Boating Courses Calendar

Basic Navigation and Boat Handling

This course is available in physical classrooms, virtual classrooms, and online. It focuses on improving your knowledge, understanding, and skills in navigation and boat safety topics. The classroom and virtual classroom versions of the course cover the fundamentals of traditional navigation – understanding global coordinates, using a magnetic compass, and planning a cruise using paper charts. Boat handling topics include operator and crew responsibilities, managing onboard emergencies, collision avoidance rules, anchoring techniques, docking/undocking techniques, and understanding marine weather forecasts, and tide/current tables. Note: Some classroom offerings provide access to the online version of the course. Please read the detailed description of the course offered by each Squadron. The online and virtual classroom versions of the course, cover all the topics offered in the classroom version plus navigation with electronic devices, such as phones, tablets, and chart plotters. All versions of the course include quizzes to check your understanding of the topics, navigation practice exercises, course notes, and a final exam, that if you complete with 75% or higher, may lower your boat insurance.

Available in-person & Online
Suggested Pre-requisities

Basic Navigation

Learn the fundamentals of traditional and electronic navigation, including navigation using paper charts and electronic devices (e.g., a chart plotter and app-based software). Each section includes course notes, which can be downloaded electronically or printed in booklet format, instructional videos, skill-testing quizzes and practice exercises, and links to supplementary resources, including web-based links and videos related to each topic. Participants must complete the cruise exercises with a chartplotter or tablet/phone navigation app. The course provides options for purchasing apps starting at $14.00. The course, which can be taken online/virtual or in a classroom (where available), is 8 to 9 weeks in length (at the discretion of the instructor team). A final exam is also available.

Available Online
Suggested Pre-requisities

Boat Handling

Learn the fundamentals of boat handling and safety techniques, including skipper and crew responsibilities, preparing for departure, handling emergencies, anchoring techniques, lines and knots, docking and undocking techniques, marine weather, collision avoidance rules, and tide and current tables. Each section includes course notes, which can be downloaded electronically or printed in booklet format, instructional videos, skill-testing quizzes and practice exercises, and links to supplementary resources, including web-based links and videos related to each topic. The course, which can be taken online/virtual or in a classroom (where available), is 7 to 8 weeks in length (at the discretion of the instructor team). A final exam is also available.

Available Online
Suggested Pre-requisities

Seamanship and Coastal Navigation (B4)

This course expands your boat-handling and navigation skills. It provides the knowledge, skills, and confidence required for longer coastal voyages on the ocean or larger lakes. The course covers various topics, including managing emergencies, handling challenging weather and environmental conditions, avoiding collisions in unusual circumstances, and using alternative methods for navigation if/when electronic systems fail. The course is instructor-led and offered either online or in-person.

Available in-person & Online
Suggested Pre-requisities

Near Shore Marine Navigation Level 2 (B5)

Knowledge of the basics of navigation and planning cruises on a maritime chart is just the start. Expand that knowledge by using a variety of electronic devices to chart your course and enable you to plan your course under tidal, current and windy conditions. By learning more about dead reckoning, fixes and running fixes you will have attained a high degree of proficiency in navigating through coastal waters. In this course we cover GPS, Chart Plotters, Radar, SONAR, Autopilots and more. Note: this course was formerly called Advanced Piloting.

Available in-person
Suggested Pre-requisities

Offshore Navigation for the Recreational Boater

Covers the planning and execution of offshore voyaging, including routine and emergency procedures. Electronic hardware, such as chart plotters, radar, communications, AIS, etc are covered along with software programs for planning and conducting voyages on the open ocean. The course can be completed in 10 to 12 weeks and includes a practice cruise which is completed in stages as the course progresses. An open-book exam is written over a two-week period, which includes a continuation of the cruise which began during the course.

Suggested Pre-requisities

Celestial Navigation

Covers the use of a sextant and timepiece to take sights on the sun, moon planets and stars and to plot lines of position using two methods of sight reduction, the Law of Cosines and Sight Reduction Tables. The theory behind celestial navigation is extensively covered, as is the navigator’s daily routine for maintaining the ship’s position. The course will normally take 10 to 12 weeks to complete. Credit for course completion is contingent upon submission of a Sight Folder containing a record of all sights taken, including reduction and plotting, as specified in the course documents.

Available in-person & Online
Suggested Pre-requisities

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