If we are honest with ourselves, we all have gaps in our knowledge and execution of time-honored safe boating practices. If you have taken America’s Boating Course, why not fill those gaps by taking the Boat Handling course?
A knowledge of Rules of the Road is critical for safe boating.
Boat Handling is an Advanced Grade course offered by the United States Power Squadrons®. It is the replacement for the recently retired Seamanship course and an immediate follow-on to America’s Boating Course. Boat Handling is composed of six modules, all of which have a bearing on safe boating, as well as damage-free boating.
The course can be presented by the Lake Hartwell Boating Club in a classroom setting if there is enough interest. Otherwise, an online, self-study version is available, consisting of a comprehensive, 250-page, PDF Student Guide and six fully narrated online modules which present like classroom PowerPoint presentations but give the student total control of the pace and sequence of the slides.
The modules can be subscribed to and studied individually or as a complete course. The complete course includes an optional online test, which covers material contained in both the Student Guide and the six online modules. Members who take this online course and pass the online exam will get credit for Boat Handling the same as if they had taken the course in a classroom setting.
Students receive a comprehensive, 250-page, PDF Student Guide.
The six modules in Boat Handling are:
- Rules of the Road: A Practical Approach. What to do when you share the water with other boats, how to recognize and signal intentions, lights and shapes, and sound and light signals and how to avoid collision.
- Confidence in Docking and Undocking: Slow-Speed Maneuvering. Reducing anxiety, maintaining control of your boat at slow speed in close proximity to other boats and fixed objects.
- Boating with Confidence: Handling Your Boat Under Way. Trimming your boat for control and efficiency; operating on plane; handling seas and waves; dealing with bars, rivers, rivers, and bends.
- Anchoring with Assurance: Don’t Get Carried Away. Emergencies such as loss of power, equipment breakdown or failure, or weather hazard make safe anchoring essential.
- Emergencies on Board: Preparation for Handling Common Problems. Medical emergencies, first aid, communications, taking command.
- Knots and Line Handling: Knots You Need to Know. Securing boats to docks, piers, and other boats; handling rescue and repair situations; managing running rigging; anchoring securely; towing other vessels or people; tying the 10 most useful knots, bends, and hitches.
Passing Boat Handling is a prerequisite for the Marine Navigation, which covers coastwise navigation. The Boat Handling course fee is $67.50.
