Boat / Yacht Keeping as a career

[brando71vw]

Hi my name is Brandon and I would love to clean and maintain boats as a career, I could not see myself doing anything else for the rest of my life. I have looked into a local seamanship college and have found some maintenence classes that begin in January. That's a couple months away and I'd like to know is there anything else I could do in the meantime to get familar with the trade, or obtain certification? if any? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated..

Thanks so much

 

[tmh]

Re: Boat / Yacht Keeping as a career

Well, I'm no pro, but I do have some business savvy so I'll take a shot at this one.

Sounds like you're a youngster, right? If so, we're all jealous. You can makes lots of mistakes getting into the boat maintaining business and still be fine. Keep your debts low and your cost of living down so you can get a business started thru ups and downs. It's OK to work for someone else, but if you have lots of ambition look at that as a training ground to running your own business.

You are very general in what you want to do... "taking care of boats/yachts" can be anything from detailing, mechanic, buffing/waxing, shrink wrapping, etc. Most folks I know in these businesses do one or two of these services...maybe there's a market for a "generalist", who knows. So, first advice is think thru what services YOU want to do OR can coordinate for the yacht owner to make his/her life easier.

There's nothing wrong with pricing your services on the low end at first to gain experience, but over time, remember that low price is NOT what keeps a customer who owns a $100k+ boat as a toy! Service, making life easier, dependability, etc. is what lasts.

If you have the inclination, get a captains license, get experience doing whatever it is you want to do, and make contacts, contacts, contacts. Boat owners, service pros, whomever. You'd be surprised how many successful people will go out of their way to help an young person who is out there hustling and starting a business. They were there once also.

Lastly, think carefully about what, in general, you want to be doing 10 and 20 years down the road. Being a mechanic, a surveyor, a captain or whatever is NOT really a "business" so much as a job. There's nothing wrong with that, btw, I just point out the difference between the independent marine mechanic and the marina owner. The mechanic gets paid to work on boats and his income is limited to the hours he can get productive work. Some make a very good living. Usually, they believe they have a valuable business, but in reality their business is THEM so it really has no value in and of itself - it's a job.

IF you want to build a business you need to look at it differently. What services can you set up that can eventually allow you to hire, coordinate and run things for a profit? Do you want that kind of responsibility? Some do, some don't - there's no right or wrong .

Good luck. In the modern economy I salute anyone who wants to carve out their own turf and not depend on "the man" to provide a living for him.

 

[25thmustang]

Re: Boat / Yacht Keeping as a career

I can tell you this from my younger days. When I was 17-18 I wanted to detail boats badly. During spring time I went over to the marinas near by and inquired about it. At that point I was told the detailing work was almost done, they started much earlier than it crossed my mind.

I'm not sure what kind of work you were looking to do, but if it's detailing, your best bet would be to start gathering the right techniques and tools. Good DA and orbital buffer, compounds, waxes, and start learning. It might be better to get some experience under your belt before jumping into your own business...

A good way to do that might be to get a cheap boat yourself. Get something that looks like hell but runs and drives. Practice, and keep a journal of what you do to bring her back. Take lots of photos and use them to entice people. Maybe start off as a side business and then get more and more boats under your belt.

If your looking to be a mechanic, schooling, training and getting onboard with a local shop should be a good start.

 

[The Famous Grouse]

Re: Boat / Yacht Keeping as a career

Brando, it's great to be doing something you love, but also you have to think about the future.

I know, I know, the future is a long ways away, right? I can remember thinking the same thing once, but here's the deal: After 17, your next birthday is 30. Really! It seems like it goes THAT fast.

Let's think about this as a 10 year plan for a second. What is the upside potential of being a boat detailer? You start now at $9-10 an hour and basically in 10 years you're making $12-15.

Now if you get some experience, start a detailing business, and employ a crew of detailers it's a different story, right? Then you're not just tied to your hourly wage.

Another thing to think about is the value of your skills because your wages will always be tied to how hard it is to find others with the same skill to do a given job.

When it comes to working with boats, one of the best positions to be in is to have a skill and knowledge that allows you to fix something that's really important and really expensive. Like a boat engine.

Yes, it'll take longer in school and be harder work, but as another poster said, when it comes to a $100,000 toy, there's lots of guys who don't think twice about paying a mechanic $1000, 2000, or even 10,000 to fix it when it breaks. A marine diesel mechanic earns big money because there are damn fiew of them around and when a diesel breaks it's not gonna be a $10 fix.

Take the time to get a skill that will not only let you do what you like, but earn a good living doing it. I'm not saying "no" to detailing, just think it through and ask yourself how can I do this so it makes me a good living.

Grouse

 

[dbkerley]

Re: Boat / Yacht Keeping as a career

Proper yacht care is seldom done. Keeping a boat/yacht Bristol is not easy and requires almost full time dedication.

The short answer to your question is yes there are careers as mechanics and or crew. It can be very rewarding for the right person or very lonesome for the wrong one. The only way to know is dive in and test the water for yourself. Check out those schools and the cruise lines.