Cool Job : City Smart / How to thrive in the urban environment of Southern California

John Dye, 45

Job: Repairs wooden boats

Expertise: Interned for 10 years at boatyards

Locale: Channel Islands Marina in Oxnard

Hours: 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m., six days a week

Pay: About $50,000 a year

What I do: “Anything structural on a wooden boat. Restoration, renovation, building cabinets.

“I just kind of fell into working at a boatyard. I’ve always been involved in sailing boats. I’ve always owned them and I’m always in them. I got into sailing with my dad when I was 8 years old.

“It’s peaceful work. You are creating and shaping. It’s really a lost art. I use all types of hand tools. Saws, wooden mallets, a caulking iron. I have a lot of tools that are older than I am.

“If the boat has been in a collision, I replace planks. I dress boats up a bit. Sometimes if a person has an older boat with ‘50s-style Formica counters, I’ll renovate it. I also build custom tables and seats.

“I can’t imagine what I would be doing if I wasn’t working on boats, but it would probably still involve the water. I’d probably be sailing in the merchant marine.

“It’s not a lot of money, but it’s good work. That’s all my dad ever stressed: ‘Don’t worry about how much money you make, just make sure you enjoy it, because you are going to be doing it for a long time.”

Why I do it: “I find it rewarding to build things that work.”