All of our Elective Courses are open to the general public and do not require Membership or pre-requisite courses.

Seamanship Sail

This introductory course to the sailboat teaches some of the basic techniques for its safe operation under various conditions, and will make the participant a more competent sailor.

Course content: Hull form and performance; spars and rigging; sails and theory of sail action; buoyancy and stability; balance under sail; sailboat handling; legal responsibilities; weather, wind and waves; adverse conditions; safety and emergency procedures; marlinspike seamanship; piloting under sail; cruising under sail (day-sailers and keel boats).

Seamanship Power

This in-depth course give the participant knowledge to become a proficient skipper of a power-driven vessel.

Course content: Hull forms and performance; power trains, engine controls and instruments; buoyancy and stability; handling and cruising under power; mooring and anchoring; legal responsibilities; engines; fuels and fuel-electrical systems; cooling and lubrication; maintenance.

Weather

This course enables a skipper to anticipate adverse forecasts by gathering pertinent information and interpreting weather signs.

Course content: Atmosphere; clouds; pressure; wind; temperature and moisture; stability and instability; air masses; frontal weather; precipitation and fog; general circulation; tropical hurricanes and wave theory; forecasting the weather.

Marine Maintenance

The Maintenance Course gives the average boat-owner an understanding of engine and vessel maintenance.

Course content: Seasonal maintenance and repairs to wooden, fiberglass, and metal hulls are stressed. Sections are devoted to engines; electrical and mechanical systems; spars, rigging, and ground tackle; fire and safety protection; moorings and berths; trailers; tools and fittings.

Marine Electronics

This is for the boater who wants to take advantage of modern electronic devices for navigation and safety afloat. Course content: It covers electronic communications and positions-finding systems, such as radio direction finders, radar, loran and consolan. Other electronic devices used on a boat — such as depth sounders, rudder-position indicators, fuel vapor detectors and automatic steering are also studied.

Navigating with GPS

The objective of this seminar is to enable the operator of a recreational small craft to navigate safely and efficiently to any destination, using primarily a GPS receiver and conventional charts. It is restricted to only the navigational aspects of GPS, and may suggest when additional skills are required as a backup.

To select a route to follow, utilizing a GPS receiver, requires a knowledge of basic navigation principles. Without such knowledge, the navigator must place complete reliance and blind trust upon complex equipment and the ability to use it properly, under all circumstances.

This course outlines procedures designed to minimize the possibility of human error in the operation of electronic navigation equipment.

Extended Cruising

This fascinating course focuses on the unique aspects and challenges of sailing offshore, in order to maximize the enjoyment and minimize the risks for those on board the boat.

Course content: Passage planning and the voyage; oceanography and the weather; checklists and repair kits, and Maritime Mobile Nets