Plan?

[stephengrem]

A plan is a must for me. Otherwise I'll end up sitting here for a few more years.

Saving up is my most likely option but the CG is still there for next year.

I looked into the piney point and it's confusing to me with all of the abbreviations but basically it's training to be a merchant marine through an apprentice program? It seems very interesting and I'll seriously consider it.

I really appreciate the advise guys.

[GrowleyMonster]

Oh, a plan is good. Just don't let the plan be the boss of you. Keep flexible because some things you might count on, might not happen the way you expect or want.

www.seafarers.org for more info on SIU and Piney Point. They are probably down to one or at most two classes a year for the entry program.

Tidewater Marine in Morgan City Louisiana is always hiring. Always. That ought to tell you something about job satisfaction with TW but it is a job and a good one to break into the industry. They have a good educational program. AFAIK they still use the Houston Marine books and software and they get it for you at a discount. 50% I think. It comes out of your pay in increments. You study at the "Duck Camp", a couple of trailers on a barge, with an instructor onsite. When you are ready you go test. After you stay with the company a year they pay you back what they took out of your pay for the materials. That is the one good thing about TW other than the fact you can always go to work for them. And you can often stay on a boat as long as you want because sometimes they simply don't have reliefs for everyone who wants one. This is of course non-union employment so you have absolutely no advocacy and no voice in anything at all and no rights other than to quit when you get ashore and very little benefits. But if you can stick it out long enough to get a regular AB ticket (not OSV which would limit you to only offshore supply vessels) or a 500 or 1600 ton mates license, you can go look somewhere else for work and make more money.

[stephengrem]

Seafarers is the sight google took me to and it looks like a good program.
Tidewater looks like a good choice to. (I dont mind working hard if it's for a purpose.)

For right now I'm looking for a job for job history and income.
Maybe I can acquire a captains license and teach sailing classes in the next year or two? The guy my family rents boats from offered me a job if I get my captain's license.

The gulf of Mexico would be wonderful!

[boatman61]

And now for something entirely different...
Forget all thats been said and look into getting a summer job with these folk...
Visitors to Salcombe

Every season they're looking for young staff... the pays not great but you get basic accomodation and food. The big plus is your on an adventure with pay in a new country and while your there you'll be able to take all your RYA training free.. bar exam fee..
Its a beautiful location and sailing and expeditions are 7 days a week if you want it... including day off..
I did 2 seasons there 8yrs ago took my Boat Masters licence and had a great time... second season tailed off badly tho'... personality clash with a director...lol

[Cheechako]

I wouldnt join the CG just for water experience (pretty different than cruising a sail boat). But if you just love the sea and want spend time out there working... then you might like the CG. Heck, with a boat and going sailing often, you can be ready to go crusing in a couple of years or less. The CG will tie you up for years....
Other than maybe that... good plan!

[stephengrem]

Wow I didn't realize there are so many options.

Salcombe looks good but I have no idea how I would get to England. And if I go all that way and not get the job Ill be in a tight spot. I'll look for something a bit more local for a summer job.

I have a year plus to think of the CG and what to do with it. But only a few months to find a way to support myself.

[GrowleyMonster]

Teach sailing classes? Er, maybe not for a few years yet.

BTW Tidewater doesn't pay all that good, and as an Ordinary you are at the absolute bottom of the dungheap. The idea is to not spend any more time there than necessary at the bottom. You will be officially working a 12 hour day (no, you don't get paid for overtime) and you do not get Certificates of Discharge when you get off the boat but you ask the company for a Letter of Service which the CG accepts as documentary evidence of sea time. The letter will state that you worked 12 hour days as a condition of employment. So the CG can, and usually does, grant you 3 days credit for each 2 days of actual sea time. 240 12 hour days is therefore equivelant to 360 days of sea time. You need a year to get your AB Limited ticket. 1080 days to get your Unlimited. 760 days to get your 100 Ton Near Coastal Master's license. I think 240 days to get your 200 ton Mate's license or maybe that is for 500... check the CFRs on that and other licenses you can upgrade to or through. The most money the quickest will be getting on a Supply Boat, which will be over 200 tons up to 1000 or so, getting your AB Special(OSV) as soon as you have the time which is I think only 120 days or something like that, then getting your 500 or 1600 ton Mate's license. I think you have to be 21 to get any license higher than a 6-pack operator. By the time you are 21 you should have it in the bag. No age requirement for any AB ticket AFAIK. Get your 1600 Master Near Coastal and you will be making decent money even with Tidewater. Tidewater policy is to pay you for your license, not your job. So even though they won't give you a boat to run for a while, they will pay you for it as soon as you upgrade your license. Just remember, this is a non union company so expect to be treated like a nobody. You have no collective bargaining. You have no advocacy. You have no voice. So shut up and put in your time, do what you are told, and when you got what you want, say AMF and move on.

While you are getting it together you can usually find very hard, very dirty, very low paying work with the contract labor companies. They will put you up in the company bunkhouse and feed you (comes out of your pay!) and take you out to job sites where you will be doing stuff like loading and unloading drill pipe and well casing, working with pipe inspection companies, humping sacks of drilling mud ingredients, stuff like that. Prove yourself and you might get sent to a platform or a drilling rig. Prove yourself there and you might get hired by the customer at somewhat higher wages but of course you will have to find your own place to stay during your off time. This does NOT count toward any CG certificates or licenses, BTW but it is money in the kitty.

Your license will be for Steam or Motor, not Sail. After you get your license, you need to get work under sail or buy a boat and document your days at sea, in order to have your license endorsed for Sail or Auxillary Sail. But to teach a class you will need other certifications from other organizations besides the CG, and you better have lots of time under sail, and relevant to the course you wish to teach. I would say that would be far far in your future. But a license would be good to have (with the all important sail endorsement) if you want to skipper crewed chartered boats, skipper a private yacht, or crew on crewed charters. Don't bother with getting an Engineer license for this. You want to go Deck.

[stephengrem]

Ok that is very confusing but point taken teaching is not going to happen for awile. And Tidewater treats employees like crap.

What about the building /repair of boats? I could go to MMI or wyotech and learn the trade?

[stephengrem]

I went to the CG open house today and found out that I can jump through hoops and qualify.

[boatman61]

Who said anything about teaching...
The RYA school is a converted Mersey Ferry anchored in the middle of the estuary in an area of outstanding beauty.. its self sufficient, has around 10 instructors, then its assistants for housekeeping/catering/maintainance etc... only skills required enthusiasm, enjoy kids and not be phased by disability's... 5 mths of the year is for the disadvantaged.. the other 2mths for the money..
But a lot of the kids who were teaching had started that way a couple of seasons earlier... sail and power.

[tbodine88]

Originally Posted by stephengrem

I went to the CG open house today and found out that I can jump through hoops and qualify.

If you plan on cruising, go for deck crew or engineers. In one you'll learn ropes (lines), knots and boat handling, in the other you'll learn how to work on mechanical stuff. These skills are most useful on a boat.

I was in the navy learned electronics, didn't know anything about boats until I bought my own.

I have a lot of respect for bosun's mates and firemen.

Good luck.

PS I also think that the merchant marine might be a better choice.

[swabbmob]

Don't forget the valuable college education benefits the CG offers after you completed your enlistment. I went to college after my 4 yr tour, and I was much more mature and ready to be there. If I had gone to college right out of high school, I would have wasted a lot of money.

[ElGatoGordo]

I fully support an enlistment of one sort or another to get your life started. One beauty of a single guy in the military is, while the "pay" isn't the best, they support you completely and you have much less opportunity to spend, Sooooooo saving is easy.

Think about it: fixed but guaranteed income, full benefits, MANY opportunities for learning and college credits while in, plus college when you get out. A 22 years young man with 4 years in the military is about the equivalent of a 30-something IMO as relates to maturity and success.

Ymmv but that's been my experience.

[Wavewacker]

If you plan to go in the CG right away, I'd hold off on the boat unless it's a trailerable one. You won't be living on your boat for some time going into the CG or any military branch. Wait until you're out of training and have a duty assignment....and, you still may not be staying off base as a lower ranking enlisted guy. You'll be paying marina fees on a boat you can't stay on.

But good plan!

[S/V Blondie-Dog]

Originally Posted by stephengrem

It sounds tempting to go straight to the water but why skip the coast guard?
What do I gain/lose?

I think that the Coast Guard is a swell idea. Either that or strap on a backpack and go tour eastern europe for a few months of adventure if that is what you are seeking.

Living aboard a sailboat is a commitment and one that you may later come to regret once the novelty of it all wears off.

And remember, cruising ain't the same thing as day-sailing. Good luck to ya.