Hire a Bosun for Your Yacht

A bosun leads the deck team below officer level on a superyacht. They run exterior maintenance, tender and watersports operations, and supervise the deckhands. It is the most hands-on senior position on deck, sitting between deckhand and officer.

What a bosun does on board

• Leading the deck team on daily exterior maintenance
• Tender, jet-ski and watersports operations
• Line handling, anchoring and mooring
• Training and supervising junior deck crew

What separates a good bosun from a qualified one

Watch how they handle a tender in a swell with guests aboard, and ask what happened to the last junior crew they trained. A bosun who develops deckhands well reduces turnover across the whole department. One who does everything themselves because it is quicker will leave you with a weak deck team.

Certification and experience

Every bosun we put forward has current certification checked before you see them, and references taken directly with previous captains or owners rather than read off a page.

• STCW
• ENG1
• Powerboat Level 2
• PWC
• Yachtmaster (desirable)

Typical experience sought: 3+ years · Reports to Chief Officer · Manages Deckhand

The mistake we see most often

Promoting the best deckhand rather than the best trainer. The strongest pair of hands on deck is not automatically the person who can run the others, and the promotion often costs you a good deckhand and gains you a struggling bosun.

How we find the right bosun for your boat

1. Understand the yacht. Programme, crew structure and owner style, and how the bosun will work with your chief officer.
2. Search and screen. A small number of genuine candidates, each spoken to individually, with STCW and ENG1 confirmed before you see them.
3. Reference in person. Direct conversations with previous chief officers and captains, not a form sent by email.
4. Introduce and follow through. Introductions, then contact once they are aboard — the first eight weeks are when a placement either settles or does not.