A few of the course I had to take to get my Masters ticket among others .....
Marine Emergency Duties
ARPA
Marine Radar
Marine Emergency Duties
ARPA
Marine Radar
A few of the course I had to take to get my Masters ticket among others .....
Marine Emergency Duties
ARPA
Marine Radar
Did the emergency duties course give you a little more sense that you'd be able to handle an emergency if one arose? To us taking the courses gave us a feeling that in the time emotions could take over and create havoc, that we'd have something concrete and non-emotional to fall back to and be more likely to be able to think clearly and do the right thing.
I took the MED -A2 course in Port Colbourne, Ontario and found it instilled a little more confidence and a lot more respect for what can go wrong. They have a huge mock steel bridge similar to a lake freighter. One of the classes involved setting the bridge on fire yhen finding your way through dense black smoke to put it out. It gave me a very healthy respect for fire and what it can do on a boat. I later took part in an exercise that set an FRP cruiser on fire and then attempted to put that out.
Some people think I am far too critical in my surveys of electrical/gasoline and or propane systems but once you realize how extremely difficult it is to put out a fire on a boat you tend to take it more seriously
I think the need for some of this training needs to be put in perspective. The guy who runs his boat over to the sand bar a few times a year doesn't really need the same training as the guy who plans to circumnavigate solo.
We would also expect the person who makes his/her living in the marine industry to have a higher level of training than the part time hobbyist.
Part of the thread was also to point out that some posters here will go on and on about perfect crimping or reading the manual ad nauseum or doing this or that but never disagree with a manufacturer's recommendations...but when it comes to the most important part of the boat...the captain...they are as lax as can be...just my observation of the hypocrisy of some posters in TF.
Larger boats.
We love it all. >snip< Well, just don't ever want to work as much as sailors have to. Love being on a sailboat but someone else must do the hard work.
My suspicions were confirmed, thanks OB.
While I value training, I do believe there is a greater problem contributing to more serious accidents than the lack of training. Alcohol. ...............cut for space..............
can to be as safe as possible.
I am required to take CE credit courses every year to maintain my SAMS AMS status and love every minute of it, forensic fire investigation, accident reconstruction analysis, failure analysis, electrical inspection and a host of ABYC courses (among the very best). The more I study, the more I realize how little I know.
Even before I got in to this business I took night classes every year and as soon as they were old enough, my boys joined me in everything from Spanish to woodworking to cooking classes. Now in their late 30's my boys are still continually taking various courses one or two nights a week.
Some people love to learn and some would rather watch The Bachelor !
Although I've had very little formal boating specific training, I have had a considerable amount work training which have or could be valuable at sea.
A few examples:
Risk assessment management and control
Emergency Response Planning
First Aid & CPR courses
Advanced Oil & Gas Firefighting
Caterpillar engine courses
Fluid Dynamics
Sea Survival Training
Helicopter Underwater Exit Training
Various electrical courses
Thinking about it, the most valuable of those courses listed above has probably been the first one. Risk Assessment, Management and Control. If you can't properly assess your risks in your boat, it's tough to put the control measures in place. It's better to be proactive in minimizing the risk rather than dealing with the aftermath.
.............. I still advise some training. Many captains do offer it. ............
We've already covered this. You don't need any of that to call yourself a captain and give boating lessons or training. Just a phone and some business cards will do it.Anyone piloting their boat is the "captain" in a generic use of the term, but you can't hire yourself out as a captain (commercially) unless you have a USCG captain's license. For most small charters, sunset cruises, sight seeing, etc one would need an OUPV "six pack" license. One of the bigger obstacles involved in obtaining a captain's license is the number of days on the water that are required before you can get the license. One needs at least 90 days in the past 3 years, and 360 days total experience.
Here is a link that be helpful: USCG: Passenger Vessel Safety Program - Uninspected Passenger Vessel
The title of the thread is "Hands on Training". As such, I will restrict my comments to the operation of the vessel. Fire control, survival, etc is a separate issue. I'll start by asking PSNeeld what what training should I have as the owner of a 20 tonne vessel?
.....cut for space......
All said, I agree it's is important to look into additional training, commensurate with what is best for my situation.
Jim
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We found a captain, well actually two as husband and wife team prior to buying a boat. So we were prepared for them to train us. We also started classes.
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Hands on Training started in 2012. For first several months we only operated boats while under the supervision of a licensed captain. They didn't just let us observe or take it easy on us. We had to do all the basic operating and they also subjected us to rough conditions where they trained us on handling those situations. They were tough teachers as we'd said we wanted.
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Can you share the names of these Captains/schools?
Thanks,
Dan
Unless the Navy just takes people off the street and puts them on the bridge...I know in USCG OCS during only 120 days we were taught everything you have in a USCG Licensing up to 100 ton master 10 fold including celestial plus weather, firefighting, damage control, marlinspike, etc..etc....
I got a feeling all but small boat handling, a lot of other pertinent stuff is taught pretty well and so is having your judgment questioned abut 100 times a day.
So what does qualify someone to be a small boat captain?
Which is what this tread was started for anyhow....
Good..part of what I was hoping for...
Just remember...the same guy/school/instructor may not click with you or be good with your class vessel or experience level.