Anyone work in the marine/boating industry?

[jeromedawg]

Hey all,

It's probably just a mid-life crisis but it has also been on my mind for at least several years now in terms of job satisfaction and FIRE. Anyway, a recent change in management has "motivated" me to start thinking more about a career switch. I tend to love more physical activity where I'm hands-on at the job site. While WFH is great being able to spend time with kids, I think being out (or being forced to be out and outside) is probably better for me. One of my biggest passions/hobbies is fishing. I've always liked it even though I never did much growing up. I've been on a number of open party boats and the idea of being a deckhand has crossed my mind, except I'm not sure I'm as big a fan of the customer service/interaction part particularly when it comes to dealing with difficult customers LOL. Also have been on a buddy's 22' boat a number of time so I have my sea legs and am comfortable being on and around boats in general.
I recently was on Craigslist just looking for random marine/boat related positions and a marine rigger position popped up through a local boat manufacturing company in my area. The work entailed is a mash-up of basic plumbing, mechanical and electrical/wiring as well as some fiberglass cutting and metal welding. They're definitely not big-time, they want someone full-time and the pay is pretty minimal, but it seems like a great way to get my foot in the door if I could work out even a flex part time/training/intern contract. I figure if I were to pick-up this set of skills, I could probably do some contract/consulting work for many wealthy people who own yachts and boats in various harbors around where I'm located and make some pretty decent wages off of that.

But I figure, since I have no knowledge, getting my foot in the door is probably needed starting out. I reached out about that position anyway and just threw out that I have some 'related' experience with doing various repairs and handiwork around the house, for cars, and other things like that.

Does anyone here work in the marine or boating industry? Present or prior? Would love to get more feedback, advice, etc on this if so.

[jeromedawg]

I think this is a very romantized view of working on boats. I was a ships engineer/marine mechanic while in the Coast Guard (Google Machinery Technician) and,  depending on the type and size of boat or ship you work on, it can be very gruelling dirty work - especially if you are underway. While I work on both large and small ships the condition vary greatly. I think smaller boats CAN be fun and rewarding to work on, especially if you get to go out on them often, it is still laborious dirty work even in a shop. I think you might be better off working on small craft to start. The ex-hubby and I (same job) lived on our sailboat and had plans to work side gigs on boats or smaller private ships as we travelled around the world. After doing some side gigs on some luxury yachts (including Trumps yacht long ago) I hated it. So not the side gig I'd pick. Plus the learning curve can be steep if you work on more complicated power plants on larger boats. Lots of areas you'd be responsible for from hydraulics, HVAC, welding and machining, plumbing, hull repairs, and various gas and diesel engine repairs (or gas turbines on larger fancy ships).

Thanks for the insight! This would definitely be working on smaller craft (22' center consoles starting out). I wouldn't like dealing with anything bigger than a 50' boat I think. And even then, I'd probably not want to get super involved with the mechanical engine related items (yikes!).

[jeromedawg]

I think this is a very romantized view of working on boats. I was a ships engineer/marine mechanic while in the Coast Guard (Google Machinery Technician) and,  depending on the type and size of boat or ship you work on, it can be very gruelling dirty work - especially if you are underway. While I work on both large and small ships the condition vary greatly. I think smaller boats CAN be fun and rewarding to work on, especially if you get to go out on them often, it is still laborious dirty work even in a shop. I think you might be better off working on small craft to start. The ex-hubby and I (same job) lived on our sailboat and had plans to work side gigs on boats or smaller private ships as we travelled around the world. After doing some side gigs on some luxury yachts (including Trumps yacht long ago) I hated it. So not the side gig I'd pick. Plus the learning curve can be steep if you work on more complicated power plants on larger boats. Lots of areas you'd be responsible for from hydraulics, HVAC, welding and machining, plumbing, hull repairs, and various gas and diesel engine repairs (or gas turbines on larger fancy ships).

Thanks for the insight! This would definitely be working on smaller craft (22' center consoles starting out). I wouldn't like dealing with anything bigger than a 50' boat I think. And even then, I'd probably not want to get super involved with the mechanical engine related items (yikes!).

Sounds like a good side gig then. You might want to check out some community colleges that have training programs but most boat maintenance besides mechanical stuff is pretty easy to learn. I got to work on HUGE ships as well.as tiny boats so very different environment. Most small boats under 100 ft or under 50 ft with 3 or 4 person crews doing all the fun coast guard stuff like law enforcement, SAR , fire fighting, etc. Maintaining the boats and ships was much less fun.

There's a local college teaching "Marine Diesel" and offers other courses like Marine Maintenance but there are no current offerings for the maintenance course which seems like it would be broader. Not sure how useful the Marine Diesel course would be:
"You will learn how to bleed injectors, replace impellors, clean out heat exchangers, adjust belts, change fuel and water systems, and replace starters and fuel pumps."

It's $290 and is a single day course (9am-4pm on Saturday). I'd totally do this if it would help towards getting a foot in the door.

I've offered to help my buddy install stuff on his boat but he's hesitant and prefers to just have knowledgeable people handle all of it (he's a bit particular in that way).

[Sailor Sam]

I worked on tall ships as a teenager, and went on to work in the marine industry and to earn my 1600 USCG Masters license and AB unlimited. I crawled straight up that hausepipe you're talking about with a knife between my teeth and a bloody glint in my eye. I can tell you that working on boats - both physically onboard them and also mechanically - is fantastic, and deeply shitty, and wonderful, and amazingly fucked up. Rewarding, and frustrating.

That caveat is: the size you're looking to work on would mostly be associated with a small boatyard for recreational vessels. A place with 1-2 lifts, maybe up to 50 tonnes. At that boatyard, you will find mostly sailboats and pleasure craft, and a few working boats (lobster, crab, long line, just depends where you're geographically located).

The people who own the working boats won't really need your skills. They either fix the problem themselves, or they get the tech reps and/or the local "small" engine repair tech out to repair the whatsit. They'd be unlikely to hire someone like you're describing, because the person maintaining the engines is by default maintaining the power source that powers all the equipment that keeps people from drowning in their own racks.

The people who own the sailboats and small power boats would be more interested in a jack-of-all independent contractor, like you're describing as your ideal. These people are uniformly (as far as I can tell, and I'm biased) pretty fucking crazy, and only sometimes fucking rich. They will not want to pay you. They'll be even less inclined to pay you a far wage. You will have to dun them. You'd also be willingly tying yourself to a deeply boom and bust economy.

If you're willing to commit yourself more towards the mechanical side of the house, rather than the deckhand-ish stuff with repairing/scraping/painting, you should look into the businesses that service the yards, and are patronized by the working boats. They will be steadier through economic fluctuations, and you'll be an insider, instead of an outsider. That small engine course sounds like a great idea; and while you're taking it, imagine doing whatever your doing wedged into a tiny space, possibly upside down or ass-up, or ribs-are-being-crushed over an engine, while being tossed around. If that brings a grin to your face, charge forward, friend! It sure as hell brings a grin to mine.

For reference, this is me in 2010 when I was still skinny, working on the 'roomy' side of the engine. I look like that because I was actually stuck. While slithering down, I managed to get my torso between the pipe and the bulkhead. Turns out, I was entirely unable to get my torso back out of that hole. Gravity was against me. Things compress different going up, instead of down? I have no idea. It just. did. not. fit. My shipmates had to remove the pipe.





 

[Roland of Gilead]

You should get a job being a marine surveyor for small craft.  Make $800 in a day and you can miss all the important stuff.  Just make sure you note that the fire extinguisher is 6 months past expiration and you don't have to check to see if the engine mounts are rotted or that most of the thru hull fittings are frozen.  Such a scam job.

[Sailor Sam]

I worked on tall ships as a teenager, and went on to work in the marine industry and to earn my 1600 USCG Masters license and AB unlimited. I crawled straight up that hausepipe you're talking about with a knife between my teeth and a bloody glint in my eye. I can tell you that working on boats - both physically onboard them and also mechanically - is fantastic, and deeply shitty, and wonderful, and amazingly fucked up. Rewarding, and frustrating.

That caveat is: the size you're looking to work on would mostly be associated with a small boatyard for recreational vessels. A place with 1-2 lifts, maybe up to 50 tonnes. At that boatyard, you will find mostly sailboats and pleasure craft, and a few working boats (lobster, crab, long line, just depends where you're geographically located).

The people who own the working boats won't really need your skills. They either fix the problem themselves, or they get the tech reps and/or the local "small" engine repair tech out to repair the whatsit. They'd be unlikely to hire someone like you're describing, because the person maintaining the engines is by default maintaining the power source that powers all the equipment that keeps people from drowning in their own racks.

The people who own the sailboats and small power boats would be more interested in a jack-of-all independent contractor, like you're describing as your ideal. These people are uniformly (as far as I can tell, and I'm biased) pretty fucking crazy, and only sometimes fucking rich. They will not want to pay you. They'll be even less inclined to pay you a far wage. You will have to dun them. You'd also be willingly tying yourself to a deeply boom and bust economy.

If you're willing to commit yourself more towards the mechanical side of the house, rather than the deckhand-ish stuff with repairing/scraping/painting, you should look into the businesses that service the yards, and are patronized by the working boats. They will be steadier through economic fluctuations, and you'll be an insider, instead of an outsider. That small engine course sounds like a great idea; and while you're taking it, imagine doing whatever your doing wedged into a tiny space, possibly upside down or ass-up, or ribs-are-being-crushed over an engine, while being tossed around. If that brings a grin to your face, charge forward, friend! It sure as hell brings a grin to mine.

For reference, this is me in 2010 when I was still skinny, working on the 'roomy' side of the engine. I look like that because I was actually stuck. While slithering down, I managed to get my torso between the pipe and the bulkhead. Turns out, I was entirely unable to get my torso back out of that hole. Gravity was against me. Things compress different going up, instead of down? I have no idea. It just. did. not. fit. My shipmates had to remove the pipe.

Snirt! Been there done that. That's what grease is for ;-).

It’s the goddamn tits! Got ‘em down. Could not get up back up. It wasn’t for lack of trying, or for lack of squealing as people pulled. It just wasn’t going to happen.

[jeromedawg]

Haha are you guys just trying to scare me?! ;)

Sounds like fun, except for the part of getting stuck in small spaces. Working on outboards is probably the extent of what I'd want to do. And the note about private owners taking up their own work makes a lot of sense. My buddy might be an exception (the people who want to own small craft but outsource all the electrical/mechanical work). Anyway, I suppose if I gain enough experience to mostly/fully service his boat, it might just mean 'free' trips to go fishing with him lol

[jeromedawg]

You should get a job being a marine surveyor for small craft.  Make $800 in a day and you can miss all the important stuff.  Just make sure you note that the fire extinguisher is 6 months past expiration and you don't have to check to see if the engine mounts are rotted or that most of the thru hull fittings are frozen.  Such a scam job.

LOL, this isn't the same role that conducts USCG inspections is it?!

[jeromedawg]

You should get a job being a marine surveyor for small craft.  Make $800 in a day and you can miss all the important stuff.  Just make sure you note that the fire extinguisher is 6 months past expiration and you don't have to check to see if the engine mounts are rotted or that most of the thru hull fittings are frozen.  Such a scam job.

LOL, this isn't the same role that conducts USCG inspections is it?!

Yes. At much much less pay!

Yes Sam and I probably have a different perspective on this based on our various experience (which were great btw) but for the most part I th I k you'd probably just have to offer to be part of a crew and offer a service if your goal is to mainly go out on boats for free. Lots of local sailing, fishing and dive boats look for help for non-boat-related stuff but for help with their paying customers.

Definitely... being a pinhead/deckhand has been on my mind. At the same time, I'd probably end up getting cancer from the amount of second-hand smoke on the boats. As well as multiple earfuls from upset/angry customers when I couldn't successfully untangle their lines lol.

[firstmatedavy]

How long is the boating season in your area? Do recreational boaters haul out for the winter, or stay in?

I don't work in anything marine related, but I live in my boat so I've heard some things from contractors. Back in upstate NY the work was very seasonal, there weren't many marine repair contractors. There was only one marine electrician who would come to your boat (necessary for boats you can't just trailer behind a pickup) and he was always booked. Contractors said it was hard to make a living with only 5 months of warm weather to work with.

In coastal Virginia there's a lot more competition, but people seem to be doing well for themselves.

Working for a marina that does repair or bottom painting might also be a way to get a foot in the door.

Come to think of it, our favorite jack of all trades marine contractor has people he regularly subcontracts with, and the guy who fixed our deck seemed to have a couple assistants. Working for someone else at first like that would probably be a good way to get experience and have someone established to deal with the customers. I don't know how striking out on your own from there would work, though.

If you wanted to be a snowbird, I suspect that a competent marine electrician or diesel mechanic who actually got work done promptly could make a killing in certain Great Lakes towns. That might be an exit strategy if an apprentice situation had a non-compete agreement that got in your way.

This is kinda... a lot of ideas but not much definite facts. I only know the industry from a customer's perspective.

Anecdotally, it's not uncommon for contractors my husband and I hire to be very surprised by how easy we are to work with. We're not doing anything special, so I'm pretty sure a lot of boat owners are assholes.

[firstmatedavy]

Haha are you guys just trying to scare me?! ;)

Sounds like fun, except for the part of getting stuck in small spaces. Working on outboards is probably the extent of what I'd want to do. And the note about private owners taking up their own work makes a lot of sense. My buddy might be an exception (the people who want to own small craft but outsource all the electrical/mechanical work). Anyway, I suppose if I gain enough experience to mostly/fully service his boat, it might just mean 'free' trips to go fishing with him lol

Maybe you'd like fiberglass and gelcoat repair? Pros: no engine compartments. Cons: having to wear the safety suit and grind fiberglass with the electric sander. But at least that's something owners hate too, so there might be more customers.

There was a guy back in NY who did waxing and buffing, maybe some light gelcoat repair. That could probably be a side gig.