Catalog of All Seminars

When the weather deteriorates without warning, rest easy knowing you can handle your boat under adverse conditions. You'll learn techniques to handle your boat based on hull type, boat trim and wave types. Discover how to recover from grounding and how to dock in challenging conditions. You’ll understand what the “old timers” and professionals have learned the hard way. This seminar gets you there faster, and with confidence. Then, on the water you can visualize your actions and execute them easily. The full-color book Powerboat Handling Illustrated is an optional reference.

AIS Electronics for Boaters, our newest seminar, can help you decide if AIS is right for you. Automatic Identification System electronics aren’t just for commercial vessels. Using AIS can help you navigate crowded waterways easily and safely.

With AIS marine electronics onboard, you can identify potential dangers and quickly make decisions on the water. Many systems share your boat’s information with other boats so they can also make better, safer boating decisions.

Are the winds too strong? What is a small craft advisory? The safety and comfort of those who venture out on the water have always been weather dependent.

This seminar, a must for boaters who have never taken a weather course, will help you answer these questions and gain an understanding of the forces acting on your boat. Understand the forecast and know what to expect, whether you're in a kayak, trawler, sailboat, or schooner.

This seminar presents a complex subject in a way that is both understandable and useful.

Each seminar participant receives a Student Guide with slide images and complete notes written especially for the seminar. An optional waterproof McGraw Hill Captain’s QuickGuide – Onboard Weather Forecasting – designed for onboard and field use is also available.

Learn how to depart, dock, and handle different types of boats while looking like a pro. Learn the different types of propulsion, steering, and trimming so you can develop proficiency in handling your vessel in rough seas and maneuvering in close quarters. The seminar materials include a Student Guide with slide images and complete notes.

A copy of the waterproof Captain's QuickGuide Boat Handling under Power is optionally available.

Boat handling away from the dock or marina is often called "at sea". This seminar has been designed to acquaint you with general boat-handling situations and teach you skills to handle your boat at sea. You'll gain confidence about basic operations, and you'll have a better understanding about issues you can control, issues that the environment will present, and how to use and tie the two knots most often used when at sea: the sheet bend and the bowline.

This seminar is also available as a component of the Boat Handling course.

If you live in the border states, you can cross international borders and visit our neighbors to the north or south. But what do you need to know? This seminar explains the immigration and customs process and the programs that enable boaters to easily cross into Canada, Mexico or the Bahamas. Be prepared by having the correct documents; we can help you get there. Each student receives a full color Student Guide especially written for the seminar.

Discover what every boater needs to know about gasoline and diesel fuel, including computing and evaluating fuel consumption, caring for your fuel system, and fueling a boat safely. Learn how to handle fuel safely and to respect its lethal potential. Learn how to avoid running out of fuel. Each student receives a full color Student Guide for the seminar.

When a named storm threatens, you need to be prepared and protect your boat. In this short seminar, you'll learn how to select a location from which to weather the storm and prepare your boat for a hurricane. The kit includes Student Notes with copies of the slides.

Do you want to learn practical techniques to plan, navigate, and check your progress on the water? It's not that hard, and modern marine electronics like GPS and Chartplotters make it even easier.

This seminar will introduce you to using nautical charts to determine safe routes, creating waypoints in your Chartplotter and other GPS devices, and basic electronic navigation and planning using the free downloadable OpenCPN software. This seminar is a great foundation for advanced courses that teach piloting and celestial navigation skills.

The student kit includes the Introduction to Navigation booklet with integrated discussion to the instructor PowerPoint classroom presentation, including directions to download navigation charts and the OpenCPN software application.

People fall overboard, especially in rough weather and high seas.

Discover how to equip and maneuver your boat to retrieve someone in the water.

Essential for all boaters, this seminar teaches you what to do if you fall overboard, as well as how to retrieve someone else.

Don't get lost in the fog.

Whether you want to navigate safely or decide what equipment to purchase, this seminar provides clear advice.

Learn how RADAR works, how to use it effectively, and its limitations as a piloting aid. You'll receive a copy of the Student Notes that has copies of the slides used in the seminar.

The RADAR Book by Kevin Monahan is optionally available.

Welcome to the world of paddlesports!

You have joined (or soon will) the fastest growing part of boating.

According to the National Marine Manufacturers Association, kayaks and canoes accounted for some 54% of new boats sold in 2006 – over 493,000 crafts.

Kayaking, canoeing or rowing are enjoyable opportunities to get close to nature, have a great time, and get some quality exercise in the process. This seminar is intended for those about to join the sport and those considering purchasing paddling equipment.

Are you a crew member or passenger who has no idea what's going on during a boat trip? Learn the essential skills you will need to help the skipper safely operate a recreational boat, including how to respond in an emergency. You'll become an asset on board with Partner in Command.

The Partner in Command seminar includes an introduction to boating, understanding anchoring, docking, and navigation, preparing for bad weather, first aid and on-board emergencies, and more.

Don't leave the dock without knowing the rules of the road. This seminar simplifies the sometimes complex U.S. Inland Rules and International Rules, or COLREGS, for the recreational boater. Through examples, you'll discover how to avoid collisions in various situations, the differences between power and sailboat rules, and the special rules for fishing vessel.

The downloadable US Coast Guard's Navigation Rules and Regulations Handbook is the supporting text. This seminar is also a starting point for study preparation for the USCG License examination.

This seminar is also available as a component of the Boat Handling course.

Cruise confidently in coastal waters, secure in your knowledge of tidal conditions. Even if you are an inland boater, you may travel to an area where knowing about tides and tidal currents is important. Discover what causes the tides to rise and fall and what causes the currents to flow. Learn where to find sources of information about tides and tidal currents, simple ways to predict height of tide and speed of current flow and how to use both print and electronic tide tables. Learn about how tides and currents affect your boat’s performance from experienced coastal boaters.

Sure, GPS can get you where you need to go, but did you know you can use it to steer your boat accurately?

Enhance your boating experience by getting the most out of today's feature-packed GPS devices.

Learn how to store and use waypoints, build and execute routes, and monitor steering. You can also get tips on connecting your GPS to your VHF marine radio, which opens up a new world of digital hailing and distress signaling.

A waterproof McGraw-Hill Captain’s QuickGuide Using GPS to take aboard to remind you of the steps, or to show another of your crew how to use your GPS, is optionally available.

Get familiar with your boat's VHF marine radio in just two hours. Experienced instructors teach you how to use VHF radio like a pro, including the new digital selective calling (DSC) rescue feature.

You'll also get tips on purchasing and installing VHF to get the most out of your investment. A handy waterproof McGraw-Hill Captain's QuickGuide Using VHF is optionally available with essential information that you should have aboard. This QuickGuide explains to anyone on your crew how to use the radio, a real benefit if you’re unable to help in an emergency.