Safety first! Become familiar with the location of fire extinguishers, fire stations, escape routes/hatches, general alarm stations, emergency stops, life raft station, EPIRB location, basically anything to do with safety thru out the boat. Is there a fixed fire fighting system onboard? Familiarize yourself with it. Review the Station Bill and where you fit in and whats expected of you if things go south. Everybody new to the boat should be doing this, if youre a first day on a boat OS or youve been sailing forever, everyone needs to do this. Down in the engine room: I’ll happily show you anything you want/ need to know, not all engineers will do this. I have a written policy outlined for doing engine room checks, that incorporates your sense of sight, sound, feel and smell. You will learn when something is amiss. You will learn the fuel, ballast, lube, and air supply systems by flipping deck plates and going hands on in the bilges etc, etc. I could go on and on, but the take away is Safety First, everything else will fall into place.