker]

ET, I think the big differentiator is the words tournament series.
For me personally, I could not afford to pay the 'team' entry fee for a league without a partner. So, we split the cost of the 'team' entry fee down the middle.

Ya... I guess if I ever fished in a leauge that would be a bit different.

[JimW]

I fished with MT this year and things worked out great. I think the key is to just make things clear between partners before you sign up for a tournament.

I got a great deal fishing with MT, he is after all the ultimate "eye candy".

JimW

[jazman]

only fished one tourney with Spinner this year, we had planned more but it did not happen.

I offered a 70-30 split on winnings + 50% of costs....

he loses a skeg, blows a motor I am not paying half.... just my way off balancing the risk.

we did not win a penny so i look like a good guy and not out a penny