What Makes A Good Yacht Engineer? Part 4.

View from the Control Room Redux.

Since the start of this series, I have been fascinated by the variety of different views and opinions on what makes a good engineer and in doing so have spoken to various representatives of the different departments aboard superyachts.

?

During this process, I had the fortune to speak to a serving chief engineer who started his career in 1971 in a shipyard as a machinist before going to sea in 1976 and is still going strong - a career of over half a century. It was a privilege to listen to his views and how the practice and application of marine engineering has changed over the years, and so I have decided to revisit those who inhabit the bowels of the ships they sail on, the engineers, to dig more into their takes on what is included in the DNA of a good engineer. This time I also included second and junior engineers, and again the differing views are as varied as they are interesting.

?

So, grab yourself a coffee, and sit back while these esteemed engineers generously impart their own ball bearings of wisdom…

?

?

I've been in engineering since 1976, so that’s 48 years, even longer if you consider my work in a shipyard which puts me at over 53 years, more than half a century! What I still believe in, and when I look back through my career and education and compare it to today’s generation – what is lacking today -and it’s not the young people’s fault - what is lacking is the quality of education.

If I compare todays education system with the one I had for example, when I went to sea in 1976 as an apprentice, I went to sea for a year, and then back to school and then it was three years before I got my 4th engineer. Then back to sea for a year and back to university for my thirds, then sea again for a year before coming back to do my seconds which were split into 2, theoretical and practical which was also 3 years, and then my chiefs which were in 3 parts, with time at sea in between. All in all, I was 8 years at school or university, and it was a lot of knowledge to absorb.

Now I still study, I do lots of online study, and if I compare the studying in my time, you had to obtain a lot of knowledge, and you then repeated that knowledge and study a lot, which was a way of making it stay in your memory. What you see now is that they go through lots of things once, don’t repeat it and so once they finish studying it's somewhere in the archive in their brain, but they can’t find it.

Later, after around 20 years I joined that very same college to teach, so I had a good comparison of what my teachers were able to provide and what we were giving our students and what they were able to get, and it was a huge difference. I think now they only get about 25% of the package we got back in the day, which is considerably reduced.

For example, my third engineer can’t remember Ohm's Law. If I write it down for him, he will vaguely remember that he was taught it one day!

For me, that is the foundation of engineering – a good basis of a lot of knowledge, technical knowledge in various fields, theory of physics, strength calculations and so on, but also practical considerations of engines, auxiliaries, hydraulics, electricity, electronics. A good amount of knowledge. And on top of that, being skilled with being hands-on, knowing how to work on engines and overhauling pumps and all that practical inside knowledge and experience.

I have a second engineer who has the skill to overhaul pumps and do it properly. When we see what previous young engineers have done on this boat, and even shipyards we come across a lot of stuff that you say “this isn’t how you do it” because you are supposed to improve the condition of a pump when you open it up, not make it worse!

In a nutshell, a good engineer is somebody who has lots of theoretical knowledge because it's important, as well as practical knowledge – proper operation and maintenance. These things have to be in harmony, they go hand in hand. Sometimes you see guys who are brilliant with theory, but don’t have the “golden hands” to do it, and then you also have guys who are very hands-on, but lack the foundational theoretical knowledge. For me, they are both essential – you need both these pillars to be a good engineer.

Chief Engineer, 120m MY

?

A part of being a good engineer is you must understand that for others, the machinery they use is the most important thing to them. For example, if a stewardess comes to you and says, “our vacuum cleaner is broke, can you fix it?” and you think to yourself ” it’s just a vacuum cleaner, we are trying to do this and that, why are you bringing us these problems when we have so much to do?”

?But you get to a point when you realise that for them, it is their biggest problem.

It’s easy to think you have a problem with a generator or something major, that might take hours to solve, but perhaps spending just 10 minutes fixing a vacuum cleaner can make others life easier onboard.

For example, if the owner were to walk through and found the corridor dusty, it reflects badly on the stewardesses, so for those the vacuum cleaner is the most important piece of machinery. Same with the coffee machine – if they can’t provide a cup of coffee for the boss, that must also be embarrassing and humiliating for them, so I have kind of realised that as trivial as some things might seem to you at the time, it has importance for others – it’s worth considering that, and not being dismissive of how important someone feels a piece of equipment is.

Also, almost all misunderstandings come from lack of communication, just having a brief chat everyone can be singing from the same hymn sheet.

Second Engineer, 110m MY

?

For me, an engineer has to be invested in what you are doing. We have a young third engineer who came from the Navy into yachting, I told him that he has to be committed.

The most basic thing about being an engineer is understanding you can’t get as much time off as the other crew. You need to be invested in what you are doing. You have to put the time in, because every hour you put in you become smarter in some aspect.

Things typically break after working hours, or on the weekend and that’s when you need to put the time in. That’s why we get paid more, and we need to be smart.

2nd Engineer, 70m MY

?

A good engineer pays attention to details in the engine room and is able to explain how things work on a fundamental level to someone who doesn’t have any experience but wants to understand how things work.

You can be a good engineer even though you are silent and anti-social of course, but if you have the knowledge, why not share it?

Sole Engineer, 36m MY

?

Education only takes people so far, but it doesn’t necessarily make someone a good engineer.

It takes extra personal qualities, somebody who is a good engineer has to be very good at troubleshooting, you have to have a very good logical brain, you have to follow logical steps. It’s not possible to know everything about everything, but if someone has a logical brain then they can use that as a process of elimination, and then if in doubt they can seek out senior engineers. Good engineers are the ones you can go to with a problem and you know they will be able to solve it.

The knowledge side of things is important, but you have to be able to apply it logically to problem solve, and you need to be aware of safety. And of course you need experience.

One of the best engineers I worked with was a young Bulgarian guy, he was fleet chief engineer in fact. He was very chilled, very positive, lifted people up, spent quality time with people, he was a great chief engineer. But when junior engineers had problems, he would usually solve them straight away. And if he couldn’t solve them right away, he would spend hours and hours in his cabin researching and then solve the problem. He was so dedicated and reliable.

Second Engineer, 75m MY

?

Education. Education. Education. Along with a little dedication, a pinch of natural talent, and a smidge of empathy. We seem to be getting closer to what goes into the making of those who haunt the machinery spaces of the ships they sail upon.

With all the advances in technology which are changing the way yachts operate at a fundamental level, is the education for yacht engineers adapting at a quick enough pace? I recently spoke to a yacht engineer who had done two years on a hybrid vessel, and said he felt at times as if it were a floating bomb, and if you were not aware of what you were doing the consequences would be catastrophic. Any thoughts?

Next, I will be speaking to the Chief Officers to get their take on their brethren down below...