Second Engineer
The second engineer is the chief engineer's right hand. You run the planned maintenance system, stand watches, fix whatever breaks during a guest trip and keep the junior engineers on task. On a 50m yacht you may be one of two engineers. On a 100m yacht you sit in a team of five or six and own your own systems.
The jobWhat fills the day
Most of the job is maintenance. Generators, main engines, watermakers, sewage treatment plants, air conditioning chillers, stabilisers, fuel and bilge systems all have service intervals logged in the planned maintenance system, and the second works through them. You take fuel and lube oil samples, record running hours, order spares and keep the engine room clean enough for a surveyor to walk through at any time. At sea you stand engine room watches or share a rota with the third. In port you supervise contractors and run bunkering with the deck team.
With guests aboard the priority moves to the hotel side. A tripped air conditioning unit in the owner's cabin or a blocked vacuum toilet matters more than a scheduled oil change, so planned work gets pushed to quiet hours. You will also keep tenders and jet skis running. On yachts of 40-55m the second is often the chief's only help and covers everything from electrics to the laundry machines. Above 80m you may own one area, such as hotel systems or the tender fleet, with an ETO handling electronics and AV.
Chiefs hire seconds who hold a Y4 at minimum, with a Y3 expected on larger yachts and anything big or powerful enough to need a Y2 or merchant ticket for senior posts. A trade background counts. Ex-navy engineers, diesel mechanics, marine technicians and electricians do well. Chiefs want someone who works without supervision, writes up what they did in the PMS, and stays calm when a generator drops offline at 03:00. Two seasons on the same yacht reads better on a CV than five short contracts.
Most seconds spend two to four years in the role while they build sea time and complete modules for the next Certificate of Competency. The Y2 opens first engineer jobs on large yachts and chief roles on yachts of around 45-55m. Many take a chief's job on a smaller yacht, then come back to larger vessels as a chief later. Rotation becomes common at this level on yachts over 70m, which makes studying for exams far easier. Some later move ashore into technical yacht management.
Skills captains look for
- Planned maintenance systems
- Diesel generator servicing
- HVAC and refrigeration
- Watermakers and sewage plants
- Electrical fault-finding
- Tender and jet ski repair
- Spares and inventory control
A day aboardOwner trip, 65m motor yacht, Hvar, Croatia
Engine room rounds before the guests wake. Check generator loads, tank levels and chiller temperatures, then log the readings.
Breakfast in the crew mess and a quick brief with the chief on the day's jobs.
Prep the tenders for a run ashore. Fuel the jet skis and check the limo tender's starboard engine, which ran hot yesterday.
Interior calls about a warm guest cabin. You trace it to a failed fan coil motor and swap it from spares while the third changes watermaker membranes.
Lunch and an hour off in your cabin.
500-hour service on generator 2 while generators 1 and 3 carry the hotel load. Oil, filters, impeller and a sample sent for analysis.
Guests back aboard and the yacht repositions to a quieter anchorage. You stay in the engine control room during the move and set the stabilisers to zero-speed mode.
Dinner with the off-watch crew.
Final rounds, update the PMS with the day's work and hand over to the night watch.
Pay by yacht sizeMonthly, before tips. Estimates. Bars share one scale.
Rotation of 2:2 or 3:3 is common above 70m, and some programmes pay a little less for rotational posts. Charter tips of 10-15% of the charter fee are shared among all crew and can add several thousand dollars a month in season. See the Engineer salary guide for figures from live adverts.
Tickets and visas
Must have
- STCW Basic Safety Training
- ENG1 medical
- MCA Y4 CoC minimum (Y3 on larger yachts)
- PDSD
Gets you hired
- Progress towards MCA Y2
- STCW Advanced Fire Fighting
- Proficiency in Medical First Aid
- High Voltage certificate
- Manufacturer courses (MTU, Caterpillar, MAN)
Visas
- US B1/B2
- Schengen visa (non-EU crew)
Where it leadsA typical career path
Second Engineer jobsOpen now on SuperyachtRoles.com
Questions crew ask
What ticket do I need to be a second engineer?
A Y4 is the usual minimum on yachts up to around 55m. Larger yachts and those with high propulsion power will ask for a Y3, and some want a candidate already working towards a Y2. Check the yacht's safe manning document, because that sets the legal requirement.
How is the second different from the third engineer?
The third mostly carries out tasks they are given. The second plans the work, runs the PMS, orders spares and stands in for the chief when the chief is ashore or off watch. On smaller yachts the second may be the only engineer below the chief.
Can I join as a second engineer from a trade background?
Yes, if you hold the right CoC. Diesel mechanics, marine technicians and ex-navy engineers often move into second roles quickly once they have their Y4 and a season of yacht experience. Without any yacht time, most start as a third or sole engineer on a smaller boat.
Is rotation available at this level?
On yachts over 70m it is common, usually 2:2 or 3:3 months. Smaller yachts tend to offer permanent posts with leave of around six to eight weeks a year. Rotation is useful when you need time ashore to sit exams.