Deck Cadet
A deck cadet is a trainee officer. You join a yacht as part of a formal programme, work the deck alongside the deckhands, and spend set hours on the bridge learning navigation and watchkeeping. Each task is signed off in a training record book. The aim is your first Certificate of Competency, usually OOW 3000gt Yacht, so you can move up to the bridge.
The jobWhat fills the day
Most of your hours look like a deckhand's. You wash down, polish stainless, run lines when mooring, prepare tenders and water toys, and stand anchor watches. The difference is the training. The chief officer is your assigned training officer, and you will be given bridge time for passage planning, chart corrections, ECDIS and radar work, collision regulations and cargo of a yacht's kind: stores, fuel and safety equipment. Each competence goes into your training record book and gets signed off once you can show you understand it.
With guests aboard, the training slows and service comes first. You drive tenders if you hold the ticket, set up the beach club, launch jet skis and keep the swim platform safe. Bridge work tends to happen on repositioning trips and night passages, when you keep watch with an officer. On a 50m yacht with a small crew you will spend more time as a working deckhand. On a 100m yacht with a full officer team there is usually more structure, more formal bridge time and more people to learn from.
Yachts take cadets through recognised programmes such as the UKSA Superyacht Cadetship, or through maritime colleges like Warsash and City of Glasgow running yacht or merchant routes. Some management companies and large private yachts sponsor their own cadets. Captains look for people who already know boats: dinghy sailing, RYA Day Skipper, Powerboat Level 2, or a season of daywork. A tidy appearance, physical fitness and a willingness to do the dull jobs well count for more than a strong CV.
Cadetships alternate college phases with sea phases. After two to four years, depending on the programme, you sit the MCA oral exam for OOW 3000gt Yacht, or the unlimited OOW if you followed a merchant route. With that ticket you can apply for third officer or OOW jobs. From there it is roughly two to three years per step to second officer, chief officer and eventually captain, adding the Master 500gt and Master 3000gt along the way.
Skills captains look for
- Watchkeeping basics
- Chart and passage planning
- Tender and toy handling
- Mooring and line work
- Exterior detailing
- Training record discipline
- COLREGs knowledge
A day aboardGuest day at anchor, 70m motor yacht, Porto Cervo
Morning wash-down with the deck team: chamois the windows, dry the teak and wipe salt off the stainless before guests wake.
Help launch the tenders and the jet skis, then rig the swim platform and slide.
Breakfast in the crew mess while the bosun briefs the day's beach run.
Crew the tender as second hand on the shore run to Cala di Volpe, handling lines and helping guests on and off.
Toy watch from the platform: spotting swimmers, refuelling skis and keeping the area tidy.
Short break and lunch, then an hour on the bridge with the chief officer correcting charts and checking the passage plan to Corsica.
Recover the toys and tenders, rinse and cover everything, then set up the aft deck lighting for dinner.
Dinner and an hour on the training record book, writing up today's tasks for sign-off.
Anchor watch with the second officer: checking position, weather and deck security on rounds.
Pay by yacht sizeMonthly, before tips. Estimates. Bars share one scale.
Food, cabin and uniform are covered, and many sponsors pay college fees. On charter yachts cadets usually share tips with the rest of the crew, which can double take-home pay in a good season. See the Chief Officer, Mate & OOW salary guide for figures from live adverts.
Tickets and visas
Must have
- STCW Basic Safety Training
- ENG1 medical certificate
- Place on an approved cadetship or training programme
Gets you hired
- RYA Powerboat Level 2
- PDSD
- VHF SRC
- RYA Day Skipper or Yachtmaster theory
- Food Hygiene Level 2
Visas
- US B1/B2
- Schengen right to work or visa
Where it leadsA typical career path
Chief Officer, Mate & OOW jobsOpen now on SuperyachtRoles.com
Questions crew ask
How is a deck cadet different from a deckhand?
The daily work overlaps a lot. A cadet is on a formal programme with protected bridge time, a training officer and a record book that leads to an officer's ticket. A deckhand builds sea time and tickets on their own and progresses more informally.
Do I need to pay for a cadetship?
It depends on the programme. Some are sponsored by yachts or management companies, which cover fees and pay a cadet wage at sea. Others need you to fund college phases yourself, so ask about sponsorship before you sign up.
Can I become a cadet without any boating experience?
Yes, but it is harder to get selected. Captains and programmes prefer applicants who have sailed, driven small boats or done some daywork. An RYA course or a few weeks dayworking in Antibes or Palma shows you know what the job involves.
What ticket do I have at the end?
Most yacht cadetships lead to the MCA OOW 3000gt Yacht certificate. Merchant navy routes lead to the unlimited OOW, which also lets you work on commercial ships and gives you more options later on.