Working on a boat

I am interested in the same............

ditto

We have a friend who showed up at Crown Bay at the end of season, with no experience, and was hired on as third mate on a 110' private yacht returning to Florida. By the time they got to the Bahamas he was second mate- they threw the old second mate off the boat for alcohol-related troubles. By hard work, honesty and all those old fashioned virtues, he worked his way up through the ranks,sailed around the world several times and he is now captain of a 130' private yacht.

If you want a boat job, you go to where the boats are. If you don't know anything, you are going to start at the bottom, cleaning stainless and swabbing decks, making bunks up, baiting fish hooks, whatever. If you are good, you will be given assistance to meet your dream.

You can take a course or do self-study and pass a test to get a Captain's license.

where would a person go on the net to find info on getting their licence? are there places there to test? how expensive? what is typical salary for someone working on a boat? would august bee a bad time to find one or are their people willing to help a person learn to sail in return for labor services construction i.e.?
once again any help is greatly appericated.

The Coast Guard does the licensing- you could contact your nearest office for information. If you have no boating experience, and start at the bottom, your remuneration will be minimal. You really, really need to talk to others in the industry. Go to where the boats are in your area and speak to the operators about them. You can learn to sail almost anywhere- some of the best sailors are from inland America... My very humble opinion is that you shouldn't move here just to learn about boats. If you have another talent on which to sustain yourself, you can pursue boating as a hobby, then decide if it is something for you....

I just renewed my 100-ton Captain's License in 2002 and am hoping to move to STT this summer and employ my boating knowledge & skills (hint, hint to readers seeking help in the boating industry).
I hate to be the bearer of bad news or bubble-bursting facts, but the process of earning this license is very lengthy, tiring, and discouraging. First of all, you will need to have documented 360 8-hour days underway working on a vessel of a certain tonnage. In the meantime you can be working on the detailed application and the following items that you'll need to include with it:
- 3 Character References
- Social Security Card
- Proof of Citizenship
- Finger Prints Cards
- Passport-sized Photo
- Physical Examination Report
- Report of Chemical Drug Test
- First Aid & CPR Certificates
- (that's all)
Once you have all this in order, you can pay $255 to take the 4-part test & evaluation that covers everything from ATON to Weather. There are only a handful of places in the country to take the test-- the closest being in Miami.
Fortunately, there are companies that have been approved by the USCG in recent years to give a 2 week prep course and proctor the test. These courses cost around $1000 but they assure you will pass.

I hope this info is as useful as all of that I have gained on this site. Any further questions on this topic are welcome and I will do the best I can to help.

Good Monday Morning Everyone,

There are three different qualifications for your license (not including tonnage); Inland Captain's License, Near Shore Captain's License, and Off-Shore Captain's License. Keep in mind that your hours need to be logged in the conditions of the each specific license. For instance, I was interested in getting my Near-Shore License, but my hours were all on Lake Michigan (which is considered an "inland" lake). In order to get my near-shore, I would need to get my Inland and log 90 hours on a boat in the conditions specified as "near" shore. Note that once you have one of the licenses the hours needed to get the next qualification is significantly less.

Good Luck!

Chad

I have worked as a deckhand for several years and Im wanting to know if anyone knows how to go about getting a job in V.I. (St.Thomas or St. Croix), me and my wife are looking to relocate at end of this summer to the islands> I love the ocean and have about 5 years solid on the ocean. Anyone that can help please e-mail me, Im very ambitious and outgoing.