Motorboat Mechanics and Service Technicians

Repair and adjust electrical and mechanical equipment of inboard or inboard-outboard boat engines.

Sample of reported job titles: Boat Mechanic, Boat Motor Mechanic, Boat Rigger, Marine Mechanic, Marine Propulsion Technician, Marine Technician, Mechanic, Outboard Motor Mechanic, Outboard Technician, Service Technician

Occupation-Specific Information

Tasks

  • Start motors and monitor performance for signs of malfunctioning, such as smoke, excessive vibration, or misfiring.
  • Document inspection and test results and work performed or to be performed.
  • Mount motors to boats, and operate boats at various speeds on waterways to conduct operational tests.
  • Repair engine mechanical equipment, such as power tilts, bilge pumps, or power take-offs.
  • Perform routine engine maintenance on motorboats, such as changing oil and filters.
  • Replace parts, such as gears, magneto points, piston rings, or spark plugs, and reassemble engines.
  • Idle motors and observe thermometers to determine the effectiveness of cooling systems.
  • Inspect and repair or adjust propellers or propeller shafts.
  • Adjust carburetor mixtures, electrical point settings, or timing while motors are running in water-filled test tanks.
  • Set starter locks and align and repair steering or throttle controls, using gauges, screwdrivers, or wrenches.
  • Disassemble and inspect motors to locate defective parts, using mechanic's hand tools and gauges.
  • Adjust generators and replace faulty wiring, using hand tools and soldering irons.
  • Repair or rework parts, using machine tools such as lathes, mills, drills, or grinders.

back to top

Technology Skills

Hot technology
Hot Technologies are requirements most frequently included across all employer job postings.

back to top

Occupational Requirements

Work Activities

  • Handling and Moving Objects — Using hands and arms in handling, installing, positioning, and moving materials, and manipulating things.
  • Operating Vehicles, Mechanized Devices, or Equipment — Running, maneuvering, navigating, or driving vehicles or mechanized equipment, such as forklifts, passenger vehicles, aircraft, or watercraft.
  • Getting Information — Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources.
  • Repairing and Maintaining Mechanical Equipment — Servicing, repairing, adjusting, and testing machines, devices, moving parts, and equipment that operate primarily on the basis of mechanical (not electronic) principles.
  • Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge — Keeping up-to-date technically and applying new knowledge to your job.
  • Making Decisions and Solving Problems — Analyzing information and evaluating results to choose the best solution and solve problems.
  • Performing General Physical Activities — Performing physical activities that require considerable use of your arms and legs and moving your whole body, such as climbing, lifting, balancing, walking, stooping, and handling materials.
  • Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events — Identifying information by categorizing, estimating, recognizing differences or similarities, and detecting changes in circumstances or events.
  • Inspecting Equipment, Structures, or Materials — Inspecting equipment, structures, or materials to identify the cause of errors or other problems or defects.
  • Controlling Machines and Processes — Using either control mechanisms or direct physical activity to operate machines or processes (not including computers or vehicles).
  • Analyzing Data or Information — Identifying the underlying principles, reasons, or facts of information by breaking down information or data into separate parts.
  • Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates — Providing information to supervisors, co-workers, and subordinates by telephone, in written form, e-mail, or in person.
  • Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships — Developing constructive and cooperative working relationships with others, and maintaining them over time.
  • Repairing and Maintaining Electronic Equipment — Servicing, repairing, calibrating, regulating, fine-tuning, or testing machines, devices, and equipment that operate primarily on the basis of electrical or electronic (not mechanical) principles.
  • Monitoring Processes, Materials, or Surroundings — Monitoring and reviewing information from materials, events, or the environment, to detect or assess problems.
  • Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work — Developing specific goals and plans to prioritize, organize, and accomplish your work.
  • Processing Information — Compiling, coding, categorizing, calculating, tabulating, auditing, or verifying information or data.
  • Estimating the Quantifiable Characteristics of Products, Events, or Information — Estimating sizes, distances, and quantities; or determining time, costs, resources, or materials needed to perform a work activity.
  • Performing for or Working Directly with the Public — Performing for people or dealing directly with the public. This includes serving customers in restaurants and stores, and receiving clients or guests.
  • Documenting/Recording Information — Entering, transcribing, recording, storing, or maintaining information in written or electronic/magnetic form.

back to top

Detailed Work Activities

back to top

Work Context

  • Face-to-Face Discussions — 86% responded “Every day.”
  • Outdoors, Exposed to Weather — 80% responded “Every day.”
  • In an Open Vehicle or Equipment — 63% responded “Every day.”
  • Exposed to Contaminants — 71% responded “Every day.”
  • Frequency of Decision Making — 66% responded “Every day.”
  • Spend Time Using Your Hands to Handle, Control, or Feel Objects, Tools, or Controls — 65% responded “Continually or almost continually.”
  • Indoors, Not Environmentally Controlled — 69% responded “Every day.”
  • Telephone — 60% responded “Every day.”
  • Freedom to Make Decisions — 59% responded “A lot of freedom.”
  • Contact With Others — 53% responded “Constant contact with others.”
  • Spend Time Standing — 50% responded “More than half the time.”
  • Cramped Work Space, Awkward Positions — 42% responded “Every day.”
  • Time Pressure — 42% responded “Once a week or more but not every day.”
  • Impact of Decisions on Co-workers or Company Results — 43% responded “Very important results.”
  • Importance of Being Exact or Accurate — 36% responded “Extremely important.”
  • Outdoors, Under Cover — 45% responded “Every day.”
  • Sounds, Noise Levels Are Distracting or Uncomfortable — 43% responded “Every day.”
  • Wear Common Protective or Safety Equipment such as Safety Shoes, Glasses, Gloves, Hearing Protection, Hard Hats, or Life Jackets — 52% responded “Once a week or more but not every day.”
  • Very Hot or Cold Temperatures — 34% responded “Every day.”
  • Deal With External Customers — 46% responded “Extremely important.”
  • Duration of Typical Work Week — 53% responded “More than 40 hours.”
  • Structured versus Unstructured Work — 34% responded “A lot of freedom.”
  • Exposed to Hazardous Equipment — 44% responded “Every day.”
  • Work With Work Group or Team — 34% responded “Extremely important.”
  • Extremely Bright or Inadequate Lighting — 44% responded “Every day.”
  • Consequence of Error — 33% responded “Extremely serious.”
  • Physical Proximity — 47% responded “Moderately close (at arm's length).”
  • In an Enclosed Vehicle or Equipment — 28% responded “Once a week or more but not every day.”
  • Responsible for Others' Health and Safety — 38% responded “Moderate responsibility.”
  • Responsibility for Outcomes and Results — 28% responded “Limited responsibility.”
  • Exposed to Minor Burns, Cuts, Bites, or Stings — 27% responded “Once a week or more but not every day.”
  • Spend Time Walking and Running — 33% responded “More than half the time.”
  • Level of Competition — 31% responded “Highly competitive.”
  • Spend Time Bending or Twisting the Body — 37% responded “Less than half the time.”
  • Coordinate or Lead Others — 32% responded “Fairly important.”
  • Exposed to Hazardous Conditions — 33% responded “Once a week or more but not every day.”
  • Spend Time Kneeling, Crouching, Stooping, or Crawling — 32% responded “Less than half the time.”
  • Deal With Unpleasant or Angry People — 31% responded “Once a year or more but not every month.”
  • Frequency of Conflict Situations — 33% responded “Once a month or more but not every week.”

back to top

Experience Requirements

Job Zone

Title
Job Zone Three: Medium Preparation Needed
Education
Most occupations in this zone require training in vocational schools, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree.
Related Experience
Previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is required for these occupations. For example, an electrician must have completed three or four years of apprenticeship or several years of vocational training, and often must have passed a licensing exam, in order to perform the job.
Job Training
Employees in these occupations usually need one or two years of training involving both on-the-job experience and informal training with experienced workers. A recognized apprenticeship program may be associated with these occupations.
Job Zone Examples
These occupations usually involve using communication and organizational skills to coordinate, supervise, manage, or train others to accomplish goals. Examples include hydroelectric production managers, desktop publishers, electricians, agricultural technicians, barbers, court reporters and simultaneous captioners, and medical assistants.
SVP Range
(6.0 to < 7.0)

back to top

Training & Credentials

State training
Local training
Certifications

back to top

Apprenticeship Opportunities

Example apprenticeship titles for this occupation:

  • Motorboat Mechanic
  • Outboard-Motor Mechanic

Specific title(s) listed above are vetted by industry and approved by the U.S. Department of Labor for use in a Registered Apprenticeship Program.

Start your career and build your skillset. Visit Apprenticeship.gov external site to learn about opportunities related to this occupation.

back to top

Worker Requirements

Skills

  • Repairing — Repairing machines or systems using the needed tools.
  • Equipment Maintenance — Performing routine maintenance on equipment and determining when and what kind of maintenance is needed.
  • Troubleshooting — Determining causes of operating errors and deciding what to do about it.
  • Operation and Control — Controlling operations of equipment or systems.
  • Operations Monitoring — Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.
  • Critical Thinking — Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
  • Active Listening — Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
  • Complex Problem Solving — Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
  • Equipment Selection — Determining the kind of tools and equipment needed to do a job.
  • Judgment and Decision Making — Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
  • Quality Control Analysis — Conducting tests and inspections of products, services, or processes to evaluate quality or performance.
  • Speaking — Talking to others to convey information effectively.

back to top

Knowledge

  • Mechanical — Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
  • Customer and Personal Service — Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
  • Computers and Electronics — Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
  • English Language — Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
  • Mathematics — Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
  • Engineering and Technology — Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
  • Administration and Management — Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
  • Transportation — Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
  • Physics — Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.

back to top

Education

How much education does a new hire need to perform a job in this occupation? Respondents said:

  • 54%
     
    responded: Post-secondary certificate required
  • 24%
     
    responded: High school diploma or equivalent requiredmore info
  • 12%
     
    responded: Some college, no degree requiredmore info

back to top

Worker Characteristics

Abilities

  • Problem Sensitivity — The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing that there is a problem.
  • Arm-Hand Steadiness — The ability to keep your hand and arm steady while moving your arm or while holding your arm and hand in one position.
  • Deductive Reasoning — The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
  • Inductive Reasoning — The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
  • Manual Dexterity — The ability to quickly move your hand, your hand together with your arm, or your two hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble objects.
  • Control Precision — The ability to quickly and repeatedly adjust the controls of a machine or a vehicle to exact positions.
  • Finger Dexterity — The ability to make precisely coordinated movements of the fingers of one or both hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble very small objects.
  • Near Vision — The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
  • Hearing Sensitivity — The ability to detect or tell the differences between sounds that vary in pitch and loudness.
  • Information Ordering — The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).
  • Multilimb Coordination — The ability to coordinate two or more limbs (for example, two arms, two legs, or one leg and one arm) while sitting, standing, or lying down. It does not involve performing the activities while the whole body is in motion.
  • Oral Comprehension — The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
  • Oral Expression — The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
  • Extent Flexibility — The ability to bend, stretch, twist, or reach with your body, arms, and/or legs.
  • Speech Recognition — The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.
  • Trunk Strength — The ability to use your abdominal and lower back muscles to support part of the body repeatedly or continuously over time without "giving out" or fatiguing.
  • Visualization — The ability to imagine how something will look after it is moved around or when its parts are moved or rearranged.
  • Category Flexibility — The ability to generate or use different sets of rules for combining or grouping things in different ways.
  • Depth Perception — The ability to judge which of several objects is closer or farther away from you, or to judge the distance between you and an object.
  • Far Vision — The ability to see details at a distance.
  • Flexibility of Closure — The ability to identify or detect a known pattern (a figure, object, word, or sound) that is hidden in other distracting material.
  • Selective Attention — The ability to concentrate on a task over a period of time without being distracted.
  • Static Strength — The ability to exert maximum muscle force to lift, push, pull, or carry objects.

back to top

Interests

Interest code: RC
Want to discover your interests? Take the O*NET Interest Profiler at My Next Move.
  • Realistic — Work involves designing, building, or repairing of equipment, materials, or structures, engaging in physical activity, or working outdoors. Realistic occupations are often associated with engineering, mechanics and electronics, construction, woodworking, transportation, machine operation, agriculture, animal services, physical or manual labor, athletics, or protective services.
  • Conventional — Work involves following procedures and regulations to organize information or data, typically in a business setting. Conventional occupations are often associated with office work, accounting, mathematics/statistics, information technology, finance, or human resources.

back to top

Work Values

  • Support — Occupations that satisfy this work value offer supportive management that stands behind employees. Corresponding needs are Company Policies, Supervision: Human Relations and Supervision: Technical.
  • Independence — Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to work on their own and make decisions. Corresponding needs are Creativity, Responsibility and Autonomy.
  • Working Conditions — Occupations that satisfy this work value offer job security and good working conditions. Corresponding needs are Activity, Compensation, Independence, Security, Variety and Working Conditions.

back to top

Work Styles

  • Attention to Detail — Job requires being careful about detail and thorough in completing work tasks.
  • Dependability — Job requires being reliable, responsible, and dependable, and fulfilling obligations.
  • Independence — Job requires developing one's own ways of doing things, guiding oneself with little or no supervision, and depending on oneself to get things done.
  • Initiative — Job requires a willingness to take on responsibilities and challenges.
  • Integrity — Job requires being honest and ethical.
  • Persistence — Job requires persistence in the face of obstacles.
  • Cooperation — Job requires being pleasant with others on the job and displaying a good-natured, cooperative attitude.
  • Concern for Others — Job requires being sensitive to others' needs and feelings and being understanding and helpful on the job.
  • Adaptability/Flexibility — Job requires being open to change (positive or negative) and to considerable variety in the workplace.
  • Analytical Thinking — Job requires analyzing information and using logic to address work-related issues and problems.
  • Achievement/Effort — Job requires establishing and maintaining personally challenging achievement goals and exerting effort toward mastering tasks.
  • Self-Control — Job requires maintaining composure, keeping emotions in check, controlling anger, and avoiding aggressive behavior, even in very difficult situations.
  • Innovation — Job requires creativity and alternative thinking to develop new ideas for and answers to work-related problems.
  • Leadership — Job requires a willingness to lead, take charge, and offer opinions and direction.
  • Stress Tolerance — Job requires accepting criticism and dealing calmly and effectively with high-stress situations.

back to top

Workforce Characteristics

Wages & Employment Trends

Median wages (2022)
$23.21 hourly, $48,280 annual
State wages
Local wages
Employment (2022)
29,300 employees
Projected growth (2022-2032)
Faster than average (5% to 8%)
Projected job openings (2022-2032)
3,100
State trends
Top industries (2022)

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics 2022 wage data external site and 2022-2032 employment projections external site. “Projected growth” represents the estimated change in total employment over the projections period (2022-2032). “Projected job openings” represent openings due to growth and replacement.

back to top

Job Openings on the Web

State job openings
Local job openings

back to top

More Information

back to top

Sources of Additional Information

Disclaimer: Sources are listed to provide additional information on related jobs, specialties, and/or industries. Links to non-DOL Internet sites are provided for your convenience and do not constitute an endorsement.

back to top