Boating skills & seamanship
Offered in the Spring of 2024
ABOUT THE COURSE
he US Coast Guard auxiliaries Boating Skills and Seamanship (BS&S) course is a comprehensive boater certificate course designed for both the experience and novice boater. The course consists of eight core required two hour lessons plus five elective lessons providing up-to-date knowledge for handling boats under all conditions
topics include
Which boat is for you? - Types of boats, hole design, uses of boats, materials for construction, types of engines, and buying a boat.
Equipment for your Boat - Requirements for your boat’s equipment, legal considerations, boating accidents, and substance abuse.
Trailing Your Boat - Choosing a towing vehicle and trailer, balancing the load, the right ball and hitch, launching and retrieving a boat.
Handling Your Boat - Fueling your boat, single vs twin propeller, anchoring, trimming, leaving the dock, small boat safety, and weather.
Highway Signs - Buoyage system, ATONS, light characteristics, charts symbols.
Rules of the Road - Boating traffic, stand-on and give-way vessels, traffic separation, diver-down rules, anchoring, narrow channels, restricted visibility, small boat safety, and inland waters.
Introduction To Navigation - Piloting tools, charts, plotting, and compass.
Powering Your Boat - Types of engines, ignition systems, batteries, and troubleshooting.
Lines and Knots - Line or rope, materials, measuring, knots, bends, hitches, splicing, securing lines.
Weather and Boating - Wind and boating, waves, fog, sources of weather information.
Your Boat’s Radio - Functions of radios, selecting your VHF radio, channels, radio procedure, and types of radio calls.