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Serious college student here.

Discussion in 'Yacht Captains' started by SilverFishVA, Feb 5, 2010.

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  1. SilverFishVA

    SilverFishVA New Member

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    That sounds good. I will have him on my contact list.

    I heard from a few others that the MCA won't even get me to be a water taxi driver. Or I could be mistaken. Perhaps I should talk to him about getting a USCG physical.
  2. Marmot

    Marmot Senior Member

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    It sounds like you are confusing the licensing systems. An MCA yacht license will let you take 12 paying passengers called "guests" on international voyages on a 200 ton yacht. It won't let you take 1 paying passenger across the Mersey.

    There is no equivalent USCG license and it will take you years to gain the seatime needed for any USCG license. I think you need to do a lot more research and less listening to friends.
  3. Henning

    Henning Senior Member

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    Correct, the RYA/MCA Yachtmaster license will not allow you to drive a water taxi in the US, or any working US vessel. For that license you will need 720 days at sea (if you stand 12 hr watches like on most oilfield boats they count as a day and a half which works out to about 2 years working typical 28on/14off hitches) and pass a test for the USCG which will get you a 25, 50 or 100grt Masters license depending on the tonnage vessels you worked on. Vision and hearing are important parts of the USCG physical, but with the ADA, there may be ways to still get one. You'll have to check with a doctor about it. As long as you can pass the tests with your aids, I'm guessing they'll give a special issuance with a stipulation of having spares.

    The RYA/MCA Yachtmaster will allow you to run quite a few yachts though. The 200gt limit equates to around 100' +/- depending on the volume of the boat. In the US, as long as the yacht is in private use, no license at all is legally required, but once you get above around 65', the insurance often requires it unless you can show significant experience.

    I think it would be wise to get started on your physicals ASAP so you don't end up wasting your time or education traveling a path that will have an impassable roadblock.
  4. FullaFlava

    FullaFlava New Member

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    Interesting that the MCA is not considered very highly, I certainly did not find it a breeze to obtain my engineering certification even after 26 years in the military and having 2 stints as Chief Engineer on minor war vessels (both 60M)

    Below are some links from the MCA regarding deck certification, the first of which lays out possibly most importantly for the OP the visual acuity standard, the rest are hopefully self explanatory:

    http://www.mcga.gov.uk/c4mca/mcga07...s/mcga-mnotice.htm?textobjid=BB9BEE27A2E4E640

    http://www.mcga.gov.uk/c4mca/mcga07...-trainingandcert/mcga-yachts/ds-yacht_faq.htm

    http://www.mcga.gov.uk/c4mca/a7_1802_final.pdf

    http://www.mcga.gov.uk/c4mca/mcga07...yacht/ds-stc-syllabuses-yacht-deckwritten.htm

    http://www.mcga.gov.uk/c4mca/mcga07...es-yacht/ds-stc-syllabuses-yacht-deckoral.htm

    The third link 'M' Notice outlines the career path for deck officers on yachts, just because you may get this certification is no guarantee of future employment, I believe many deck hands have yachtmaster licences but are still deckies; I stand ready to be corrected.

    If you decide to follow this route I wish you luck, if not hopefully the info above may prove useful to others. There is plenty of other stuff you will need as well as $, nobody runs courses for free!
  5. SilverFishVA

    SilverFishVA New Member

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    Most, if not all, yachts are made outside the US? Then I should consider getting a RYA/MCA Yachtmaster license right after college once I have accumulated my sea times.

    Would that mean you don't have to pay income taxes as well?
  6. SilverFishVA

    SilverFishVA New Member

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    Highly appreciated.

    I believe that most of these deckhands are young? That's why they haven't moved up the ranks yet?
  7. FullaFlava

    FullaFlava New Member

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    It doesn't matter where the vessel was built but where it is flagged. Some US owners may choose to US flag their vessel out of national pride; many yachts are flagged from tax havens such as the Caymans, which follows MCA legislation. If you were on an American built CI flagged commercial vessel you would need MCA certification and a Caymans endorsement.

    If US Flagged then you would need USCG certification.

    Income tax is a whole different issue for US seafarers than British and I would seek specialist tax advice.
  8. Henning

    Henning Senior Member

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    Made outside of the US is an ancillary matter in that, with limited exceptions (have the keel laid in or 3/4 of the hull rebuillt in the US, or bought from a US Marshals sale) a vessel must be built in the US to carry a USCG Small Passenger Vessel inspection sticker. This allows it to be in commercial use in the US with more than 6 or 12 passenger (depending on size). You can use a vessel built anywhere flying a US flag as an Uninspected Passenger Vessel, but it requires a USCG license to operate, and if greater than 25grt will require a Masters license (720 days) as opposed to an OUPV license(360 days). A foreign flag vessel that has paid US duty is allowed to board passengers for an international voyage. You can't go from US port to US port without clearing into a foreign port between. That's how the cruise ships do it. There is an exception that Jeff Stickler got through, it required an Act of Congress, that allows the cruise ships to stop at Catalina Island on their way into or out of LA. They've been talking about revising the cabotage laws which date back to the 1800s for several years now, but I haven't seen any real action on it yet as the airlines are fighting it tooth and nail. Thing is, it will probably be more difficult for you to pass the ENG1 medical required for the RYA/MCA license since the Americans with Disabilities Act doesn't apply to it. For a vessel in private use in the US, the matter is totally moot. Not until there is commerce involved does any of this legally come into play in the US. Basically the owners and insurance companies are left to regulate the private yachting industry.

    As far as taxes go, there are ways that you will not be required to report the income, but you need to speak with a tax adviser about that. If you need a referral, I have a good tax attorney in New York. The methods I know require foreign residency (where you may be required to file taxes at an even higher rate) or being out of the country for the vast majority of the year (last time I checked it was 11 months straight out of 12 with only one entry permitted)

    Like I said before, before you get too far into this, get your medical secured, because you will have problems getting it, and in fact, may never qualify for either the MCA or USCG license.
  9. SilverFishVA

    SilverFishVA New Member

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    Will do.

    Dr. Grenet is very forgiving, I hope?
  10. Henning

    Henning Senior Member

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    No he is not. He does know the system though, and as I said before, he is one of a handful of Drs in the US that can issue an ENG1. He will be able to tell you whether you will be able to pass it or not and what special testing and steps you'll have to go through to get an issuance if they will issue at all. He is who I use for my FAA, USCG and ENG1 medicals. I'm going to send you a PM with his phone number. Call him and see what he has to say. I have my doubts you will ever be issued an ENG1, the medical is much more in depth and critical than the USCG/DOT medical, even more so than my FAA 1st class medical.
  11. Emerson

    Emerson New Member

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    What exactly do you learn in hospitality? When I was in school there were three majors that were filled with guys who's parents were paying for their school. Hospitality, Exercise Science, and Tourism/Resort Management. I knew more in the latter two, they all insisted that they were real majors but I remember looking through some of their textbooks and finding them strikingly similar to my 7th grade textbooks in complexity. I just landed a professorship at an entirely fictional university and I feel like it took more effort than some of my fellow undergrad students put in.
  12. Henning

    Henning Senior Member

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    I'd imagine it would depend on what level, but from what I have seen, it's akin to the Hotel and Resort Management. I have seen a Hospitality based MBA available from a reputable school. How much of any career is ever learned in school, at least at the undergrad level?
  13. Emerson

    Emerson New Member

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    Nothing if you have an empty major, sooo very much if you have a full one. I used skills from all levels of my education. I hate to see people throw away their money (and the money of their state) on empty classes, I strongly suspect that working for 6 months on a charter boat would do a whole lot more for him than spending the next three years in classes covering the same material again and again.
  14. Henning

    Henning Senior Member

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    That's basically why I told him to finish the IT degree, although that requires continuing ed and unless you are in a top program, that is always running behind industry. You can learn that on your own as well..
  15. NYCAP123

    NYCAP123 Senior Member

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    Very timely message. Young people should understand that, when the economy falters and unemployment rises, schools appear out of the dust to feed on your desperation. Student loans are easy to get and payment is deferred so it seems like you're actually doing something and paying nothing. Those loans will be killing your credit and making your tax refunds disappear long after your degree from I'm A Sucker U is found to be worthless in the real world. Be smart. Don't invest thousands in a school for a 'degree' that will qualify you for a $10 an hour job.
  16. travler

    travler Senior Member

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    is my M B A from the drucker instatue worth any thing (NOTHING UNTILL I ACTUALY USE MY HEAD AND MAKE SOMETHING HAPPEN ) ALL EDCUATION DOES IS LET YOU NO THAT YOU HAVE THE ABLITY TO LEARN YOU HAVE TO TAKE IT FROM THERE

    just some thoughts

    travler
  17. 54' Bertram

    54' Bertram Member

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    I have a degree in hospitality management from Penn State. I own a 54' Bertram. I also own my own hotel management company that is fairly successful, hence I can can afford my boat lifestyle.

    I would be hiring a mate for somewhere in the range of 35 - 40K a year. I would be hiring a management trainee with a hospitality degree for about the same amount, but the trainee goes through a 26 week program and then would be making 50 to 60k. thats not going to happen for you in the boating world.

    what you learn in the gaining of a hospitality degree to use on a boat is soooooo insignificant. that you have a personality that understands how to be be a good captain with excellent people skills is more important.

    just my 2 cents from someone that has the ability to hire you for either a boat or hotel