Boating Skills and Seamanship:
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. The course, now offered in a BRAND NEW edition of the text, consists of 6 core required two- to four-hour lessons, two added optional lessons that are normally included in the core course, plus five elective lessons, providing up-to-date knowledge for handling boats in all conditions.
This class, offered by Flotilla 12-04, is open to the public, and students are only responsible for the cost of materials. The courses are all taught by Flotilla Auxiliarists. Upon passing an examination at the conclusion of each course, students will receive a certificate which is accepted by some insurance companies in order to provide a discount. This course is appropriate for both Power and Sail Boaters.
The class is taught in the beautiful facilities of the Del Rey Yacht Club, in Marina del Rey. For more information, contact Hal Pruett at 310-397-6288, or by e-mail at vfc@uscgamdr.org. The upcoming schedule of classes is as follows:
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09/23/2008 - 11/11/2008 (8 weeks) Cost: $75 (covers cost of materials) Space limited! Registration starts at 6:30pm on the first night Lines & Knots instruction and practice at 7:00pm Class starts at 7:30pm |
Topics include:
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Which Boat Is for You? -- boater's language, types of boats, outboard motors and sterndrives, hull design, uses of boats, other power plants, materials for constructing boats, your intended use, the Coast Guard Customer Infoline, marine surveyors, buying a boat. |
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Equipment for your Boat -- requirements for your boat, your boat's equipment, legal considerations, substance abuse, boating accident reports, Courtesy Marine Examinations. |
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Trailering your Boat -- legal considerations, practical considerations, the towing vehicle, balancing the load, handling your trailer, pre-departure checks, preparing to launch, launching, retrieving, storing your boat and trailer, theft prevention, Zebra mussels, float plan. |
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Handling your Boat -- leave with a full tank, fueling your boat, your boat's propeller, cars and boats, twin screws, jet drives, loading your boat, getting started, leaving a pier, "man" overboard, docking, mooring to a permanent anchor, anchoring, towing a skier, heavy weather, small boat safety. |
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Your "Highway" Signs -- protection of ATONs, buoyage systems, waterway marks, how waterways are marked, light characteristics, chart symbols, light structures, lights on bridges, electronic aids to navigation, a word to the wise, navigation publications. |
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The Rules You Must Follow -- two sets of rules, to whom do the rules apply, what is a vessel, the general responsibility rule, general considerations, conduct in narrow channels, traffic separation schemes, vessel traffic services, stand-on or give-way, rules for special vessels, risk of collision, bend signals, restricted visibility, vessel lights and shapes, vessels at anchor, diving operations, distress signals, drawbridge signals, penalties. |
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Inland Boating -- types of inland waters, inland navigation, inland seamanship, river currents, maintaining inland waterways, dams, locks, river charts, commercial traffic, before you go. (This lesson typically is not taught, as Los Angeles is a coastal area) |
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The Rest of Our Story -- small boat safety, personal watercraft, hypothermia, motorboats and sailboats, carbon monoxide poisoning, float plan, U.S. Coast Guard District Offices, instructions for using a course plotter, metric conversion system. |
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Introduction to Navigation -- piloting tools, maps and charts, chart features, your chart's general information block, other charted information, your magnetic compass, position on the earth's surface, locating a point on a chart, distance on the earth's surface, measuring distance, course plotting, sources of compass error, correcting a compass reading, positioning, speed-time-distance, dead reckoning, practice your art. |
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Powering your Boat -- types of marine engines, marine engines, selecting a propeller, induction systems, ignition systems, flame arresters, cooling systems, gasoline considerations, batteries, maintenance, winterizing your boat, spring fitting-out, troubleshooting. |
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Lines and Knots for your Boat -- line or rope, rope materials, kinds of rope, measuring rope, selecting your ropes, care of rope, making up line, knots, bends and hitches, splices, securing lines, dipping the eye. |
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Weather and Boating -- sources of weather information, wind and boating, wind and waves, understanding weather, weather and heat, fog, non-frontal weather. |
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Your Boat's Radio -- radios used on boats, functions of radios, licenses, selecting your VHF-FM radio, installation, operating your VHF-FM, maintain a radio watch, channels have special purposes, some "no no's," copies of the rules, calling another station, procedure words, phonetic alphabet, routine radio check, distress, urgency, and safety calls, crew training. |
Currently Enrolled Students:
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