Intermediate Powerboat Course

This course is run all year round. Please call us for availability. If you would like own boat tuition to complete this course please feel free to call us to discuss the options

Duration: 2 days (On Fintan/ Venture)

Cost: £250

Previous Experience Required:

• RYA Powerboat Level 2
• Recommendation of RYA First Aid
• SRC/VHF Licence

Course Overview:

This course is designed to give you the skills and confidence to undertake coastal trips in daylight and settled weather conditions

This two day course provides a level of training and delivers maritime experience that is hard to obtain at other centres. The Programs are conducted from our fleet of commercial hardboats by seasoned, experienced commercial Instructor/Skippers.

The Intermediate Course is specifically designed increase your boat handling and seamanship skills lo a level of competence beyond RYA Level 2 Powerboat course. As a program it sits between Level 2 program and the RYA Advanced Powerboat course and as such is a natural progression in skill development for Mariners.

The course will work on improving the basic boat handling skills previously acquired with time spent considering dealing with rougher sea conditions. Producing passage plans and executing them, incorporating both modern and more traditional navigation methods, is a vital part of the seamanship skills developed on this course. Techniques using chart work, GPS, position fixing and chart plotters are introduce to build your confidence and competence at sea. Pilotage skills will be developed along with coastal experience as you put into practice the passage planning components to make your coastal trip.

Having successfully completed this course you will be confident to take a powerboat on longer and more demanding trips whilst having the additional skills in port and harbour operations commensurate with your qualification.

Minimum Age:

16

Itinerary:

0900 until 1700 each day.

What's Included: Course handbook, tea and coffee

After spending a season putting the skills learnt on this course into practice you should consider attending the RYA Advanced Powerboat Course.

Syllabus

Day 1

• 9:00-12:30 Boat Based

  • Meet Amd Greet / Coffee
  • Paperwork and Books
  • PREPARATION FOR SEA: Safety equipment and engine Checks
  • BOAT HANDLING:
    • Leaving and coming alongside
    • Confined spaces, marina maneuvering
    • (Rope work / knots recap)
    • Boat/Hull types and handling
  • ELECTRONIC EQUIPMENT:
    • Use of GPS and
    • Plotters Waypoint navigation
    • Relevance of depth sounders to charts and pilotage

• 12:30-13:30

  • LUNCH

• 13:30-15:30 Boat based

  • BOAT HANDLING:
    • In tidal streams
    • Mooring to buoys
    • Holding station
    • Steering to transits
  • CHARTWORK:
    • Lat / Long / depths / buoyage /
    • light characteristics / tidal heights
    • Cardinal and channel markers
    • BEARINGS and DISTANCE:
    • Back bearings and position fixing
• 15:40-17:30 (Classroom)
  • IRPCS
    • (An appreciation)
    • Vessel lights + sound signals
  • PASSAGE PLANNING:
    • Assist Students to understand how to Plan a passage using charts
    • Identify marks and using navigation aids.
    • Raise awareness of potential hazard areas
    • Set Homework for plan on following day.

Day 2

• 9:00 - 10:30 (Classroom)
  • MEET AND GREET/COFFEE
  • PASSAGE PLAN / PILOTAGE EXERCISE:
    • Make ups on chart work. Review coming passage plan to be executed
  • METEOROLOGY
    • Discussion/ interpretation and location of information
  • ROUGH WEATHER BOATING:
    • Discussion on Considerations / strategy / equipment fitted to boat
• 10:30-13:00 (Boat based)
  • PILOTAGE EXERCISE: Students execute prepared passage plan (10Knt rate)
  • Students to demonstrate:
    • The Navigation of channels and buoys
    • Awareness of hazards use of soundings to Determine position
    • Distance / time estimations
• 14:00-13:30 (Boat based)
  • EMERGENCY SITUATIONS
    • Radio procedure Mayday/ Pan pan/ Pan pan medico
    • giving and responding to distress calls
    • Helicopter rescue
  • EMERGENCY SITUATIONS M.O.B
    • Sector Search patterns:
    • Triangular and expanding square
  • Secure Vessel, shutdown and checks
• 16:30-17:00 (Class room)
  • RE-CAP ON THE COURSE OUTCOMES
  • FILL IN LOG BOOKS AND ISSUE CERTIFICATION WHERE APPROPRIATE
  • Discuss further training required to those who will require it

Teaching Points:

• Preparations for sea
• Engine checks
• Equipment and operation
• Paperwork/ information – tides etc

• Boat handling
• Leaving and coming alongside
• Working in a port tight maneuvers

• Rope work re-cap
• Handling lines
• Rope throwing
• Securing
• Knots

• Boat handling
• Hull types/ forms and effect on handling

• Electronic Equipment
• Use and operation of GPS
• Waypoint navigation
• Use of plotter
• Relevance of depth sounder and chart for pilotage

• Boat handling
• Demonstrate the use of Trim tabs and loading of vessel
• Practice steering through/ across/ with waves and develop feel
• Discuss stability and likely outcomes of getting it wrong
• Practice holding station in tidal stream
• Practice ferry gliding (transit across stream)
• Practice holding position to and picking up a mooring buoy

• Chart work
• Identifying symbols and their meaning
• Identifying buoyage and light characteristics
• Knowledge of tidal heights/ standard ports
• Tidal diamonds
• Bearings from fixed points

• Bearings and distance
• Students to take back bearing and locate position Of vessel on chart and in relative position
• General pilotage considerations

• IRPCS
• General Col Reg review / stand on/ give way
• Vessel lights and configuration
• Sound signals

• Passage planning
• Identifying area/ route on chart
• Identifying marks waypoints and navigational marks
• Consideration of tide heights and streams
• Identifying course to steer
• Identifying hazards/ shoals/ rocks/ ferry ports
• Vessel preparation
• Estimating timings

• Meteorology
• Discuss the practical applications of forecasts
• Discuss where to locate forecasts
• Discuss interpretation of forecast and effects on planning
• Ensure students know Imminent/ soon/ later implications

• Rough weather
• Considerations, strategy and equipment

• Pilotage Exercise
• Students conduct exercise demonstrating the above points
• Use and operation of GPS
• Waypoint navigation
• Use of plotter
• How to use sounder and chart for position

• Emergency Situations
• Discuss scenarios – engine failure/ collision/ health problems
• Demonstrate how to relay position by both GPS and Fixing
• Run through a dummy radio procedure for mayday/ Pan pan/ pan Pan Medico
• Students will demonstrate appropriate protocols of radio procedure (scenario)
• Discuss and describe the salient issues relating to helicopter rescue
• (Important to note: Brixham CG can relay via mobile to helicopter pilot Negates electrical static issues in air frame)

• Emergency Situations
• Discuss M.O.B implications and methods of recovery / approach
• Set up and conduct exercise for Sector Search:
• Students to perform triangular search pattern
• Students to perform expanding square search pattern
• Discuss M.O.B in poor visibility / rough conditions and methods to overcome them

• Secure vessel
• Vessel shutdown
• Engine checks
• Use of isolators and seacocks

• Close of course
• Recap on course outcomes
• Reinforce positive training points
• Fill in logbooks and sign certification
• Outline further training and course opportunities
• Complete student feedback questionnaires