By Jaclyn Vincenti ABYC Marketing Coordinator

The Marine technician role is a hard job that requires technical knowledge, stamina, and the ability to problem solve. Being a female marine technician presents some additional challenges, from not having consistent access to a women’ s restroom to being discredited because of gender. Has the situation improved over the last decade?

Cindy Tufts, ABYC Master Technician at Town and Country Marine Services in the Virgin Islands, switched careers to join the marine industry after her youngest child started high school.“ I was suffering burnout as a massage therapist when I started at IYRS School of Technology & Trades( Newport, Rhode Island) to become a marine technician, so I was excited to start my new career and take the first step in my new life dream,” said Tufts. She achieved her first ABYC Certification in 2012 and became an ABYC Master Technician in 2013.

However, even after graduating from IYRS with three ABYC certifications, and“ hitting the job search with confidence and enthusiasm,” Tufts experienced rejection after rejection, usually with the implication that it was because of her gender. The tipping point of this was her final technician interview.

“ After what seemed like a positive conversation, he stood up, handed me my resume back and told me to come back after I had experience," she said. " And he knew a woman was capable of doing the job. [ If I were a male technician ], I believe he would have taken the chance and given me an opportunity to gain experience with his company.” She eventually accepted a job cleaning boats with the promise of some technician work but had to continue to advocate for herself with the lead mechanic.

Now, more than a decade into her career, she remains confident in her abilities as a marine technician and has been working successfully as a tech for many years. She’ s especially proud of her attention to detail, a quality that has repeatedly led to her being trusted with important projects. But her experience hasn’ t been perfect.

“ Sadly, I have encountered extremely few other female techs,” Tufts said.“ I have been facing the belief that I don’ t belong in this profession for over 12 years now. In some ways, the situation has improved, yet the archaic beliefs still affect me.”

Julia Briggs, a ABYC Master Marine Technician at Irish Boat Shop in Michigan, started her marine tech journey a few years after Tufts. She worked in other marine career jobs before officially starting technician work around

It will always be challenging, but the types of challenges change as you learn and gain experience.

CINDY TUFTS ABYC Master Technician

2018. While her interview experiences were primarily skills-based with no tangible gender bias, she has experienced shock from both clients and fellow technicians when she doesn’ t fit their mental image of a marine technician.

She remembers back to her first few weeks at Irish Boat Shop:“[ The other technicians ] definitely didn’ t treat me any differently when I first started, but there were comments after a couple weeks like,‘ we were so worried that you were going to be just useless because you’ re a girl.’”

26 June 2025 www. boatingindustry. com