What the heck is going on in the marine trades right now?
Is anyone else seeing this? Basically demand for techs that can work on boat systems is insane right now. I have no idea if this is universal or just the places I've worked lately.
Background: I'm a travelling marine electrician and delivery captain so I get around a bit. I've worked in US NE, California, Netherlands, Panama, Florida, and Spain in the last couple years. Basically people fly me in to work on boats when they have exhausted their local options. I've spent many years in yards and ran my own shop for a bit in San Diego, the work is pretty similar wherever and I love to see new places.
5 years ago, I was the expensive "hired gun" brought in for premium service. I was frequently told how expensive I was, and focus was on doing the hard parts so they could let locals finish the work for cheaper. This was fine, as I would rather troubleshoot a complex system than boring manual labor.
More recently, all I hear is how nobody is available to work on boats at all. Local shops have 6 month waiting lists, electricians and mechanics no show no call. I keep getting astonished "you actually showed up!" responses. Of course I showed up, I want your money lol. This isn't a hobby, its a job. All six of the yards I've worked at in the last 2 years have tried to hire me (or anyone with a pulse apparently) full time. I would love to believe its because of my skills but they are mostly meeting me for the first time and have no idea what I can do. I'm getting offers to fly out (for a pretty fair rate) and do what I honestly consider to be pretty basic stuff - autopilot screen installs or battery swaps instead of more complex work like an engine swap or rewiring a complete panel. No complaints, I'm happy to have the work, but are there not locals who can do this stuff?
I'm curious if I have a skewed perspective because I'm inside the industry looking out. As boat owners, are you guys seeing the same thing?
Also, for any of the younger crowd (or older), if you love boats and want to work in the trades, its a pretty easy hiring process (show up) and the pay is good. Talk to your local boat repair shop or yard. They are desperate for people right now, seriously.
https://redd.it/1oabnej
@SailingX
Is anyone else seeing this? Basically demand for techs that can work on boat systems is insane right now. I have no idea if this is universal or just the places I've worked lately.
Background: I'm a travelling marine electrician and delivery captain so I get around a bit. I've worked in US NE, California, Netherlands, Panama, Florida, and Spain in the last couple years. Basically people fly me in to work on boats when they have exhausted their local options. I've spent many years in yards and ran my own shop for a bit in San Diego, the work is pretty similar wherever and I love to see new places.
5 years ago, I was the expensive "hired gun" brought in for premium service. I was frequently told how expensive I was, and focus was on doing the hard parts so they could let locals finish the work for cheaper. This was fine, as I would rather troubleshoot a complex system than boring manual labor.
More recently, all I hear is how nobody is available to work on boats at all. Local shops have 6 month waiting lists, electricians and mechanics no show no call. I keep getting astonished "you actually showed up!" responses. Of course I showed up, I want your money lol. This isn't a hobby, its a job. All six of the yards I've worked at in the last 2 years have tried to hire me (or anyone with a pulse apparently) full time. I would love to believe its because of my skills but they are mostly meeting me for the first time and have no idea what I can do. I'm getting offers to fly out (for a pretty fair rate) and do what I honestly consider to be pretty basic stuff - autopilot screen installs or battery swaps instead of more complex work like an engine swap or rewiring a complete panel. No complaints, I'm happy to have the work, but are there not locals who can do this stuff?
I'm curious if I have a skewed perspective because I'm inside the industry looking out. As boat owners, are you guys seeing the same thing?
Also, for any of the younger crowd (or older), if you love boats and want to work in the trades, its a pretty easy hiring process (show up) and the pay is good. Talk to your local boat repair shop or yard. They are desperate for people right now, seriously.
https://redd.it/1oabnej
@SailingX
Reddit
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The Falls of Clyde is gone
I don't know if any of y'all care about maritime history, but I do so I'm going to share it anyway. It shook me on Friday when I learned that the Hawaii DOT had finished preparations for sinking the Falls of Clyde and she had been scuttled.
The 146-year-old Falls of Clyde was built in 1878 and was built on the river Clyde. It was originally used to transport goods between Europe and western ports, but was quickly sold to the us. She was then put on the California to Hawaii run, bringing sugar and other goods back and forth. In the early 1900s she was converted to a tanker, bringing kerosene to Hawaii and molasses back to California to use as cattle feed. In 1927 she was moved to Alaska to be used as a floating fuel depot. In 1968, the Hawaiian people urged to have the FOC moved and restored in the bishop museum, which would ultimately end her life 60 years later, as the bishop museum did not take good care of her, and by 2008 she was rotting away and in terrible disrepair. In 2008 The friends of the Falls of Clyde organization bought the ship from the bishop museum for just $1, and attempted to restore her by fundraising, with an initial goal of $3 mil, and $1.5 mil for dry docking, but the funds never came, and in 2016, the DOT seized the ship, citing her a navigational hazard. They then left her to rot for 9 more long years, refusing many groups attempting to buy her, and with absolutely no maintenance, by the end of her life she needed pumps constantly running to stop her from sinking. It was then in 2025 when the Hawaiian DOT paid $5 mil to have her stripped for scuttling. And on October 15, 2025, approximately 1 month ahead of schedule, she was towed out by tugs in the early morning around 25 miles south of Oahu and sunk.
She was the last 4 masted fully rigged ship left in the world, and the last sail tanker as well. What really upsets me about this though is that her death was almost entirely in vain as she was sunk in 12,000ft of water, making her not accessible as a dive site, and she will never be seen again.
Falls of Clyde sinking
https://redd.it/1oaui0o
@SailingX
I don't know if any of y'all care about maritime history, but I do so I'm going to share it anyway. It shook me on Friday when I learned that the Hawaii DOT had finished preparations for sinking the Falls of Clyde and she had been scuttled.
The 146-year-old Falls of Clyde was built in 1878 and was built on the river Clyde. It was originally used to transport goods between Europe and western ports, but was quickly sold to the us. She was then put on the California to Hawaii run, bringing sugar and other goods back and forth. In the early 1900s she was converted to a tanker, bringing kerosene to Hawaii and molasses back to California to use as cattle feed. In 1927 she was moved to Alaska to be used as a floating fuel depot. In 1968, the Hawaiian people urged to have the FOC moved and restored in the bishop museum, which would ultimately end her life 60 years later, as the bishop museum did not take good care of her, and by 2008 she was rotting away and in terrible disrepair. In 2008 The friends of the Falls of Clyde organization bought the ship from the bishop museum for just $1, and attempted to restore her by fundraising, with an initial goal of $3 mil, and $1.5 mil for dry docking, but the funds never came, and in 2016, the DOT seized the ship, citing her a navigational hazard. They then left her to rot for 9 more long years, refusing many groups attempting to buy her, and with absolutely no maintenance, by the end of her life she needed pumps constantly running to stop her from sinking. It was then in 2025 when the Hawaiian DOT paid $5 mil to have her stripped for scuttling. And on October 15, 2025, approximately 1 month ahead of schedule, she was towed out by tugs in the early morning around 25 miles south of Oahu and sunk.
She was the last 4 masted fully rigged ship left in the world, and the last sail tanker as well. What really upsets me about this though is that her death was almost entirely in vain as she was sunk in 12,000ft of water, making her not accessible as a dive site, and she will never be seen again.
Falls of Clyde sinking
https://redd.it/1oaui0o
@SailingX
YouTube
“FALLS OF CLYDE” laid to rest #hawaiinewsnow
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