What type are you talking about? Yachts or tugs, OSV? Do you have a license?
Huge difference. The yachting world is all based upon who you know, and reputation. The tug OSV industry is resume and need based.
You won’t have much luck getting a skippers job if you haven’t done it before (especially as noted earlier) or have no recommendations to back you up. The Yacht industry is notoriously close knit, and unless you have worked as a rich bastards personal slave, taking a yacht on a far delivery is probably NOT the way to try to learn what is expected of you upon return. It is unusual to find an owner who isn’t so OCD about fuel, expenses, time, and upkeep. The trick to find one who will let an unknown take their ‘baby’ on a trip with little or no oversight, and control of who, what where when, how would be highly unusual.
The devil is in the details concerning costs, expectations, fulfillment and pay. I have friends who took deliveries, and one time forgot (assumed) that return air fare was included. Imagine his surprise when he had to fork out more cash than he made for a 4 day delivery to fly him and crew home! Another story involved lay days for weather. Since you don’t want to ‘have’ to go in a multi million dollar yacht you want to pick your weather. Imagine being told, post trip that you’re NOT being paid for lay days! How about dockage costs when you go weatherbound. Who pays for that? You assumed (on owners info) that the boat did 22.5 knots. You plan your trip transit based on that speed. Then when aboard, you find that you must run ‘most economical’ speed to stretch the fuel for the trip, your speed will only be 15 knots. Now you added a day and a half to the trip which you won’t get paid for because you told him you could get there in 5 days, which turned into 7, or 8 with a layday in there. The crew who you told would earn XXX per day for 5 days, must then be aware that they now have to work for 7 or 8 days for the same amount.
I think I have covered all the reasons why I DON’T do Yacht deliveries! I am glad to go out and operate a yacht, or instruct an owner on the nuances of yachting. But being a temp sucks when it is short time.
However you can make some relatively easy cash doing one way tug OSV work. Again, just make sure you have all the costs, repatriation expenses covered.