I’m just making a wild assumption here that the Captain probably knows you guys are going to hide and slack off for half of the day and do a piss poor job at whatever it is, so he’s giving you Hell hoping to get at least a little bit of maintenance completed.
If the deck crew on that boat were worth half a damn I bet he wouldn’t bother you so much. Don’t think he trusts you to do your job and that speaks more about the deckhands than the bridge crew.
My guess is the Mates are also having to set up the daily projects for you and hold your hands to make sure you’re on task.
You’re getting paid for 12 hours, there’s no reason the Captain shouldn’t expect at least 11 of that to be productive work at his discretion, minus bathroom breaks obviously, or 10 minute water breaks if it’s very hot.
Just learn to pace yourself, have a good attitude and find ways to stay busy and I guarantee he will lay off a little when he sees you’re actually trying.
I try to tell new guys…(which is usually met with laughter and rolled eyes) that they should invest at least 3-4 hours per day into some sort of maintenance project and 1-2 hours of cleaning and they’ll never have a problem on any boat they find themselves on, it’s more about consistency than quantity in my eyes, but these days that’s some serious overachieving…
If you feel like you know how to manage a ship or crew more efficiently…when you get sick of busting your ass 11 hours per day… and tired of your knees and back aching at the young age of 30 years old, then do like others in your place have done and get licensed and off the Deck.
Being an Deckhand on an OSV, MPSV is some of the most mind numbing and simplest work you can do in this industry.
More, you’re on a boat that’s on DP all the time so you’re not mooring, throwing your back out trying to catch lines on bits, not slinging pipe and rigging cargo…hell you probably have a cook too…lol! and you’re getting paid $500 a day for it.
But hey if you’re unhappy you could roll the dice and ask the office for a transfer, or find another company even. But chances are the problems you have are going to follow you wherever you go until you straighten up and find some work ethic and pride in your boat.
Trust me, I’ve been in your shoes, at the same company and with Captains who are not only more strict but even (at other companies)
verbally and physically abusive…so please take that for what it’s worth I’m just trying to help you out.
By the way, I wasn’t able to watch the Super Bowl, was to busy driving the boat…But the Deckhands and Engineers did.
Good luck!