Marine Mechanic School?

[HyperDonzi]

Does anyone have some info they could share about the career of a marine mechanic? I'm mostly looking for school information. CDMA, did you consider any other schools? I would like to be as close to home (central Ohio) as possible.

[Rootsy]

As far as learning about specific power packages each manufacturer offers their own school to teach marine mechanics the ins and outs of sterndrives and motors they manufacture, etc. I attended Mercury Marines week long sterndrive school offering in the early 90's...

Secondly, are you interested in being a mechanic or being an engineer? there is a big difference between these two words...

[HyperDonzi]

mechanic.

preferably for bayliner LOL, nice sig.

[MOP]

Me having been one and now full of aches and pains from being wet and cold, also full of scares, bits of metal, fiber glass think there are better ways to earn a buck. I did do real well I thought, raised 5 kids put 3 through colledge etc but I am paying now as are all my old buddies. Think twice before jumping in!

[CDMA]

Whippin Boy,

What I do is nothing near marine mechanics. This is an engineering school we do calculus based math, design, testing and research. There is some hands on experience that is part of the education but not for the purposes of marine repair. I am not sure about marine mechanic schools. If you are interested in engineering I can tell you more but otherwise I know little else.

FYI The 3 main Marine engineering school in the Country are :

University of New Orleans : Req 800 sat. Pretty easy to get into

University of Michigan at Ann Arbor: Reg 1200 sat. Good grades.

Webb: 1400 + Sat top 10% of your graduating class

The Naval Academy the USCG acedemy and the a few other schools offer limited programs. The above three are the only places with programs soley dedicated to marine engineering.

Regards

Chris

[pmreed]

Hyper, Here are a couple of schools. Check them out.

http://www.trade-school.org/uti/marine-mechanic-institute.htm

http://www.by-the-sea.com/mtc.html

Good luck, Phil

[HyperDonzi]

MOP, was it really that bad?

[MOP]

Yup! I forgot the bad knees, back and arthritis. On the plus side I have made a bunch of friends, can get almost anything at cost and get to help out alot of people along the way. You have a plus being in fresh water things come apart easier, but then comes winter when you freeze your tookus off winterizing. You could escape to Florida like a few of my Buds did and make a third less pay but the weather is nicer. Or come down to Costa Rica, where I have been offered 75,000 Colonas per hour just to over see a shop on the Pacific side. And I speak about 10 words of spanish go figure.

[harbormaster]

Hey Chris, tell Tommy, what kind of job you can get when you graduate. What kinda salary can you expect to make??

[HyperDonzi]

how did you get all banged up Phil?

[Stepped Bottom]

I don't know much about marine mechanics but I can give you some sound advice. Do what interests you and what you love. A boat load of money may sound great, but if you wake up every morning dreading work, is it really worth it?? Best of luck to you!

Darla

[nasty habit]

Stepped hit the nail on the head....

[Forrest]

Hay Hyperboy, I didn't have a 1400 SAT and for that reason, back in the late '70s, I moved down to Key West and enrolled in Florida Key Community College's Marine Propulsion Technology (http://www.firn.edu/fkcc/programs/marine_eng/index.htm) program. It was an AS degree program run by "Sparky" Carbonell (John's brother). The program was actually pretty decent with a great lab all funded by the State of Florida. In addition to all the basic Associates Degree requirements, there were classes in gasoline, diesel, drive system, corrosion control, welding, marine electrical/electronic systems, and much more. In the lab you went through (tore down, inspected, and properly reassemble), outboards, inboard, lower units, stern drives, Twin Disc and BW transmissions, small diesels, diesel fuel injection (separate clean room), conducted diesel dyno testing in their dyno room, and the list goes on. Needless to say, it was very informative and about as fun as it gets!

Oh yes, and living in a trailer (with air conditioning) on Stock Island wasn't all that bad either! I just hope you don't like to party! eek!

Once I left the Keys, I came back to reality somewhat and got a paying job turning wrenches on JohnRudes Mercrusiers, Volvo-Penta, and OMCs. Now, that's when your employer ponies up the bucks and sends you to the different factory service schools which are very specific and very good. Thye usually won't send you to factroy school until it looks like you are going to stick around for a while, so don't plan on going the first week you are employeed.

A few years later, I ended up going back to school and picked up an Electronics Technology AS degree at another community college, and then went to The University of South Florida in Tampa and got a BS in Computer Science. I guess that once you start, you can't quit . . . but enough schoolin' for now!

Hyper, I just added the following:

BTW, as MOP states above, life as a full-time marine engine tech can be demanding. Most shops are open on Saturdays and many need you there on Sunday as well. Don worry though, you'll probably get Tuesdays and/or Wednesdays off. You come in to the shop early and leave after dark. You work in the extreme heat and cold with wet feet, and everyone is bitchin' that their boat isn't ready when you said it would be, or you'll hear something like, "this engine ran great until you put in that new water pump". You feel like telling the guy the truth, "It was a piece of s#it when you brought it in here and now it's the same piece of s#it with a new water pump", but you don't. Insted you say, "let's take a look", and that "look" just cost you nearly an hour of free labor. Ocasionally you'll get a come back and that labor is on you, Buba, and if it were an engine rebuild, that could kill your pay for a couple of days. Don't say that it will never happen to you, because it happens to the best for whatever reason. Now, for equipment used in salt water, the standard fair is an oxy-aceletyne welding torch in one hand and a wrench in the other. You learn to get good at not breaking off stuck bolts and not melting aluminum. Just forget doing glass work - you'll itch worse that Nate (Jamesbon) after he did the grinding on his GT21, but only all the time. And do you know what the worst part of all of this was? The worst part was, after all of workin on boats, that the last thing I felt like doing was working on my own. Those days are over, being a marine mechanic is now a hobby for me. Oh sure, I'll help a friend out with their boat from time to time, but I also turn lots work away. You'll find that time gets more valuable as time go on.

Best of Luck!

[HyperDonzi]

So, go to a community college/get employed at a marina then they send you to the school....
Dosent seem to bad. MOP, what was the part so bad for you?