Hi Guys and Gals,
This is my first post, so please don’t beat me up too badly.
I have been reading here a lot over the past year, I think I picked the right category for my questions? Here is a little about us.
My husband is looking to enter the maritime world. He/we are most definitely not newbies to boats and boat life. We have a 45’ sailboat, many others before it for both of us. Around boats that size he probably has 200+ days sea time. Not certain that can count or not?
We live aboard her most of the time and cruise 2-3 months a year on her. His background is in custom home construction and restoring boats (cars too) since he was a kid. He bought and restored his first non running powerboat at 12 years old. These days he is basically an independent shipwright for the past 4 or 5 years: mechanic, systems, rigging, woodwork, painting, hull fairing etc., with a of couple big engine repowers under his belt.
He is an excellent helmsman, and I am pretty opinionated and a decent sailor myself (singlehanded and double) so that’s saying something, lol. He is very smart, quick to learn and find mistakes, excellent in operating, maneuvering and navigation. He would make a great professional captain one day if he wanted the responsibility.
He is about to apply for his TWIC and MMC. We are in Northern California. A tug captain we met at a boat yard, we were hauled out doing our own work, that saw how well he diagnosed and fixed our engine issues and his overall kick ass boat restoration and work ethic said he would be a great deck engineer at his tug company and said to get his TWIC and apply. We said he would in a few months. We left him our digits but never heard from him, maybe he lost the piece of paper, idk?
We keep reading on here that jobs are drying up. Still true? Does he really need to go to the engine room to find work? Or can he head for the deck? With what you have heard, what might be a first time position for him? What might that first year look like? Pay? He will go where the jobs are but California would be best, after all we can move our home practically next door to any port.
Lastly, we don’t have kids and I can handle him gone weeks at a time. I was hoping with this career we could commuter cruise. In the sailing community that means work 3-6 months, then fly down to your boat and cruise it for 3-6 months.
Is this possible? Or would he be bound to working 28 on/off 14/7 with no gaps for 12 months?
Thanks for reading all my blabbing.
Cheers guys!