Getting involved at marina/yard

[zlehmann]

Hey all,

I'm at the beginning of both my sailing journey and mid-life crisis, a dangerous combination I'm sure...

I'm moving to California soon and am really looking to get more involved with my sailor side. I'm in a place where I'm contemplating career changes, already deciding to move across the country, trying to keep myself somewhat grounded.

I know I can't buy a boat, and wouldn't know where to start with that anyway. But I'm wondering what you all would suggest as ways I could get more involved with boats in general. Either volunteering at a yard/marina? Shop? something totally different? I would love to work on boats in some capacity, but realize I don't have any experience doing so with the exception of the cedar strip canoe I built a few years ago.

Just looking for thoughts or suggestions. Were can a non-boat owner meet sailors? What are some options for getting my hands dirty on a boat if I don't own one? I would love to make this a bigger part of my life and regret not finding this passion until I was almost 40, but hoping to make up for some lost time!

[jordanbigel]

Sailing clubs are a good place to start - take a basic sailing course first, and then join a club, meet other sailors, learn to sail on their boats and see if you like it.

In my area (San Diego) we have a club called Freedom Boat Club which I think is a nationwide operation, but there are smaller local clubs all over.

But if you want to learn more about how to work on boats, I think you need to find a friend with a boat and offer to help. I don't think you can just volunteer at a local boat yard, they are not looking for interns. The sailing club will help you meet other wannabe sailors, but if you want to find a friend who owns a boat, you will need to just be social. Maybe visit some local marinas and find the laundry room - that is where people post notices on a cork board (in every marina I've ever been in that has a laundry room) looking for help or selling stuff. You could post a note something like "Unskilled boat labor available, low rates!". Then, when someone calls you, say you charge minimum wage and you will get a job. If you are friendly and have something in common with the owner, you can likely parley that into a friendship and learn even more than you can by working min wage unskilled jobs. But it's a start. Yes, I get you don't need the money from a min wage laborer job, but I don't think you will get anywhere with a note that says "Call me I will work for free so I can learn". Maybe someone would call, but I suspect you will meet more people pretending to be a laborer. Then once you explain to the captain why you are really here, who knows!

And yes, I just thought this up, I have no idea if this would really work, but it's all I can think of. Sure, you could also find a local DIY yard and walk around trying to chat people up and offer to help, you will certainly learn stuff just from hanging around.

[Chotu]

Come on down to Florida! I have all the work in the world and can teach you everything.

But that’s definitely the way. Just weasel your way in as help/assistant. People will show you what to do. It won’t be hard at all. There’s definitely a shortage of people working on boats.

But I’m really not kidding. I have a lot of stuff that needs doing and could certainly teach the right way to do things.

*glassing
*hull repair
*rigging
*painting

Located in Tampa Bay Area

Certainly it would be great to hire someone that knows exactly what they are doing, but I don’t think a lot of people would mind training someone. If you have a good work ethic and you want to do a good job and you have actual interest and care for the boat, people will be receptive

[kayakerChuck]

Visit pretty much any sailing club, especially those aimed more at families or working class people. Most have a large percentage of aging members. Some of them have spent decades absorbing skill & knowledge about sailing & boats. They are generally eager to help others learn, and usually appreciate an extra set of willing hands for boatwork.

I'm a marine contractor. I can teach the technical skills. I can't teach work ethic, the will to do quality work, the ability to talk with people, and a bunch of other important skills. Bring those things to most any quality oriented shop & you will likely have a job.

[wingssail]

You seem to be focused on the boat maintenance side of things. That's fine and some above have made some good suggestions.

I'm going to suggest that you spend some time getting into the sailing side as well. If you become a good sailor, in the process of doing that you will meet many other sailors and some will need help on their boats (actually all will).

How you become a sailor?

Go sailing with other sailors and learn by doing.

One of the easiest ways is join a racing team. They go out every week, they are good sailors, and they always need crew. Become one.

Move to a location near a harbor. Call the yacht clubs and find out when they have local races. Then show up in the parking lot about an hour before the race and ask everyone you see getting out of a car if they need crew. You will get a ride. (might be tough at first with no experience but someone will still need you). Next week you will have experience. It will become easier. Do what you are told and don't ask too many questions. They most likely will ask you to come back.

Once you get on a team you will meet plenty of other people who sail.

If you still want to be involved with maintenance just keep your ears open.

[thomm225]

Why can't you buy a boat?

Lots of folks buy expensive boats and know very little.

You could get a sailboat for $6,000 or less.

You may though need to get help with the selection .

My boat cost $2,000 and is capable of long distance offshore cruising when I know it's ready. I've been sailing it for 11 years and fixing things here and there and replacing worn out items

This lady has had 4 sailboats and I believe she paid the most ($6,000) for her last boat a 1963 Tripp 29 which she had a sailing friend inspect for her.

Story here:

https://www.dinghydreams.com/

Also the atomvoyages.com website is a good place to learn about older lower priced boats

[zlehmann]

Originally Posted by thomm225

Why can't you buy a boat?

Oh believe me I have plans haha! I want more experience and exposure to boats in general before I start diving down the rabbit hole any more than I already have though.

[Cheechako]

I don't know if racing is as popular as it used to be, but look at posterboards at marinas or yacht clubs near racing areas. Volunteer as crew. Many sailors start that way. There may be online racing forums around now too, not sure. Racers are often looking for crew. You get good experience fast when racing.

Study what you need to know about sail boats and the terminology before hand.

Working at a boat yard as a newbie you will be grinding bottom paint, not much fun or good for learning much either.

[FabioC]

One way that it has been done is by getting a job at a chandlery store like West Marine or similar (they are often looking for people, and their in-store jobs do not require specific experience), and from there making connection and eventually jumping to a more specialized role in one of the businesses in the ecosystem. Even better (but trickier) getting a job at a marine business that hires apprentices. There are not that many of those, but riggers and sailmakers, for example, occasionally do need apprentices.
Another way is to start as a temp dockhand at a marina. In Spring and Summer, there are plenty of opportunities, and you get plugged into the local boating community.
If that path fails, there are professional schools training marine technicians in various fields. Here in the PNW there is high demand for folks coming out of those programs; that is most definitely a viable career path.

[Scubaseas]

From my observations a good percentage of marine service providers in the area where my marina is have absolutely no idea what they are doing so I wouldn't let ignorance hold you back. You might look for marina Facebook groups. There were a few instances where people were looking for interns or helpers, willing to train and pay that were posted on my marina FB group. . I'm sure there would be a lot of takers if you put forth a post saying willing to help or work in exchange for knowledge and or experience. Plus hanging out at Marinas can be fun in it's own right. It's also a great place to find a cheap fixer upper. Ask any of the maintenance guys who is selling their boat or where the abandoned boats are.

[AKA-None]

Originally Posted by Chotu

Come on down to Florida! I have all the work in the world and can teach you everything.

But that’s definitely the way. Just weasel your way in as help/assistant. People will show you what to do. It won’t be hard at all. There’s definitely a shortage of people working on boats.

But I’m really not kidding. I have a lot of stuff that needs doing and could certainly teach the right way to do things.

*glassing
*hull repair
*rigging
*painting

Located in Tampa Bay Area

Certainly it would be great to hire someone that knows exactly what they are doing, but I don’t think a lot of people would mind training someone. If you have a good work ethic and you want to do a good job and you have actual interest and care for the boat, people will be receptive

May I amend

Must be able to complete more work than you create

[MicHughV]

charter a boat....with a captain...for a week...that will give you a springboard into the sailing world..

[Adelie]

Welcome.

I would suggest updating your profile with your general location and your boat make & model or “Looking” in the "Boat" category. This info shows up under your UserName in every post in the web view. Many questions are boat and/or location dependent and having these tidbits under your UserName saves answering those questions repeatedly. If you need help setting up your profile then click on this link: https://www.cruisersforum.com/forums...ml#post3308797

I would happily help more if the link above is not enough.

What part of CA? SF, LA or SD? If SD let me know when you get here and I’ll take you sailing.

[zlehmann]

Originally Posted by Adelie

Welcome.

I would suggest updating your profile with your general location and your boat make & model or “Looking” in the "Boat" category. This info shows up under your UserName in every post in the web view. Many questions are boat and/or location dependent and having these tidbits under your UserName saves answering those questions repeatedly. If you need help setting up your profile then click on this link: https://www.cruisersforum.com/forums...ml#post3308797

I would happily help more if the link above is not enough.

What part of CA? SF, LA or SD? If SD let me know when you get here and I’ll take you sailing.

Yes I am hoping to end up near San Diego! Things are very much in flux, we're looking all over the place but at the least hoping for SD county.

[Cynara]

Where in California. I live in Long Beach. Very expensive. Housing is expensive. I don't know if any boat yards are hiring but if they are you will probably get the dirty jobs to start. West Marine maybe but I also know they like to hire people that are familiar with boats.
If you try to go on you own. Wasing, waxing, etc. Make sure you know the marina rules, each has their own. Example, Long Beach requires you to have a business license and I'm pretty sure insurance.

Anyway good luck. Keep us posted