Do The Yachts On Below Deck Have An Engineer?

Below Deck Sailing Yacht Season 2’s chief engineer, Colin MacRae, shares his experience on the Parsifal III yacht. Behind the scenes, a skilled crew ensures a seamless voyage for guests. Captain Sandy from Below Deck Mediterranean shares that the chief engineer and first mate remain on the yacht during filming. Other positions may exist outside of these departments, such as activities director and helicopter pilot mechanic.

The show, developed as the second spin-off of Below Deck, premiered on Bravo on February 3, 2020. The filming schedule is hectic, with nine charters in eight weeks. The show follows a yacht crew and its captain as they sail open waters while providing a memorable experience for charter guests. Yachts under 35 meters (115 feet) do not staff a full-time engineer but add duties to the deck team. DeckEngineer yachts between 35 and 50 meters (115 – 165 feet) have engineers and 1st officers on board for insurance purposes.

The only crew members allowed to remain the same are the captain, first engineer, and first officer of the particular vessel. Every yacht needs an engineer, responsible for ensuring all ship mechanics are operating properly. Colin MacRae, a long-time sailor, worked as a chief engineer on superyachts for over eight years before joining the show. The series has several spin-offs, including Below Deck Mediterranean, Below Deck Sailing Yacht, Below Deck Down Under, and Below Deck Adventure. BOAT explores the impact of charter yacht series Below Deck and its spinoffs on the superyacht industry, with owners, brokers, and captains providing insights.


📹 The REAL Below Deck! Super Yachts Explained: Crew, Ops, Life Onboard

Big thanks to @theyachtstew and @akatstaleblog for the interior content.


Do the yachts on below deck have an engineer season 4
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Are there engineers on Below Deck?

10. Respect the crew who don’t feature. Whilst it may look like all the yacht’s crew are included in the show, the boat’s first officer and engineer are not generally seen on screen. They stay on board to ensure the smooth running of day-to-day operations, but don’t typically get involved with any of the charter drama.

11. Line up for every guest arrival and departure. It’s important that each crew member is present, in their ‘whites’ (white uniform), for welcomes and send-offs. They must be present when the tip is handed over at the conclusion of the charter.

12. Sobrietywhile at sea. One of the golden rules is that crew members must be sober when the yacht is not tied to the dock. This is outlined in maritime law and expected of all individuals.

Do the yachts on below deck have an engineer season 3
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What is the Below Deck scandal?

Back in August, Below Deck Down Under was lauded for its handling of sexual misconduct on screen when Captain Jason Chambers fired Luke Jones, bosun of the deck crew, after he — while naked — attempted to get into bed with junior stewardess Margot Sisson without her consent.

The crew returned after a night of drinking in Australia where the season was filming and Luke tried to climb into bed with Margot even though she was asleep. In a rare move on Below Deck and in reality television in general, a producer appeared in front of the camera and broke the “fourth wall” to tell Luke to leave. Luke then got aggressive and tried to slam and lock the door shut before he was removed.

When chief stewardess Aesha Scott informed Captain Jason about the incident, he fired Luke. Stewardess Laura Bileskalne was also fired after she criticized the decision to get rid of Luke, blaming Margot and saying, “He’s a sexual person, I’m a sexual person, you’re a sexual person. We were joking, that thing was probably like, ‘Hahaha, we all drunk.'”

Do the yachts on below deck have an engineer season 2
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Do the guests actually pay the tip on Below Deck?

2. Guests pay tips. Similar to the charter fee, guests also fund the tip that gets handed to the crew at the end of each charter. It’s customary for this to be around 15-20% of the full amount for a week-long charter on the yacht in question (not the discounted rate), though some guests choose to pay less.

3. Bravo covers the airfare of guests. Given that the cost of using/hiring each superyacht is covered by the charter guests themselves, Bravo factors their airfare into its production budget. This means the company pays for each guest’s flights, making the charter even more attractive. A nice perk.

4. Guests can’t play their own music. Guests that have enjoyed Below Deck charters previously have revealed that they were not able to play their own music on board. This might seem odd, but there’s actually a very simple explanation for it.

Do the yachts on below deck have an engineer reddit
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Do yachts have engineers?

1stEngineerSome of the very largest yachts afloat employ a 1stEngineer similar to those employed on Cruise Ships.If a 1stEngineer is employed, they will take operational (day-to-day) command of the engineering team, supervising engineering tasks and allocating work as appropriate. This allows the Chief Engineer to concentrate on the large amount of paperwork and business management necessary on board a very large yacht.

2ndEngineerThe more common understudy to the Chief Engineer, the 2ndEngineer often has responsibility for Engine Room maintenance and will take on many of the more challenging maintenance and repair tasks as required.The 2ndEngineer acts as a supervisor for more junior crew, and in some cases will be able to deputise for the Chief Engineer if required.

3rdEngineerThe 3rdEngineer will have specific duties, which may include maintenance of the ship’s lifeboats, tenders, jet skis, toys and deck equipment like winches, davits and hatchways.Very often 3rds are responsible for interior maintenance.Again, areas of responsibility vary from yacht to yacht. 3rdEngineers are often focused on gaining the requisite experience and ‘seatime’ to progress to 2ndEngineer.

Below Deck engineer salary
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Is Colin from Below Deck actually an engineer?

Colin was born and raised in New Zealand but moved to Panama, where he lives on his catamaran. According to his BravoTV bio, Colin is a long-time sailor who worked as a chief engineer on superyachts for over eight years before joining the reality TV series. Before joining Below Deck Sailing Yacht, he lived in Panama with his girlfriend, Martina. His girlfriend was someone he leaned on during his time on the show, and he would often call her for emotional support. She also contacted him about his dog Marty, who had to be put down after falling ill. Unfortunately, after leaving Parsifal, Colin announced he and Martina had split.

Before Colin joined the Bravo series, he was helping boat owners repair damage from hurricanes. He also shows the whole process on his YouTube channel, Sailing Parlay Revival. The engineer has uploaded several videos for his 139,000 subscribers, giving them an inside look into how he repairs the boats from the ground up. Colin also has a new furry friend, Lindo. He found him in a small town in Panama and decided that his other dog McFly needed a little brother. While he hasn’t been active on Instagram since 2022, he can be found under the username @parlayrevival_colin.

Colin is still one of the most beloved cast members on Below Deck Sailing Yacht despite his messy love triangle involving Daisy and Gary. His love for his former girlfriend and the passing of his dog made him very relatable. While there was gossip he and Daisy had split, there are now rumors of a reconciliation between Daisy and Colin. Only time will tell.

Do the engineers on Below Deck get tips
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How much do engineers make on Below Deck?

Starting out as a 3rd or 4th engineer, you can expect to earn anywhere from $3,000 to $6,500 per month, and as you move up the ranks to 2nd engineer this increases from $5,000 to $8,000.

In the top position, a chief yacht engineer salary can be anywhere between $8,500 to $13,500, depending on the size of the yacht. It’s worth noting that those on charter and rotation yachts typically earn around $2,000 less than those on private vessels, so if you want the big bucks then privateyacht jobs are the way forward!

Conversely, electrical engineers working on large yachts benefit the most from rotational work, typically earning between $5,000 and $8,500 per month.

There is no average yacht engineer salary, with roles varying so much from yacht to yacht, however these figures are a guideline for what you can expect to earn.

Why is the first officer not on Below Deck
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How scripted is Below Deck?

Final Verdict. All in all, while Below Deck is an entertaining reality show, and despite the fact that it’s unscripted, we believe it’s not an accurate representation of what life working on a superyacht is like.

Ultimately, as with any other TV show, the production team will be mainly interested in increasing viewership.

So it goes without saying that the scenes are bound to be more dramatic and more exaggerated than they would be like if they were not being filmed.

Hence, even though the crew members are real yachties, they will inadvertently be playing up to the cameras.

Where does the camera crew stay on Below Deck
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Do the engineers get tipped on Below Deck?

One of the most intriguing aspects of the Below Deck franchise are the tips, which vary greatly depending on the charter. Tipping is crucial on Below Deck charters, and crew members can expect to receive anywhere in between $1,000 and $2,000 from each guest on average. Typically, the primary charter guest gives the Captain an envelope with tips for the entire crew, which are then split up among them evenly.

While the Below Deck crews are almost always hard at work, they have put more effort into certain charters than others. Their hard work was reflected in their tips, and the guests really appreciated them going above and beyond. During the following four charters, the Below Deck team really earned the generous tips they received, which was great to see!

One of the highest-tipping charter guests on Below Deck Sailing Yacht was primary guest Jim Blumenthal, whom viewers first met during Season 3. After his Season 3 charter, Jim tipped an astonishing $21,000, which resulted in each crew member pocketing $2,530.

How do they film Below Deck
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Has anyone left no tip on Below Deck?

  • The Below Deck crew usually receives a generous tip of around $1,500 per charter, making it a significant part of their expected salary.
  • While most guests on the show are generous with their tips, there was one instance where the crew received no tip at all.
  • In their very first charter back in 2013, the crew had to report illegal drug use by the guests, resulting in their removal from the yacht and no tip. However, Captain Lee prioritized following maritime law over the potential tip.

The Below Deck crew usually received a large tip from guests aboard the yacht, but one time, they got nothing. The show’s cast members work extremely hard to earn tips, and each crew member usually receives a tip of roughly $1,500 per charter. Therefore, tips are a huge part of the crew’s expected salary.

The nautical-themed show Below Deck is one of Bravo’s biggest crowd-pleasers, as it’s entertaining to watch behind-the-scenes drama on an upscale yacht. There’s a Downton-Abbey-style “upstairs-downstairs” drama of romances, demanding guests, and angry chefs. While the show’s guests are generally generous, one primary guest had issues and refused to give the Below Deck crew a single cent.

What does two shots mean on Below Deck
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Does Captain Sandy get a tip?

But the mega bucks go to the top dogs, Captain Lee and Captain Sandy, who on a 185-foot superyacht make between $150-$210,000 a year.

Then you have to add on the tips, reportedly average at around $15,000 per person for about six weeks of work.

It’s also believed the crew receives a small extra fee for being part of the TV show – and the food and drink they consume on the boat is all paid for.

The crew are able to save up a lot of cash while they’re away, as they don’t have to pay any bills or tax.

Are Colin and Daisy still together?
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Are Colin and Daisy still together?

Daisy Kelliher’s Dating Life Today. Following her third season aboardParsifal III,Daisy explored a relationship with Colin for several months. Their romance concluded at the end of 2022, and the chief engineer iscurrently in a relationship with a woman named Britt, who works with Colin on his boat, Parlay.

Though Colin has moved on, Daisy hasn’t been dating.

“I haven’t,” she responded when a fan asked if she had dated anyone since Colin. “It takes me a very long time to get over relationships, even if it’s not something I was, like, fully invested in or anything like that.”

The chief stew has been focusing on her relationship with herself, and she’s been taking some time to heal after breaking up with Colin.

“It takes me a bit of time to kind of open up my heart to someone, and then when it doesn’t work out, I kind of close it back up pretty tightly,” she added. “So I have not dated anyone. Yeah, I’m kind of just concentrating on myself.”

How much do yacht engineers make?
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How much do yacht engineers make?

2 days ago As of Jul 22, 2024, the average annual pay for a Yacht Engineer in the United States is $95,796 a year.


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Do The Yachts On Below Deck Have An Engineer
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Debbie Green

I am a school teacher who was bitten by the travel bug many decades ago. My husband Billy has come along for the ride and now shares my dream to travel the world with our three children.The kids Pollyanna, 13, Cooper, 12 and Tommy 9 are in love with plane trips (thank goodness) and discovering new places, experiences and of course Disneyland.

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