Public Education Course
BOATING SKILLS AND SEAMANSHIP
Class sessions are held one night a week in consecutive weeks;
times are from 7:00 to 9:30 PM.
West Newbury classes are on Tuesdays
Newburyport classes are on Wednesdays
The U. S. Coast Guard Auxiliary's Boating Skills and Seamanship (BS&S) course is a comprehensive course designed for both the experienced and the novice boater, it is open to all members of the general public age 16 through adult.
TOPICS COVERED IN CLASS SESSIONS
Note: The West Newbury class schedule skips over any dates when the school is closed for vacation or holidays, such as Spring break.
Which boat is for you:: Boater's language; types of boats and motors; hull design; uses of boats; other power plants; materials for constructing boats; your intended use; the Coast Guard Infoline; marine surveyors; buying a boat.
Trailering your boat: Legal & practical; the towing vehicle; balancing the load; handling your trailer; pre-departure checks; launching; retrieving; storing boat and trailer; theft prevention; Zebra mussels; float plan.
Boat handling: Leave with a full tank; fueling; boat propellers; twin screws; jet drives; loading; getting started; leaving a pier; "man" overboard; docking; mooring; anchoring; towing a skier; heavy weather; safety.
Equipment for your boat: Equipment requirements for your boat; legal considerations; substance abuse; boating accident reports; Coast Guard Auxiliary Vessel Safety Checks.
"Highway signs" on the Water - (Aids to Navigation / ATONs): Understanding & following ATONs; buoyage systems; how waterways are marked; light characteristics; chart symbols; light structures; lights on bridges; electronic aids to navigation; navigation publications.
Intro Piloting/Navigation: Piloting tools; maps and charts; chart features; your chart's general information block; magnetic compass; position & distance on the earth's surface; locating a point on a chart; measuring distance; course plotting; compass error; correcting a compass reading; speed-time-distance; dead reckoning.
Intro Piloting/Navigation (Continued in a second session for preactical chart exercises)
The rules you must follow: The rules & to whom they apply; what is a vessel; the general responsibility rule; general considerations; conduct in narrow channels; traffic separation schemes; stand-on or give-way; rules for vessels; risk of collision; restricted visibility; vessel lights & shapes; vessels at anchor; diving operations; distress signals; drawbridge signals; penalties.
Boat radio: Radios used on boats; selecting your VHF-FM radio; installing and operating your radio; maintain a radio watch; purpose of channels; some "no nos"; calling another station; procedure words; phonetic alphabet; routine radio check; distress, urgency, & safety calls.
Lines & knots: Line or rope; kinds of rope; measuring, selecting & caring for rope; making up line; knots, bends, hitches & splices; securing lines; dipping the eye.
Final Test: Individuals who successfully complete the course and final test are awarded certificates and cards. Many boat insurance companies will offer discounts to individuals who successfully complete this course.
To get the most benefit from the course, students should read each chapter BEFORE class and complete each workbook assignment as homework following each class.
Classes begin promptly at 7:00 PM and last approximately 2 ½ hours. If inclement weather results in cancellation of normal school day classes at the Pentucket Middle School, the evening Boating &Skills & Seamanship classes are also automatically cancelled.
