What a captain reads first
A captain or bosun opens a deckhand CV looking for four things, in roughly this order, and they find them or they stop reading.
- The photo and the personal block. Age, nationality, visas, smoker, tattoos, where you are right now and when you can start. "Antibes, available immediately" is a different candidate from "Dublin, available in six weeks", because the boat is leaving on Thursday.
- STCW and ENG1, in date. Without both you cannot legally sign on, so they sit above everything else with expiry dates.
- Tender and toy competence. Captains say this is under-represented on deckhand CVs relative to how much they want it. If you drive a tender, say which one. If you run the seabobs and jet skis for guests, say so.
- Sea time and staying power. Two full seasons on named boats, dates in month and year, reason for leaving in one clause. Daywork counts, labelled as daywork.
The sample above is a fictional second-season deckhand. Notice what is not there: no "hardworking", no "team player", no "passionate about yachting". Every line is a thing he did, with a number or a name attached.
The certificates this role needs
The first two are non-negotiable. The rest are what separates a green CV from one that gets a callback.
- STCW Basic Safety Training and ENG1 medical with issue and expiry dates
- PDSD (Proficiency in Designated Security Duties), usually taken with STCW
- RYA Powerboat Level 2 and the PWC (jet ski) certificate, because you will be driving both
- VHF SRC radio licence
- PADI Open Water upwards; Divemaster is a real advantage on charter boats
- RYA Yachtmaster Coastal or Offshore is increasingly asked for on advertised deckhand roles and is the ticket to aim at once you are earning
Drop Powerboat Level 1 once you hold Level 2. Drop Day Skipper once you hold Yachtmaster. List highest first, and never list anything expired.
How to write the experience lines
Each boat is one line the reader can parse in a second: role, M/Y or S/Y, the vessel name in bold, length in metres, private or charter, Month Year dates. Then two or three fragments with numbers. No sentences, no adjectives, no trailing "ensuring the highest standards".
- Before: Responsible for maintaining the exterior of the yacht to a high standard and assisting guests with water sports activities.
- After: Washdowns, chamois and stainless on a 55m charter boat, 9 charters this season. Tender driver, 7m Williams jet tender: guest transfers, beach set-up, toys.
- Before: Worked as a surf instructor where I developed excellent communication and safety skills.
- After: Taught groups of up to 8 beginners in Atlantic surf. Beach lifeguard, RNLI trained. Rigid inflatable rescue boat driver.
The land jobs stay on a deckhand CV. Joinery, painting, lifeguarding, boatbuilding and outdoor trades map straight onto exterior maintenance and are valued for junior deck roles. Write them in the same voice as the yacht lines.
If you are working from a land CV, upload the CV you have and it is rebuilt in this format: vessel lines, certificates with dates, the personal block, two pages.
Three mistakes that bin this CV
- A holiday photo, or no photo. In one captains' survey nearly all wanted a photo and a noticeable share rejected a CV without a good one. Head and shoulders, plain white polo, marina behind you, taken by someone else.
- Years-only dates and unexplained gaps. "2024 to 2025" reads as hiding something. May 2025 to Oct 2025, seasonal, "left when the boat went into winter refit" reads as a season.
- Duties instead of evidence. "Responsible for deck maintenance" says nothing. "Teak, varnish touch-ups and painting during a 3-week yard period in La Ciotat" is something a bosun can picture and a referee can confirm.
For the full list of what gets a deck CV binned before anyone reads it, see how to write a deckhand CV that gets you daywork.
Where this role goes next
Deckhand to Lead Deckhand to Bosun is the standard ladder, usually over three to five seasons, with Yachtmaster Offshore as the gate to the officer track (OOW 3000gt, then Chief Officer). Diving, watersports instruction and a drone licence widen the boats that want you. A season on a busy charter programme moves a CV faster than two quiet private seasons, because the numbers on the page are bigger.
Salary
Published crew-salary guides put junior deckhands in a wide band that starts around the low thousands of euros a month and rises with vessel size, charter tips and experience. Reported ranges vary widely; verify with an agency for the size of boat you are targeting.