What is a kitty?
The kitty is the crew’s shared money for all costs that come up during the trip. The charter price usually isn’t part of it. The crew normally splits that before the trip, because it’s paid in advance.
What goes in the kitty, and what doesn’t?
Typically in the kitty:
- Food and drinks for on board
- Marina and mooring buoy fees, anchoring fees in protected areas
- Diesel and water
- Shared meals ashore
- Costs paid on site, depending on the area and the contract, for example tourist tax
Usually not in the kitty:
- The charter price and getting there
- Personal spending like souvenirs or a drink at the beach bar
- The security deposit. Usually one person pays it for everyone. What happens if there’s damage is something the crew should agree on before setting off.
Does the skipper chip in?
If a skipper comes along, the crew often covers their food on board. The skipper then doesn’t pay into the kitty but eats with everyone. Agree on this beforehand so nobody is surprised at the end.
Cash kitty, or everyone pays for themselves?
There are two common ways:
- Classic kitty: Everyone pays in the same amount at the start, and you pay from that. It’s clear. But one person has to look after the money, and if it runs low, everyone has to top it up.
- Everyone pays, everything gets recorded: Whoever is at the till pays, usually by card. Every expense goes straight into a shared list. At the end, it’s all settled up.
Many crews mix both: a kitty for marina fees, the market and the big grocery run, and everything else is paid by whoever’s turn it is.
How do you split fairly when not everyone joins in on everything?
On a boat, not everyone eats out every night, and not everyone drinks wine. What works well:
- Basic costs split equally: berths, diesel, water and the basic shopping.
- Only those who were there: dinners out, excursions or a scooter rented ashore.
- Fixed amounts when it’s clear: Two people share a taxi, so only those two pay.
What matters isn’t the perfect formula, but that the rule is set before you cast off.
What if someone leaves the boat early?
It happens more often than you’d think: someone has to get back to work after four days, someone else gets off at the next port. Two things are fair then: whoever leaves gets their share of what’s left in the kitty back. And from the day they leave, they no longer pay towards shared expenses. On paper that’s a hassle, because you have to re-split every later expense.
What do you do with no signal at sea?
In a bay there’s often no internet. That’s exactly when expenses get lost, because you mean to record them "later". Record them straight away, even offline. If you pay in a foreign currency, in Turkey for example, enter the amount in the original currency. More on this in the guide "Settling expenses in a foreign currency".
How do you settle up at the end?
The last evening in port is the best time: everyone is still there and memories are fresh. Instead of everyone transferring money to everyone else, you offset all expenses against each other. Only a few payments remain. Whatever is left in the kitty, everyone gets back proportionally.
Tips from experience
- Agree before casting off: What do we share, how do we split it, does the skipper chip in, who pays the deposit?
- Record the first big grocery run straight away. It’s usually the biggest item of the week.
- Diesel is usually filled up just before handing the boat back. Then record the bill as one expense.
- Everyone can add expenses, not just one person. That shares the work and builds trust.
How it works with HelloKiwi
HelloKiwi has the Travel kitty for this. You can rename it, for example to "Boat kitty".
- Create the trip and invite the crew. "Sailing trip" is the right travel theme, so you can plan the packing list together too.
- Set up the kitty: under "Shared expenses" → "Set up travel kitty".
- Pay in: everyone the same amount or each person individually, also in a foreign currency. Under "In the kitty" you can see the balance at any time.
- Pay from the kitty: When adding an expense, choose the kitty as the payer. Whatever the kitty doesn’t cover, a person pays. Record everything else as an expense as usual, split equally, by percentage or with fixed amounts.
- Treat the skipper: For that participant, choose "Is treated (pays nothing)" for the whole trip. They don’t pay towards equally split expenses, and the others cover their share.
- Leaving early: Under "Who owns the rest?" the person gets their share paid out. With "Treated from" and the day they leave, they no longer pay towards later expenses.
- At the end: What’s left in the kitty flows automatically into "Who pays whom?". There you can see who still owes whom.
In the app for iOS and Android this also works without a connection, and everything syncs the next time you’re online. Only the exchange rate needs internet; offline, you enter it by hand. HelloKiwi is free.