Captain transitioning to another yacht

With an experienced captain, very little. One reason is that today's captain doesn't depend as much on having used the exact same equipment but on their ability to read and learn. We've hired captains very familiar with the boat but we've hired captains and engineers with great experience but no direct experience. We hired a captain who started in sail and then ran mostly Moorings charters. She quickly learned "Riva" and "MAN" and now working on others. A captain familiar with Garmin should have no trouble picking up a manual and quickly learning Furuno. Now, the captains who resist manuals and want to just dive in like they know what they're doing will have some problems. Mainly, they'll have features they don't know about and don't use. A skilled captain should not struggle learning anything on a different boat.

My experience is that there's a big learning curve from the electronics and systems on vessels to how and where the owners like to operate. Most of my time has been on smaller yachts though. I suspect that larger boats expect that and the captains have the time to acclimate. You also have more people doing more things like engineers and bosons that can pick up the slack while the captain gets up to speed. With the type boats I ran (mostly under 80') I think most owners expect the captain to come on board today and be ready to roll this afternoon. That was one of the big reasons I stayed independent. I didn't babysit boats, serve drinks or wash boats (except after coming in from a cruise). Virtually every boat I stepped aboard was heading off the dock and there were pretty much over 100 different ones each year. So I was familiar within seconds of stepping aboard cause I changed systems, boats and owners like I changed shirts. I always considered locking up with one boat a career killer because when you spend 2 or 5 years doing the same things with the same equipment for the same people you have a steep learning curve before you're valuable on another boat. You also may leave the dock so seldom that it's a wonder you still remember how. When that owner gets out for whatever reason and you interview for a new position you stand there sounding like an amateur when you say 'No I have no idea how to work your electronics', 'No I've never worked with those motors', 'No I've never cruised those waters', 'No I've never run a boat like this'. I needed to hire a fill-in one day to take a family up to Newport (an easy run) and the guy came with paper charts of L.I. Sound cause he didn't know how to use our electronics and knew nothing about the area. As far as I was concerned his career was over.

Sounds to me like the fill-in captain was proactive in bringing paper charts. If they were up to date and corrected to the latest Local Notice to Mariners, there is a good possibility that his paper charts were more legitimate a navigational resource than the electronics on a boat that he was just stepping on to.

As far as not knowing the area, having the appropriate Coast Pilot, as well as a Waterway Guide, should be of help there. Are you saying that the guys career should be over because you hired a guy who knew nothing about the area to fill in for you?

Personally, I carry an iPad with the SeaIQ app installed, and the charts I use are downloaded directly from NOAA weekly as soon as they have been updated. So again, using the most recent charts with the latest LNM applied, chances are good that the charts on my iPad are more legitimate a navigational resource than your electronics. If I were new to the area, I would most likely also have some paper charts with me.

That's very generous of you and might be valid if that were the extent of our interview, but that was only the tip of the iceberg. Sure he could have eventually been brought up to speed, but he wasn't qualified to do that trip with that boat and it wasn't my job to teach him.

Ahh, the old tip of the iceberg chestnut. Guess it helps to have the rest of the story. The way your earlier post read, the guys career was over because he showed up with paper charts.

Didn't want to hijack the thread, making it all about the example. Most of his experience was aboard his own minimally equipped sailboat that he lived on and took to Florida each year. We needed him to run a well equipped Fairline. But again that's just an example. Would you want to turn your boat over to someone who spent most of his career washing and serving drinks on one dock queen when there's highly qualified captains who are up to date with the latest and greatest available?

Many systems on a boat aren’t specific to that brand. Stabs, Watermakers, generators, safety systems, etc aren’t that different. Even electronics... I v never had issues jumping from one brand to the next at least for basic functions

what really makes a difference is detailed documentation. When you need to troubleshoot an issue, having detailed diagrams and blueprints is critical.

On big boats that's generally handled by the engineer, but on 40'- 100' that's most often the captain's job to know about. And yes some manufacturers do have much better manuals than others but there's also service manuals for many systems which are another buy which most owners of smaller yachts won't have. Like with most jobs you want someone with relative experience. Just recently Capt, J here spent an entire day trying to locate I believe it was a fluxgate compass for an autopilot and maybe never did, and he's experienced with a lot of different boats. DK how he charged but that could have gotten expensive. Imagine if he was only familiar with the systems on one boat. At least he knew what he was looking for. Would you want to pay him to read through all the manuals and learn, especially if it was a failure while at sea?

Well, it's not like aviation per se, where a pilot may have to be trained and type rated in a certain model aeroplane... and then need training before assuming command of another type.

A competent captain should be able to transition to another manufacturer's product without too much hoopla. Differences could arise if the new vessel were a different type propulsion, let's say going from conventional propellers and rudders to waterjets, or azimuthing drives.

Some manufacturers will probably have better manuals than others, but then again if it's a boat with some history a thorough prepurchase assessment should reveal strengths and weaknesses in that area of overall management of the vessel.

I was Chief Engineer/Project Manager on quite a few new builds and more re-fits and Captain transitions than I can count, usually on boats in the 110'-200' range, with the average in the 150' range.
When a new Captain comes aboard I usually spend a fair amount of time explaining some of the specifics of that particular vessel and a general walk thru of the operating systems. If it's a boat I've run before, (not a new build), then I can give pointers as to how she handles certain aspects. Then on the first few trips/trials we can work thru how certain systems are designed or prefer to run. Quite often we will "play a bit" when in clear water, rate of acceleration or deceleration, tracking, backing, stabilizer settings, rate of turn vs duration of run for thrusters. Tank trim settings, as in whether to burn fwd or aft tanks first etc, for lift/squat depending on sea conditions. Maybe a mock/test anchoring and a tender launch/retrieve. During most maneuvering I'm aft deck with a headset calling distance for docking/ med mooring.
I don't get involved with wheelhouse electronics, and if he's bringing his own Chief I'll save engine room specifics for when I do transition with him.

But what if the only boat the captain was used to didn't have water-makers, stabilizers, etc. or the electronics and systems were from the 90's? What if the few times he went off the dock he always came back to the same slip? Would you hire him over someone with say your, J's or my experience and then hand him the manuals to learn? Would you want him to dock your boat in some tight marina with a 3 kt. current running across it that he's not familiar with?

Would you hire a motor yacht captain to run your sail boat or someone used to running a 30' to run your 200'? Running boats is very similar to flying planes except that they don't fall from the sky, but getting them home and to their resting places wrong can have similar consequences. That's why licenses for both are broken down to size, types of propulsion and different endorsements.

There is always a learning curve when jumping from one boat to another but an experienced captain will be able to quickly learn and adapt. It s part of the job.

and no I would not consider a guy who has only run an infrequently run boat that s always coming in and out of the slip as experienced.

Let's consider that the domestic endorsements for sail or auxiliary sail require only 360 days of service on sail or auxiliary sail vessels of appropriate tonnage (46CFR 11.401), and a relatively simple multiple guess examination.

STCW endorsements (Internationally recognized) make no such distinction for types of propulsion.

There is almost always a handover for a new captain and/or engineer. This would be done with the outgoing captain/engineer if it is a used boat, or with a representative of the yard/builder if it's a new boat.

This has been an interesting read and I really have nothing to add other than that I know a guy that legitimately thinks he's going to get all his sea time in a Walker Bay 10, and then he intends to run charters with it in Tampa Bay. No, I'm being serious.