Deckhand / Engineer
A deckhand/engineer does a full deck job and also keeps the engine room running. You wash down, drive tenders and handle lines, then do the morning engine checks, change filters and log the hours. The role exists mostly on yachts from 24m to 45m, where there is no room for a dedicated junior engineer. It is the usual way deck crew move across into engineering.
The jobWhat fills the day
Half your day is deck work. Exterior cleaning, varnish and teak care, fendering, mooring, anchoring, tender driving and setting up water toys. The other half is below. Before the guests are up you check oil and coolant levels, sea strainers, bilges and generator hours. You change fuel and oil filters, top up the watermaker chemicals, clean the AC strainers and keep the planned maintenance log current. On a 35m yacht with no engineer, you are the captain's hands in the engine room.
With guests aboard, the deck side takes over. You run tenders, launch jet skis and serve on the swim platform, then slip below to check the generators while lunch is served. Faults rarely wait for a quiet moment, so expect to fix a blocked toilet or a tripped breaker mid-charter. In the shipyard or over winter the balance tips the other way. You spend weeks on servicing, antifouling, impellers and helping contractors, which is where you learn most.
Captains hire people who are handy and calm. A background as a mechanic, electrician, plumber or in small boat repair counts for more than yacht time. STCW Basic Safety and ENG1 are the minimum. AEC 1 and AEC 2 show you are serious about the engine side, and an RYA Powerboat Level 2 is expected for tender work. Many candidates are deckhands with a season or two who have asked the engineer to teach them.
Most people use this job to log engine room sea time. After a year or two with AEC and good references, you can step into a third engineer post on a 50m to 70m yacht, then work through the MCA Y4 to Y1 ladder. Some stay on deck and use the mechanical skills to stand out as a bosun on smaller boats. Either way, keep a tidy discharge book and get your hours signed off as you go.
Skills captains look for
- Daily engine room rounds
- Filter and impeller changes
- Tender driving and maintenance
- Mooring and anchoring
- Exterior detailing and varnish
- Basic electrics and plumbing
- Maintenance logging
A day aboardCharter day, 38m motor yacht, British Virgin Islands
Engine room rounds: generator oil and coolant, sea strainers, bilges, watermaker output. Hours go into the log.
Wash down the boat with the other deckhand, chamois the windows and set the sun pads before guests surface.
Launch the tender and jet skis, then drive guests ashore to Jost Van Dyke.
Quick lunch in the crew mess while the stews serve on the aft deck.
Swap a clogged fuel filter on the starboard generator after a pressure alarm, with the captain on the radio.
Run the inflatables and towables off the stern, then rinse and stow the toys.
Raise anchor and assist the captain on the short passage to Norman Island. Handle the anchor on arrival.
Evening checks below, empty the black water as allowed, refuel the tender.
Off watch. Dinner and sleep, with a radio by the bunk in case the anchor alarm goes.
Pay by yacht sizeMonthly, before tips. Estimates. Bars share one scale.
See the Bosun & Deckhand salary guide for figures from live adverts.
Tickets and visas
Must have
- STCW Basic Safety Training
- ENG1 medical
Gets you hired
- MCA AEC 1 and AEC 2
- RYA Powerboat Level 2
- PDSD
- Food Hygiene Level 2
- RYA Personal Watercraft
Visas
- US B1/B2
- Schengen right to work or visa
Where it leadsA typical career path
Deckhand / Engineer jobsOpen now on SuperyachtRoles.com
Questions crew ask
Do I need engineering qualifications to apply?
No. STCW and ENG1 will get you considered, and a trade background helps more than a certificate. Doing AEC 1 and 2 before you apply puts you ahead of most other deckhands.
Does the sea time count towards an engineering CoC?
Only time spent on engineering duties counts towards the MCA Y4. Ask the captain or engineer to sign off your engine room hours in your record book as you go, since rebuilding them later from memory is hard.
Is this paid more than a normal deckhand?
Usually a few hundred dollars a month more on the same size of yacht. The bigger gain comes later, because third engineer jobs pay noticeably more than senior deckhand jobs.
How is this different from an engineer/deckhand?
A deckhand/engineer is mainly deck crew who help in the engine room. An engineer/deckhand is mainly the engineer and helps on deck when needed, which normally means holding a ticket such as the Y4.