Advanced Courses: In addition to our public courses, there are a number of advanced courses available to NBPS and USPS members only. For an updated schedule of when these courses are offered click here to access the District 1 Calendar.

Seamanship
No prerequisite

Building on the basics taught in the Boating Course, Seamanship is the recommended first course for new members, both power boaters and sailors. Students learn practical marlinespike, navigation rules, hull design and performance, responsibilities of the skipper, boat care, operating a boat under normal and abnormal conditions, what to do in various emergencies and weather conditions, nautical customs and common courtesy on the water. This course provides a needed introduction to the USPS Educational Program and a strong foundation for members going on to other Advanced Grades courses and/or Cruise Planning or Sail.

Piloting
No prerequisite

Piloting is the first of a two-part program studying inland and coastal navigation. It focuses on the fundamentals of piloting--keeping track of your position at any time and laying out boat's movements, determining courses to a planned destination. Included are such subjects as: charts and their use, aids to navigation; the mariner's compass; variation and deviation of the compass; plotting and steering courses; dead reckoning; and plotting and labeling charts.

Advanced Piloting
Prerequisites: Seamanship & Piloting

This is the final part of the inland and coastal navigation series. It emphasizes the use of modem electronic navigation systems and other advanced techniques for finding position. Among topics covered are: tides and currents and their effects on piloting; finding position using bearings and angles; simple use of the mariner's sextant; and electronic navigation -- radar, loran, GPS, etc.

Junior Navigation
Prerequisites: Seamanship, Piloting & Advanced Piloting

Junior Navigation is the first of a two-part program of study in offshore (Open coast) navigation. It is designed as a practical, how-to-course, leaving the theoretical and more advanced techniques for the Navigation Course. Subject matter includes: basic concepts of celestial navigation; how to use the mariner's sextant to take sights of the sun, moon, planets and stars; the importance and techniques of accurate time determination; use of the Nautical Almanac; how to reduce sights to establish lines of position (LOPs); and the use of special charts, plotting sheets and other navigational data for offshore positioning and passage planning.

Navigation
Prerequisites: Seamanship, Piloting, Advanced Piloting & Junior Navigation

This is the second part of the study of offshore navigation. It further develops the student's understanding of celestial theory. The student is introduced to additional sight reduction techniques and develops greater skill and precision in sight taking, positioning and the orderly methods of carrying on the day's work of a navigator at sea. Of particular interest and importance is the study of offshore navigation using minimal data and/or equipment, such as when on a disabled vessel or lifeboat.

Cruise Planning
No prerequisite

This course is preparation for a cruise, whether the cruise is for a day, a week, a month or longer. Whether you are going to cruise on rivers, lakes, the coasts, or across the oceans, very valuable information is provided by those who have been there. The topics discussed are: planning the voyage, financing the voyage, equipping the boat, crew selection, provisioning, voyage management, navigation planning, weather, communications, entering and clearing foreign and domestic ports, anchors and anchoring, emergencies afloat, medical emergencies and security.

Engine Maintenance
No prerequisites

This course covers the general construction, operating principles, maintenance and repair of marine gasoline and diesel engines, cooling, electrical, fuel, and lubricating systems and associated propulsion components - clutches, shafting and propellers. Since one of the major objectives of the course is to help the student become more self-reliant afloat, trouble diagnosis and temporary remedies are emphasized along with safety measures. The course is intended to make you a more intelligent and more resourceful boat engine operator.

Instructor Qualification
No prerequisites

The development of practical skills and methods in preparing for both classroom and meeting presentations are the objectives of this unique course. The course includes practice assignments in preparation and delivery of presentations in the classroom, including the use of visual and other aids. All types of aids that can enhance a presentation are studied and the student is afforded the opportunity to become familiar with their best use.

Marine Electronics
No prerequisites

Essential knowledge about your boat's electrical and electronic systems is studied in this course. Proper wiring, grounding, electrolysis control, and batteries and their maintenance are included. Depth finders, marine radio telephones, radar, loran, GPS, and advanced systems for electronic navigation are also studied. Information is provided on FCC requirements for station licensing and operator permits for radio telephone.

Sail
No prerequisites

This course provides a through study of the terminology of sailing; types of hulls, rigs, and sail-plans; running and standing rigging and their adjustment and tuning; and sailboat marlinespike. The dynamics of sailing are covered including: hull and water forces caused by wind and waves; forces versus balance; techniques of sailing; points of sail; sail handling; sailing under various wind conditions from light air to storm survival; boat operation and emergency techniques unique to sailboats.

Weather
No prerequisites

Awareness of weather phenomena, how to read the weather map and the sky, and understand and anticipate weather developments for more pleasurable boating are the objectives of this course. Subjects studied include: characteristics and structure of the atmosphere, what weather is and its basic causes, normal development and movement of weather over the earth, and the factors considered in weather forecasting. Observations that the skipper can make afloat include both instrumental and visual: cloud sequences and the weather they predict; air masses, fronts, storms, and fog; and the use of radio and television weather broadcasts. Throughout the course the student is encouraged to make observations and predications in order to gain experience in applying the principles taught and develop greater insight into weather phenomena.