The captain hands you an envelope with EUR 3,000 in cash and a ship's debit card in the yacht's name, and asks you to sign a single line in a book. That signature has just made you personally accountable for someone else's money. From this moment, the only thing standing between you and an awkward conversation is your own paperwork.
The Imprest Float
Most yachts run cash on the imprest system: a fixed float is issued, spend is evidenced with receipts, and the float is topped back up to the same fixed figure. The core identity never changes:
Cash on hand + receipts held = the float.
Worked example. The float is EUR 3,000.00. Over three weeks you spend EUR 1,842.35 in cash and hold receipts for all of it.
| Item | Amount (EUR) |
|---|---|
| Float issued | 3,000.00 |
| Receipts held | 1,842.35 |
| Cash that must be in the safe | 1,157.65 |
| Reimbursement claimed | 1,842.35 |
| Float restored to | 3,000.00 |
3,000.00 − 1,842.35 = 1,157.65. If you count the safe and find any other number, you have a discrepancy, and you investigate it before you do anything else.
Card Discipline
| Rule | Why |
|---|---|
| The ship's card is never used for personal spend, not even repaid same-day | "I was going to pay it back" is the sentence that ends careers |
| Never share the PIN, never let anyone else carry the card | The card is issued to a named person, and that is who answers for it |
| One purchase, one receipt, coded the same day | Memory fails within 48 hours |
| No cash withdrawals on the card unless authorised in writing | ATM cash on a company card is the single hardest thing to defend |
| Reconcile against the statement every month, without exception | Small errors compound into large ones |
Cash Handling Discipline
- Count the float in front of a second person on issue, on handover and at each reconciliation.
- Keep cash in the ship's safe, never in a cabin, a bag or a pocket overnight.
- Log every withdrawal from the float in the petty cash book: date, amount, purpose, who took it, signature.
- Advance cash to junior crew only against a signed slip, and chase the change and the receipt the same day.
- Never mix ship's cash with personal cash, or with guest cash or gratuities. Different money, different tins, different records.
Segregation of Duties
Wherever headcount allows, the person who spends should not be the only person who counts and reports. On a small yacht that is not always possible, so the compensating control is transparency: an independent count by the captain, a witnessed handover, and a monthly report nobody has to ask for twice.
Onboard Notes
- If the float is short, say so immediately. A EUR 20 shortfall reported on the day is an error; the same EUR 20 found by someone else in three months is a theft allegation.
- Photograph the signed float handover. It is the document that protects you.
- Refuse an unrecorded cash advance to anyone, whatever their rank. Politely, in writing, and once.