You probably need to chill a bit albertaboy. There may have been an element of sarcasm in tinpis's reply, but there are a few differences to being a Multi-Crew Captain depending on what sort of aircraft you fly.
My first foray as being a "Multi-Crew" Captain occured some 20 years ago. The company I worked for had a fleet of mostly 10 seat Piston twins with a few C441's thrown into the mix. They operated Charter and RPT and were usually flown single pilot. For the RPT however, if the auto-pilot was U/S they were required to be operated with a second crew member. I'm assuming by your post this may be the situation you now find yourself in.
All the regulations required for this sort of op, was that the "Co-Pilot" be endorsed on type, have a CPL, and a current intrument rating. No multi-Crew training was required. We had about 4-5 chaps who would regularily fill this role. Most were up and coming CPL holders looking for a foot in the door, and were usually paid a token amount or not even paid at all!
I had little or no experience in Multi-Crew ops at the time, so I made it up as I went along. I like to think of myself as a "people person" so I thought it important to allow the guy in the RHS to gain as much experience as possible, but you need to be careful. I usually flew the more challenging sectors and let the new guy fly the easier ones. That way I was able to get a feel for what type of operator he was. Without any SOP's to guide us, some of the Captains simply relagated the RHS guys to Radio and Nav duties! I tried wherever possible to give the Co-Pilot's leg for leg, but as I said you needed to be carefull.
Today I work in a structured and regulated environment. The unexpected can, and still does occur, but my command training for my current position covered most aspects of multi-crew operations. Captains at our company are essentially "Trained" to be Captains, and they are not checked to line as such unless they can demonstrate proper multi-crew SOP's.
As for when "do I need to take control"? My advice is always to be ready, and if in any doubt, fly the sector yourself. Can be hard work sometimes, but also remember, to get the most out of your co-pilot, they need to be confident that they are part of a team!
P.S.
Gidday Happy Bandit. I considered that, thought I might have a go anyway!
