I started washing boats at seventeen. A deck brush, a hose, and other people’s boats — that was the whole job. Fifty years later I run deliveries, charters and yacht management, and I can draw a straight line from that brush to this wheelhouse. If you’re starting out in the marine trades today, here’s the path I’d walk.
Show up where the boats are
Don’t wait for the perfect job posting. Walk into a marina and take the work they have — washing, hauling, yard cleanup. The job isn’t the point. Proximity is the point. Every system on every boat in that yard is a free education if you pay attention while you work.
Learn to fix what breaks
I spent 23 years at a marina where we had no outside help except the manufacturers. We learned to fix everything because it was coming back either way. Be the one standing there when something gets repaired. Ask the question that feels dumb. The trades are starving for people who can troubleshoot — that skill alone will keep you employed for life.
Passion is the entry fee
You have to love this business to be good at it. The water finds out fast if your heart isn’t in it. But if it is — there is no better life I know of, and the industry needs you more right now than it has at any point in my fifty years.
Questions about getting started? Write to me through the contact page. Helping the next generation in is half the reason this site exists.