Al Bruce

Al Bruce received his Coast Guard Captains license shortly after turning 18 in 1963 and then served with the Coast Guard for 28 years in both active and reserve roles. He was promoted to Chief Machinery Technician (MK) and retired as a Lt. Commander.

In addition to his experience in the Coast Guard, Al was a Captain for Holland America Line for 27 years and has been involved with the Sea Scouts for nearly 60 years -- all of which have contributed to a unique and fulfilling maritime life.

He founded his current marine electrical business in 1985 after spending 15 years in the electrical industry designing, building, and installing electrical switchboards, control panels, and transformers.

Al has been a part-time instructor at Seattle Central's Maritime Academy for the last 25 years, focusing on basic electrical theory, applied electrical systems, marine propulsion, and diesel engines.

He has been involved with the Boy Scouts in 1953 and continues to be actively involved as a Sea Scout Skipper and Regional Commodore. Al is also an Elder in his church.

Al's Teaching Style & Approach

Class materials are presented in the form of hand-outs, videos, pamphlets, and textbooks. He uses a lot of question-based examples.

Al uses many different training devices and tools to illustrate procedures and techniques. He explains, "hands-on experiences are instrumental to understanding fundamentals."

His classes have an active exchange of questions and experience examples drive most of the non-technical discussions. He says, "I look to find areas of common interest within the class structure."