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Motorboat Mechanics and Service Technicians

Repair and adjust electrical and mechanical equipment of inboard or inboard-outboard boat engines.

23,220 people do this job in the US. $57,550 a year.

now
3%

of the working time. Estimate.

Kinds of work
  • 3%
  • 0%
  • 97%
0%

Measured, from Anthropic's usage data (2025). Counts help on part of a task.

Half the desk work within reach
Already

On the chosen pace and reliability. Estimate.

Share of the working time within reach, now to 2030

0%25%50%75%100%2027202820292030NowDesk work: 3% of the time
Chosen to Ceiling: the share
DateNow
NowEnd of 2030

What each choice means: , , , , . Every pace starts from .

At this date and pace, models finish tasks up to 4.4 h long four times in five.

How far this has come

With GPT-4, measured in March 2023, 0% of this job's working time was within reach at . With Claude 3.7 Sonnet, measured in February 2025, 0%. With Claude Mythos Preview (early), measured in April 2026, 3%. Today's estimate: 3%.

0%5%10%2023202420252026GPT-4, March 2023: 0% within reachGPT-4 Turbo (Nov 2023), November 2023: 0% within reachGPT-4o, May 2024: 0% within reachClaude 3.5 Sonnet (June 2024), June 2024: 0% within reacho1-preview, September 2024: 0% within reachClaude 3.5 Sonnet (Oct 2024), October 2024: 0% within reacho1, December 2024: 0% within reachClaude 3.7 Sonnet, February 2025: 0% within reacho3, April 2025: 1% within reachGPT-5, August 2025: 2% within reachGemini 3 Pro, November 2025: 2% within reachClaude Opus 4.5, November 2025: 2% within reachGPT-5.2, December 2025: 3% within reachClaude Opus 4.6, February 2026: 3% within reachClaude Mythos Preview (early), April 2026: 3% within reachToday (estimate), September 2026: 3% within reach
Each step is a new best model measured by METR, four in five; the dashed end is today's estimate. Point at a dot for the model.

A backcast: today's task data with the best model METR had measured by each date. It shows how fast the models have moved, not what anyone forecast at the time.

The tasks

Sorted by . 13 tasks from .

TaskKind
Replace parts, such as gears, magneto points, piston rings, or spark plugs, and reassemble engines.Done daily by most who do it. 23%3.3 h1.3 h to 6.7 hStays with people
Repair engine mechanical equipment, such as power tilts, bilge pumps, or power take-offs.Done more than weekly by most who do it. 13%2.5 h50 min to 4.2 hStays with people
Disassemble and inspect motors to locate defective parts, using mechanic's hand tools and gauges.Done more than yearly by most who do it. 13%2.5 h50 min to 6.7 hStays with people
Mount motors to boats, and operate boats at various speeds on waterways to conduct operational tests.Done more than monthly by most who do it. 8%1.7 h50 min to 3.3 hStays with people
Perform routine engine maintenance on motorboats, such as changing oil and filters.Done daily by most who do it. 7%50 min25 min to 1.7 hStays with people
Adjust carburetor mixtures, electrical point settings, or timing while motors are running in water-filled test tanks.Done more than monthly by most who do it. 7%1.3 h25 min to 2.5 hStays with people
Inspect and repair or adjust propellers or propeller shafts.Done more than monthly by most who do it. 6%1.7 h38 min to 3.3 hStays with people
Repair or rework parts, using machine tools such as lathes, mills, drills, or grinders.Done more than monthly by most who do it. 6%2.5 h50 min to 5 hStays with people
Adjust generators and replace faulty wiring, using hand tools and soldering irons.Done more than monthly by most who do it. 5%1.7 h38 min to 3.3 hStays with people
Set starter locks and align and repair steering or throttle controls, using gauges, screwdrivers, or wrenches.Done more than monthly by most who do it. 5%1.1 h25 min to 2.1 hStays with people
Document inspection and test results and work performed or to be performed.Done daily by most who do it. 3%21 min8 min to 50 min100%Half by now
Start motors and monitor performance for signs of malfunctioning, such as smoke, excessive vibration, or misfiring.Done daily by most who do it. 2%17 min8 min to 38 minStays with people

Within reach, per task: the share of the task's time whose instances are short enough for a model to finish at the chosen date, pace and reliability. Half by: the date half of that time comes within reach.

Jobs that share skills with this one

From O*NET's related occupations. Within reach now and by the end of 2028, long-run pace, four in five.

Where this job works

The industry groups that employ the most of it (BLS, May 2025).

Where the most of these jobs are

The metro areas with the most people in it (BLS, May 2025).