Learning....

I've been looking at versions of trawler schools for the last year or two. With COVID and life in general though it can be hard to escape work and the kids for 3 or 4 days. It got me thinking about the possibility of finding a decent teacher in the Maine/NH area and booking a series of 1 or 2 day instructional sessions with my wife and 2 kids (age 7 and 9). Maybe plan on 10 days of instruction in the next 7 months followed by a couple of week charter somewhere.

A good bit a my childhood was spent on my grandparents boat in Onset MA. My wife's husband was a lobsterman and she helped him often. For the last 20 years pretty much all of our boating has been on lakes.

I'm thinking for every good thing we know we've probably also got at least one bad habit or misconception. Using the kids as an excuse, it might be a great opportunity for the family to learn ocean boating from the ground up.


Thoughts? Anyone ever heard of someone who does something like this? I was debating reaching out to the area boat brokers.

Thanks!

I haven't seen these for trawlers, specifically. But, the ASA offers a ton of standardized courses for sailing, and the majority of the knowledge is transferrable. Years ago I took the 101, 103, and 104 courses: basic keelboat, coastal cruising, and bareboat charter, and they provided a solid baseline that applies to any kind of boating. The majority of the courses have to do with boat systems, maintenance, troubleshooting, safety, navigation, disaster recovery, docking, and anchoring. We spent about 20 minutes total on sail trim.

Also, the ASA courses are family-friendly and usually pretty affordable. They’re designed to be casual weekend affairs. I think the Coast Guard offers more intensive courses, but they are set up more like a college class.

Greetings,
Mr. GS. Kids...schmids. No need for an excuse nor rational thought (keeping STRONGLY in mind ALL aspects of the COVID "thing". You've got excellent knowledge provenance. After all, what could possibly go wrong?