I worked my way thru the
Caribbean for 25 years.
While in major
ports, work for established businesses at a comfortable wage. Attend the major
marine refrigeration manufacturers
training sessions, receive whatever
training they offer specific to their product, and become a certified
repair center for them when you leave for distant shores. You will be extremely busy with legitimate warranty work for the manufacturer.
This often helps get cleared with the local
customs when you are arriving for said work. I have never had an instance where they didn't appreciate my extended stay.
After a few years - I carried enough
rigging, compressors, fittings, different blends of freon,
electrical supplies, shipwright materials, for almost any
emergency, and a list of manufacturers ready to ship on a moments notice.
While cruisers may be an independent lot, and shall we say "frugal" - when your repairing things on their
boat - they don't mind paying reasonable wages. It was the times where the "fix" took but a few minutes - that found me with more drink then I can
beer... LOL
I eventually found better comfort working as a ships
engineer on larger yachts - and I had yet to hear an owner or
captain that I worked with complain or not ask me to stay longer... Life is good when you treat others well....
"If you can't fix it yourself, or afford to pay someone who can - it simply has no place on the boat"