USPS Member Recreational Boating Courses
Seamanship Description
Building on the basics of recreational boating presented in the public
boating courses, Seamanship adds foundational information for continuing
boater education. The course contents should facilitate knowledge development
for increased safe operation of recreational boats and provide the basis
for completion of USCG licensing examination. Emphasis within the course
has been placed on higher level boating skills, rules of the road, and
marlinspike.
Piloting Course Description
The Piloting course is the first in the sequence of USPS courses on navigation, covering the basics of coastal and inland navigation. This all-new course focuses on navigation as it is done on recreational boats today and embraces GPS as a primary navigation tool while covering enough of traditional techniques so the student will be able to find his/her way even if their GPS fails. The course includes many in-class exercises, developing the student’s skills through hands-on practice and learning. Topics covered include:
- Charts and their interpretation
- Navigation aids and how they point to safe water
- Plotting courses and determining direction and distance
- The mariner’s compass and converting between True and Magnetic
- Use of GPS – typical GPS displays and information they provide, setting up waypoints and routes, staying on a GPS route.
- Pre-planning safe courses and entering them into the GPS
- Monitoring progress and determining position by both GPS and traditional techniques such as bearings and dead reckoning
- The “Seaman’s Eye” – simple skills for checking that one is on course.
Advanced Piloting Description
This all-new course continues to build coastal and inland navigation skill, allowing the student to take on more challenging conditions – unfamiliar waters, limited visibility, and extended cruises. GPS is embraced as a primary navigation tool while adding radar, chartplotters, and other electronic navigation tools. As with Piloting, the course includes many in-class exercises, advancing the student’s skills through hands-on practice and learning. Topics covered include:
- Review of skills learned in Piloting
- Advanced positioning techniques such as advancing a line of position
- Other electronics: radar, depth sounders, autopilots, chartplotters, laptop computer software, etc.
- Hazard avoidance techniques using electronics (e.g., “keep out” zones in GPS)
- Collision avoidance using radar and GPS
- Working with tides: clearances, depth, effects of current
- Piloting with wind and currents
- The “Seaman’s Eye” – simple skills for checking that one is on course
New Junior Navigation 2007 Course Description
The new USPS Junior Navigation 07 course is the first of a two-course program of Offshore Navigation for the recreational boater in which students learn about current offshore navigation electronic tools and software as well as conventional route planning techniques. Students also learn traditional celestial navigational skills to determine position, using these techniques to check their electronics and as the backup navigation technique in the event electronics fail.
Today’s recreational boater uses electronics as the primary means of positioning, and employs celestial positioning techniques as a check that the GPS is working correctly, and as backup in the event that electronics fail. In Junior Navigation, the student will continue to use GPS as the primary position sensor, as they learned to do in Piloting and Advanced Piloting. However, the offshore environment impacts how one uses the GPS and other electronic tools; the student will learn about some of these considerations in the course.
In the offshore environment, accurate determination of position is just
as important as when one is navigating in coastal waters. While offshore,
visible terrestrial landmarks are no longer available to the navigator
as reference points. In the Junior Navigation course, the student
will learn to substitute celestial objects such as the sun as reference
points. The course begins with the study of celestial navigation, teaching
the student to take sights on the sun with a marine sextant and derive
a line of position from that observation. The sun represents but
a single reference point, so the student will apply the principles of
the running fix learned in Advanced Piloting, and be able to plot a running
fix of one’s position from the sun sights. Once the student
has learned the basics of celestial sight reduction, the course continues
with planning, positioning, and checking one’s position in the
offshore environment, using both electronic and celestial tools.
Navigation Course Description
After Junior Navigation, this course is the second part of the study of offshore navigation, further developing the student's understanding of celestial navigation theory. The course covers:
- Additional sight-reduction techniques
- Honing skills in sight taking and positioning
- Orderly methods for the navigator's day's work at sea
- Navigating with minimal resources, as in a lifeboat
Cruise Planning Course Description
Designed for members who plan to cruise for just a day or for a year--in either a sail or powerboat--this course covers the following topics:
- Cruise preparation and planning
- Boat and Equipment
- Anchors and Anchoring
- Security
- Chartering
- Cruising Outside the United States
- Crew and Provisioning
- Voyage Management
- Communications
- Navigation
- Weather
- Emergencies
Engine Maintenance Course Description
The new Engine Maintenance course 2007 has been put into one ten chapter
course that stresses the diagnosis of modern systems, while also teaching
the basics of engine layout and operation. Gasoline inboards, outboards,
and diesel engines are taught in a way that reinforces the common aspects
of how engines work. This new course is complete in one book with
one exam.
Modern engines offer high reliability and good performance through the
use of computerized systems for fuel delivery and engine timing. Most
of these systems are “black boxes” that can no longer be
serviced by weekend mechanics with ordinary tools. The EM course covers
those repairs that do-it-yourselfers can still perform, teaches how to
diagnose problems that might be beyond your ability to fix, and how to
share information with your mechanic so the right repairs get performed. The
new Engine Maintenance 2007 also covers basic mechanical systems such
as drive systems (propellers), steering systems, and engine controls. The
last chapter discusses solutions you might use to problems that could
occur while afloat and away from a repair facility. Gasoline,
diesel, and outboard engines are treated independently in this chapter.
Instructor Development Course Description
Unlike other USPS courses, the Instructor Development course is not
designed to enhance boating skills. Rather, its emphasis is on
enhancing instructor skills. The course has been designed to demonstrate
interactive teaching methods focused on adult learning. Students
are required to prepare lesson plans and give four presentations to their
peers utilizing a variety of teaching aids and presentation skills. Each
presentation is to be given on a topic from one of the public boating
classes with the intent that upon completion of the course every student
will be qualified to teach or proctor at a squadron boating class.
Marine Electronics Course Description
The Marine Electronics course consists of three modules: ME 101, Boat Electrical Systems, ME 102, Marine Radio Communications, and ME 103, Marine Electronics for Navigation. There are no prerequisites for any of these modules; however, it is suggested that a member take ME 101 before taking ME 102.
ME 101, Boat Electrical Systems, provides information about properties of electricity, electrical power requirements and wiring practices, direct current power, alternating current power, galvanic and stray-current corrosion, lightning protection, and electrical interference.
ME 102, Marine Radio Communications, delves into radio waves and transmitters, receivers and transceivers, antennas and transmission lines, FCC Rules and Regulations, FCC Frequency Plan, marine radiotelephone operating procedures, and other communication services (Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon (EPIRB), Digital Selective Calling (DSC), Global Maritime Distress and Safety System (GMDSS), satellite communications, amateur radio, and more).
ME 103, Marine Electronics for Navigation, presents information on depth
sounders, RADAR, LORAN-C, GPS Navigation, and two new chapters: Electronic
Charting, and Computer-Assisted Navigation (CAN). Members may take
this module independent of any other ME module.
Sail Module Descriptions
Sail 101 Basic Sail |
Sail 102 Advanced Sail |
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Weather Course Description
The Weather course will furnish basic weather knowledge for safer and more enjoyable boating. The student will learn to make weather predictions based upon observations of the sky, upon barometer and wind information, as well as weather data provided by maps, satellite images, and radio and TV broadcasts. Wx 101 and Wx 102 use a USPS supplement manual together with The Weather Book from USA Today (second edition, 1997) as the textbook.
Wx 101 - Basic Weather - topics include:
- Effects of Heat and Cold
- Wind and Pressure
- Storms and Fronts
- Rain, Humidity and Fog
- Floods, Droughts, and Winter Precipitation
Wx 102 - Advanced Weather - topics include:
- Thunderstorms and Tornados
- Tropical Weather
- Atmosphere and Clouds
- Forecasting
- Climate
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