Engineer Training

Are they saying that those choices are mutually exclusive? If you take the Y3 or Y4 then you can't get the EOOW?

If you can get your EOOW by just sitting an oral, do it. When you get your 3 months get the 2nds ticket. I would strongly suggest that you look for a second engineer position in any event so you can find out who and what a yacht engineer is and what one does in real life.

A yacht limited license is worthless for anything except yachts. You may or may not get a yacht job or like it when you do. If all you have is a yacht license what do you have then?

I am surprised (sort of) that the MCA will give you a motor license after earning your sea time on steamboats. Did you guys run on emergency power all the time?

The little secret that many yachties don't know is that you don't need a yacht license to work on yachts. Your EOOW will likely be endorsed by most yacht flag states for service as a Y3 or Y4. Relatively few charter yachts are registered under the UK flag and it is the flag state that endorses CoCs and determines what the manning requirements are, not your nationality or that of the captain. A commercial 2nd will most likely get you an endorsement to serve in the same position that calls for a Y2. Each flag state will look at your certificate and determine what level they will endorse it for service on their vessels.

Good luck.

I would suggest that you go ahead and get whatever yacht tickets that you can get by sitting the oral. However, Navy and commercial guys have a hard time breaking into the yacht industry, so you may want to go ahead with your commercial qualifications as well to assure yourself an income. I don't believe there is an exclusivity to the paths, so get what you can as soon as you can so you can begin marketing yourself properly ASAP, then build from there.

Shug,

I was in exactly your position about a year ago though not a submariner, it sounds as though you got exactly the same exemtions as me.

You cannot do Stat & Ops (or any of the modules) as distance learning. As for courses and Oral prep (you will need it) I strongly recommend John Percival's near Liverpool. The exams are issued by the Scottish Qualifications Agency (SQA) and are formal invigilated 2 hour exams requiring proper writing not multi choice.

I did the Y3/Y4 oral at the same time as I was awaiting the result of the Stat & Ops. They do the 3 stuff first and if you are shaky they move on to 4. You can elect to do the OOW at the same time too.

You will also need Advanced Fire Fighting, Advanced First Aid which you may be able to blag through the Mob and Proficiency in Survival Craft and Rescue boats which you won't! I did mine at South Shields although Warsash is also good.

As to there being no market for matelots, I know personally 2 others (one a submariner) who broke out at the same time as me; all of us were quickly employed.

Good luck, ask away any other questions.

Is there an echo in here?

Yacht limited certificates are not valid for commercial use. The sea time may be applied to commercial certification if it is really sea time and the maritime authority accepts it but, in most cases very little of it would apply to an unlimited certificate. There is a movement underway to allow service on very large yachts to count but if it comes to pass there will be strict guidelines and this probably won't do anything for the vast majority of yachties.

As one who reviews CVs and acts as a "gatekeeper" I can tell you that the only impediment lies with those captains and crewmembers who have no experience or knowledge other than yachts.

There is a bizarre condition among many yachtie "hawsepipers" which seems to make them fear the presence of those with formal training and higher level certifications. I welcome a CV from someone with a documented history of formal training and standardized operations. The vetting and oversight implicit in military and merchant operations is non-existent in yachting and we see the results far too often when we have to deal with the owner's frustrations.

Because motor is a mode of propulsion and licenses are issued based on experience in that mode. If you spent a few years on nukes as well as motor boats then why did they not offer both motor and steam? If you are going to fight for something, fight for the piece of paper that will ensure your future value in the market. There are lots of steam powered ships running around. Steam powered LNG ships are being built today and steam engineers are a valuable commodity. Don't let them rob you of qualifications you have earned.

Unless they are offering you only one or the other, grab one of each, get every piece of paper you can collect. Right or wrong, the nautical world has gone the way of the regulator and you cannot have too many certificates. That is not just a turn of phrase, it is the reality of an industry in which yachting is just a microscopic drop in a large ocean of opportunity for an engineer.

Shug,

A brief word about the expenditure:

I did 6 courses and a week of oral prep costing about £3000 of my own money as well as what I was entitled from the mob for resettlement and accomodation costs. I made back this investment on my first months salary which wasn't a full month and pro-rated.

If you registered for Enhanced learning credit, look at bundling Stat & Ops, Advanced Hotel Services and Applied Engineering together and doing the lot at Warsash who are an accredited ELC centre. I wish I had.

Elc

Hi Shug just to let you know there is a window untill Oct this year to register for ELC if you've done 8 years it entitles you to £6000 of training over 3 years... Not to be sniffed at! Speak to your education officer they should still be able to sign you up.