We embark on our crew’s maiden voyage next week and want to make sure we are whole with the hired Skipper. In comparing notes from searching the board here versus documentation the charter company provided, there are widely different perspectives on how to handle tipping and per diem / meals with the Skipper.

Charter company documentation states:
• ~$40/day per diem, assume he’ll eat with you some as well
• Tip $75-100/day on top of the $175/day Skipper fee ($525-$750 for 7 days)

Posts / Threads on the board and feedback from others suggest:
• Assume the Skipper will eat what we eat (provision for him)
• Pay for Skipper’s meals and invite him to a couple meals with the crew, which in our case will be mostly dinners as we plan to eat breakfast/lunch on the boat.
• Tip 15% - 20% of the total Skipper fee ($185-$250)

Can you all weigh in on these questions?
1) What’s the best way to handle meals / per diem assuming we want to keep the skipper happy? If paying a per diem, do you pay it up front or as we go?
2) What’s the best approach for tipping given the wide variance in perspectives above?

Thanks in advance for your feedback.