A training plan your underwriter — and you — can trust.

Insurance carriers often require documented on-water training when you take delivery of a new-to-you vessel — especially larger, twin-screw, or unfamiliar-configuration boats. The requirement is usually 10, 20, or 40 hours with a licensed captain.

Rather than treating this as a box to check, I use the required hours to teach you what you actually need to know to operate your boat safely and confidently for years to come.

Sample 20-hour training outline

• Session 1 (3 hrs) — Full vessel systems walkthrough. Engines, batteries, seacocks, bilge, electronics, safety gear. Dockside handling review.
• Session 2 (3 hrs) — Departure, close-quarters maneuvering, station-keeping, backing, spring-line technique.
• Session 3 (3 hrs) — Docking in your slip. Wind and current strategy. Approach planning. Repeated practice landings.
• Session 4 (3 hrs) — Anchoring, mooring pickup, tender operations. Practical seamanship at anchor.
• Session 5 (3 hrs) — Navigation, chartwork, route planning, tides and currents in the Bay and Delta.
• Session 6 (3 hrs) — Emergency procedures: crew overboard, engine failure, loss of steering, radio protocol, fire response.
• Session 7 (2 hrs) — Sign-off cruise. Owner operates independently while I observe. Final review and documentation.

Custom plans

10-hour and 40-hour plans work the same way — same structure, adjusted depth. For sailboats we substitute sail handling, reefing, and heavy-air technique. For twin-screw powerboats we add extended pivot and docking work.

Documentation

You'll receive a written training plan up front and hour-by-hour session logs signed by a USCG-licensed captain — the documentation your insurer will want to see.