SeattleWeekly.com is reporting:
The only thing worse than trying to find a job is trying to find a job during a recession. To that end, we present Wanted: A weekly look at the weirdest ways to pay the bills in Twenty-Ten.
The Job Duck Captain for Ride the Ducks of Seattle
The Responsibilities As Captain, it’s your job to drive the WWII amphibious vehicle on land and sea, entertain your passengers and do it all without crashing or drowning.
The Qualifications A U.S. Coast Guard Master’s license is preferred. A driver’s license, boating experience and ability to keep 30 Boeing engineers laughing while on a company-mandated team-building exercise is required.
The Pay $16 an hour, plus tips.
The complete SeattleWeekly.com post by Caleb Hannan is here.
(Ed. note: ok the pay isn’t great, but it beats working at McDonalds)
——————
3/11/10 Update – Capt. Charlie Meyers sends along the follow incidents related to amphibious craft:
Miss Majestic sinking incident here.
Miss Duck sinking incident here.
??? RR – A U.S. Coast Guard Master’s license is preferred?????? It’s not REQUIRED? -
It is not possible to keep 30 Boeing engineers laughing.
Charlie my thoughts exactly!!! If any fool can go out there and captain for money what am I doing here unemployed.
Agreed, that beast is an Inspected Vessel
30 Boeing engineers laughing? . . . knock-knock jokes, never fails
A USCG Captains license is required as is a Commercial Drivers License. The Ducks are huge and require lots of training. And yes they are inspected yearly by the Coast Guard.
The fact they are CG inspected yearly, (as was the Miss Majestic) is not the issue – the real question is, Did the USCG in fact put in to place the NTSB “recommendations” which included, in part the following: ” – - -As a result the Safety Board has recommended that the U.S. Coast Guard along with the governors of New York and Wisconsin require that amphibious passenger vehicles provide reserve buoyancy through watertight compartmentalization, built-in flotation or other measures that will keep the vessel afloat and upright in the event of flooding.
Until reserve buoyancy retrofits are completed the Board recommended immediate actions to mitigate the danger for vessels without adequate reserve buoyancy including the removal of canopies during water operations or installation of a Coast Guard approved canopy that would not restrict the horizontal or vertical escape of passengers; closing unnecessary access plugs; reduction of through-hull penetrations to the minimum size needed for operation; and installation of independently powered electric bilge pumps.
The Board made an additional recommendation that on vehicles without adequate reserve buoyancy, where canopies have been removed, the Coast Guard require passengers to wear life jackets. The Board does not recommend that passengers wear life jackets if the canopy has not been removed. – - – -”
The Miss Majestic was an original DUKW, built in 1944, there are many “new built” DUKW’s (DUCKS), which resemble the originals, but with more safety features, etc., (it appears the one in the above photo may be a more modern one), but you will note the “canopy”. Bottom line is the NTSB “recommended” the following to the USCG – “—-(the) Board’s report asks the Coast Guard to develop inspection guidance and standards for all types of amphibious passenger vehicles similar to the Navigation and Vessel Inspection Circular 1-01 that currently applies only to DUKWs. — -” – just a question?