Coastguard Boatmaster and Dayskipper courses are a good start but...

If you are looking at doing the Coastguard courses such as the Boatmaster or Dayskipper, this is a good introduction to boating, but you really also need a practical component to make you safe.

The Dayskipper and Boatmaster courses are theory only and generally online courses so its important to understand that they need to be treated as the beginning of your boating training. You really need to get some seatime so you can understand how to implement this theory, plus learn a whole lot more.

Here at Powerboat Training we specialise in practical courses, meaning we take you out on ours or your boat. We teach you how to deal with emergencies, how to berth the boat, how to anchor and navigate safely etc. So if you are new to boating the most suitable course for you would be our RYA Powerboat Level 2 course as this is conducted aboard a vessel and will give you the skills to competently skipper a boat. The RYA Powerboat Level 1 is great for crews, whilst the RYA Intermediate and Advanced courses cover more seasoned skippers with the skills to operate a powerboat competently in adverse weather and at night.

Don’t forget however that it is essential (and a legal requirement) to have a marine VHF radio certificate when operating the VHF radio on your boat.