Marine Technician question?

There’s a lot of differences between Automotive and Marine work. Cars are mostly metal and only a hand full of cars that use fiberglass or carbon fiber. Don’t know where you are, but you’ll need to contact schools like UTI (Universal Technical Institute), WyoTech, or Marine Mechanics Institute for schools closer to your home. You don’t have to have diesel, but it is a nice addition to the gasoline courses they offer.

if you consider a boat to be something that can go on a trailer and be pulled by most any full size truck, you wont find very many that are diesel powered.

while i have seen some boatd with optional diesel engines, i have only actually seen diesels in full out half million dollar yachts and in ships.

auto body will certainly help teach your hand and eyes to leave a flawless repair behind.
but you will not be working with metal bodies often, and its not paint. its gelcoat.
so very little overlap.

basic engine performance. basic auto maintence. those transfer over well.

best bet is to get some applications out and just start working as a marine tech. marine companies do have their own special certifactions, your employer can send out yearly for classes and to get certified, if he/she feels you are worthy of it.
summer is the time to get started on boats. it when poeple go fishing and skiing the most, its the busy season.
winter is generally slower. depends in part exactly what type of vessels you work on. cabin cruisers are more likely to get winter use then ski boats.
winter is when classes are done.

i will tell you this much, if you hope to make big bucks turning wrenches on engines, dont bother with boats. cars, semis, planes or big ships, but not boats.