The Green Crew Bible
Everything you need to land your first yacht job: the certificates and what they really cost, the four departments, visas, where to live while you look, every job board and agency worth your time, and how green crew actually get hired in Fort Lauderdale, Antibes and Palma.
Six steps, in this order
This is the whole on-ramp. Everything else on this page is detail under these six steps.
Get STCW Basic Safety Training
Five days, one certificate, required almost everywhere. Book it before you fly.
Get your ENG1 medical
One appointment with an approved doctor. There’s one in Fort Lauderdale.
Build a one-page yacht CV
Good photo, certificates at the top, every hands-on or hospitality job you’ve done.
Get to a hiring hub on time
Fort Lauderdale in the fall, Antibes and Palma in spring.
Put your profile everywhere
Free on ZipYacht, plus Yotspot, Meridian Go and the agencies below.
Dockwalk and say yes to daywork
Daywork turns into references, and references turn into a full-time job.
Four departments, four ways in
Yacht crew keep a private or charter yacht running and its guests looked after. Almost everyone starts as a green deckhand or a junior stew. Pick the one that matches what you already do well.
Deck
Washdowns, lines and fenders, tender driving, watersports and keeping the exterior perfect. Suits outdoorsy, practical people. Next step: bosun, then officer.
Interior
Guest service, cabins, laundry, table setting and the small details. Suits hospitality, hotel and restaurant people.
Galley
Cooking for guests and crew. Usually needs real kitchen experience or culinary training, plus a food safety certificate.
Engineering
Engines, generators, water makers and electrics. Mechanics, electricians and tradespeople have a head start here.
STCW Basic Safety Training
STCW Basic Safety Training is the baseline safety certificate for almost every paid crew job on a yacht. It is one certificate made of five modules, usually taught together over five days. Since January 1, 2026, the personal safety module also covers harassment and bullying.
| Module | What it covers |
|---|---|
| Personal Survival Techniques | Life rafts, lifejackets, surviving in the water |
| Fire Prevention & Fire Fighting | Extinguishers, breathing apparatus, real fires |
| Elementary First Aid | CPR and treating injuries until help arrives |
| Personal Safety & Social Responsibility | Safe working, teamwork, harassment and bullying |
| Proficiency in Security Awareness | Spotting and reporting security threats |
Valid five years. After that you only refresh the fire fighting and sea survival parts, not the whole week.
Where to do it in Fort Lauderdale
| School | Listed price, 5-day course |
|---|---|
| Maritime Professional Training (MPT) | $1,149 |
| Sea School, 2107 S Andrews Ave | $825 |
| Resolve Maritime Academy, 1600 SE 17th St | $900 |
| Seven Seas Prep Academy (online + 2 days in person) | $925 |
Prices as listed on course booking sites in November 2026. Confirm with the school and book early, because classes fill up before the boat shows.
The ENG1 medical, and the “ENG2” question
The ENG1 is the seafarer medical certificate: eyesight, hearing and general health, checked by a doctor approved by the UK Maritime & Coastguard Agency (MCA). It is valid for up to two years.
There is no second certificate to chase. ENG2 is just the form the doctor fills in during your exam, and ENG3 is the notice you get if you don’t pass or pass with restrictions. One appointment, one certificate.
There is an MCA-approved doctor on 17th Street
Dr E. Grenet at Health Medical Centers, 1489 SE 17th St, Suite 2 (Southport Shopping Centre), is on the official MCA list of approved doctors overseas (updated November 3, 2026). Other Florida doctors on the list are in Boynton Beach and Lake Park.
Certificates that help later
Food Safety Level 2
The MCA treats Level 2 as the minimum for anyone handling food on board. About three hours online, roughly €185 through crew academies, sometimes less.
RYA Powerboat Level 2
The tender driving ticket. Two days, roughly $600–800 in Fort Lauderdale. A strong signal for deckhand jobs, and some first boats pay for it.
Yachtmaster, engineering tickets
Not needed to start. Get a season or two behind you and pick a department first.
What it costs to get started
Plan on roughly $3,000–4,500 to get certified and live in Fort Lauderdale for three or four weeks while you look. The certificates are a one-time cost.
Once you’re hired, food and a bunk are covered on board. Entry pay in the 2026 salary guides runs about €2,800–3,200 a month for a junior deckhand and €3,000–3,500 for a junior stew, plus tips on charter yachts. More in our yacht crew salary guide.
Visas: the basics
This is general information, not legal advice. Visa rules change, so check the official pages and your embassy before you fly.
B-1 for private yachts, C-1/D for commercial ships
The State Department says crew on a private yacht sailing from a foreign port and cruising US waters use a B-1 visa (most people get a combined B-1/B-2). Crew on commercial vessels use the C-1/D. The application fee is $185, and a new $250 visa integrity fee may be charged at issuance at some consulates. ESTA visa waiver can’t be used to arrive by private yacht. Rules on looking for work and doing daywork while you’re in the US are strict, so read the official crewmember visa page and ask a crew agency before you plan around it.
The Schengen 90/180 rule
Most non-EU visitors can stay 90 days in any 180-day period across the Schengen area. Since April 10, 2026 the EU’s digital Entry/Exit System records your crossings instead of passport stamps, so keep your own log of dates and use the EU’s official short-stay calculator. The ETIAS travel authorisation is expected around the end of 2026. Whether you need a seaman’s book depends on your flag state and nationality, so check with the consulate.
A CV captains actually read
A yacht CV is its own format. It is not a normal resume.
- ✓One page, no exceptions. Captains and agents skim dozens a day.
- ✓A clear, recent, smiling photo. Head and shoulders, plain background, crew-style polo, on its own. No sunglasses, no group shots, no selfies.
- ✓Certificates at the top with dates, right under your name, nationality, visas and phone number.
- ✓Translate your experience. Hospitality, retail, trades, lifeguarding, watersports and sport all count. Say what you did, not just where.
- ✓Two references with phone numbers. Daywork captains count, so ask them.
- ✓Be honest about being green. Nobody expects sea time on day one. Attitude, availability and a good handshake get first jobs.
Where the jobs are, and when
Yachting runs on seasons. Turning up certified during a hiring peak beats turning up perfect at the wrong time.
October to December
Peaks around the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show, then again as boats prepare for the Caribbean winter.
March to May
The main Mediterranean hiring window, ahead of the summer charter season.
Winter
Charter yachts arrive in Antigua, St Maarten and the Bahamas from late fall.
Dockwalking and daywork
Online applications help, but most green crew still land their first job on the dock.
- ✓Go early. About 7:30 to 10 in the morning, and again from 2 to 4, when crew are on deck and the captain is around.
- ✓Carry 20 or more printed CVs plus copies of your STCW and ENG1, water and sunscreen.
- ✓Ask permission, keep it short. Ask a crew member if you can leave a CV, mention your certificates, smile, move on. Never board without being invited, and never interrupt when guests are aboard.
- ✓Say yes to daywork. Paid short jobs washing, polishing or provisioning. Turn up on time, work hard, and ask the captain for a reference.
- ✓Check the daywork boards every morning, like Denison’s Fort Lauderdale daywork board, and the Facebook groups below.
- ✓Keep your agency and online profiles current so the captain filling a slot this week can find you in seconds.
What to wear
On board, barefoot is normal. If you do wear shoes, they must be non-marking: black soles leave scuff marks on teak and gelcoat.
Crew houses in Fort Lauderdale
Crew houses rent beds and rooms by the week, with no long lease, close to the yards on 17th Street. Living in one is half your networking: housemates hear about daywork first.
| Crew house | What to know |
|---|---|
| Smart Move Crew | Rooms $595–645 a week, 1-bed apartments $675–775 a week, near SE 17th St |
| The Neptune Group | Dorm, shared and private rooms on SE 21st St; prices on request |
| Crew Ashore | Near Lauderdale Marine Center and the training schools; prices on request |
| Anchored Crew House | Running since 2015, for crew with yachting certificates |
More listings on Yacrew’s crew house page. Prices from each house’s own site, November 2026.
Every board and agency worth your time
Put your profile up everywhere. It costs nothing, and captains use different tools. A reputable crew agency never charges crew a fee: under the Maritime Labour Convention, the boat pays.
Job boards and crew platforms
ZipYacht Crew
Our own crew board. Free profile, free CV upload, apply direct to captains and management companies. No fees, ever.
Free profileYotspot
The biggest yacht crew job platform, with thousands of jobs and a course marketplace.
Free to joinMeridian Go
Fort Lauderdale crew hiring platform that grew out of Crew4Yachts. Many Dockwalk job listings point here.
Job boardYacrew
Hundreds of live yacht jobs, plus crew house and course listings.
DayworkDenison Daywork Board
Fort Lauderdale daywork postings. Check it every morning when you’re in town.
Read weeklyDockwalk
The crew magazine. Its weekly top jobs roundup and career advice are worth a read.
Crew agencies
| Agency | Base | On ZipYacht |
|---|---|---|
| Crew Unlimited (Bluewater group) | Fort Lauderdale | See listing |
| The Crew Network (Fraser) | Fort Lauderdale | See listing |
| Elite Crew International | Fort Lauderdale | See listing |
| Cotton Crews | South Florida | See listing |
| Luxury Yacht Group | Fort Lauderdale | — |
| Northrop & Johnson Crew | Fort Lauderdale | — |
| Hill Robinson | Fort Lauderdale | — |
| Viking Crew | Fort Lauderdale | — |
| Bluewater | Antibes, Palma | — |
| YPI Crew | Antibes | See listing |
| TMC Yachting | Monaco | See listing |
Facebook groups
Crew jobs and daywork get posted in Facebook groups every day. Join Palma Yacht Crew (part of a network of about 14 regional crew groups) and Antibes and Monaco Yacht Crew, and search Facebook for “Fort Lauderdale yacht crew” and “daywork” groups. Never pay anyone who contacts you through a group to “guarantee” a job.
What your first season is really like
- ✓Long days. On charter you work until the guests are happy. Between trips it calms down.
- ✓A shared cabin. Bunks, small spaces, and a team you live with. Tidy, quiet and considerate wins friends fast.
- ✓A trial period. Most first jobs start on probation. Show up early, learn fast, ask questions.
- ✓Zero tolerance for drugs. Random testing is common. One failed test ends a career.
- ✓Discretion, always. Never post guests, the owner or the boat’s location on social media without permission.
- ✓Save hard. Food and housing are covered, so most of your pay can go straight into savings.
Crew support that’s free and confidential
Yacht Crew Help runs a free, confidential 24/7 helpline for crew. The Professional Yachting Association (PYA) and the Nautilus International union back crew on training, contracts and welfare.
Certificates sorted. Now get in front of captains.
Build your free ZipYacht crew profile: certificates, CV and photo in one place captains can check. Free for crew, forever.
Sources, checked November 9, 2026: US State Department crewmember visas, MCA approved doctors overseas, gov.uk seafarer medical certificates, EU Schengen calculator, Dockwalk Fort Lauderdale agencies, Dockwalk crew houses, Palma Yacht Crew dockwalking guide. Prices are listed prices and can change. Always confirm with the provider.
The Green Crew Bible is a free guide from ZipYacht, Fort Lauderdale. Read it online at zipyacht.com/green-crew-bible and create your free crew profile at zipyacht.com/join-crew. Questions: hello@zipyacht.com or 754-345-1030.