Public Courses: Presented as a public
service by USPS and
RSPS.

America's Boating Course - 3 (aka The Squadron Boating Course)Learn the fundamentals of safe boat handling and operation, and
basic piloting in one comprehensive classroom course. As an additional
feature, this newly revised course includes a digital chart training CD and
instructional material on modern navigation techniques as well.
This course meets the State of North
Carolina requirement for any person under the age of 26 (on
or after May 1, 2010) to complete a
NASBLA
(National Association of State
Boating Law Administrators) approved boating education
course before operating any vessel propelled by a motor of
10HP or greater. And completion of the course is accepted by most
insurance companies. Since 1914, individual squadrons of USPS have
provided courses as a service to the boating public to over 3 million boaters.

You will learn the basics of what you need to safely and
comfortably go on the water with your boat. This newly revised
comprehensive course includes lessons on seamanship, boat handling, boat types,
rules of the road, navigation aids, regulations, adverse conditions, marine VHF
radio, knots, trailering and introductory piloting. The course includes an
extensive course book, training charts, and basic navigation tools. As a
special feature it also includes an introduction to digital charting on CD-ROM
in an appendix, and an overview of electronic navigation. Maptech's Chart
Navigator Training CD includes software and digital charts to gain familiarity
with this exciting new technology.
Many of today’s recreational boaters utilize GPS receivers and
perform electronic, waypoint navigation. Waypoint navigation using a handheld
GPS is somewhat different from traditional dead reckoning. With a GPS you have
good information about where you are in terms of latitude and longitude, but
the GPS doesn't tell you what is around you or beneath your boat. Using
waypoints, you have precise information about the bearing and distance from
your current location to the waypoints, but the GPS doesn't know what may be in
the way. The use of charts is explained in this course as the essential step to
provide key information required for a safe passage.
The course material covers: Boat Handling and Seamanship,
Required Equipment, Rules of the Road, Lines and Knots, Nautical Charts and
Aids to Navigation, Engine Troubleshooting, Boat Trailering, and much, much,
more!
A Course announcement can be found
here.
| Start Date: |
March 2, 2010
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Registration: |
6:30 PM to 7:00 PM
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| Class Start Time: |
7:00 PM
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| Contact: |
Tom Taylor |
| Email: |
tomtaylor3@yahoo.com |
| Phone: |
(919) 266-1860 |
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Location: |
American Red Cross Building
100 N. Peartree Ln., Raleigh |
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Comments: |
Cost: $50.00 per
person. Cost includes textbook and exam.
(Additional persons are $10.00 each if willing to
share book) Pre-payment is
required. A PayPal account has been set up for your convenience. |
Use the link below to pay using PayPal.
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USPS also publishes several
self-study guides , which are available to all.
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Member Courses:
Seamanship -
Preparation for boating, Rules of the Road; communications; boat
handling; boat characteristics and comparisons; stability and trim;
docking; anchoring; open water conditions; emergencies; marlinspike
(knots and lines); trailering; maintenance.
| Start Date: |
May 6, 2010 |
| Time: |
Thursdays, 1900 |
| Instructor: |
Dave Simons |
Email: Phone: |
brassring@nc.rr.com (919) 782-9161 |
| Location: |
St. Saviour's Center, 616 Tucker Street, Raleigh |
| Comments: |
Pre-payment for class is
required in order to insure the proper number of textbooks. Cost is $45.00 for textbook and materials.
(Additional persons are $10.00 each if willing to share book). A PayPal account has been set up for your convenience.
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Piloting - This course includes a
student guide with color graphics, core instructional material, and numerous
hands-on exercises. In addition, the course includes a CD with Maptech’s Chart
Navigator software and an extensive selection of charts – including our own
Bowditch Bay. This enables students to practice and duplicate exercises using
digital charts as well as hand plotting.
The accompanying text, The Weekend Navigator, provides background material with
well over 300 color graphics to explain the principles of electronic and
traditional navigation for today’s boaters.
Until now, there has been little available to show boaters how to really
navigate with electronics. Whether you use a handheld GPS or a chart plotter,
you will learn a great deal about how to get the most from your gear.
| Start Date: |
January 20, 2010
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| Time: |
1900 - 2100 |
| Instructor: |
Lynn Dail |
| Email: |
dail.lynn@epa.gov |
| Location: |
American Red Cross Building 100 N. Peartree Ln., Raleigh, NC. The class will be held in the "Boardroom" upstairs. |
| Phone: |
(919)
806-9007 |
Comments: Pre-payment for class is
required in order to insure the proper number of textbooks. Cost is $50.00 for textbook and weekend navigator software.
(Additional persons are $10.00 each if willing to share book). A PayPal account has been set up for your convenience.
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Advanced Piloting - Review of
Piloting; position by bearing, soundings, and angles; tides and currents;
speed-time-distance accuracy; learn to predict and determine position on a
cruise.
| Start Date: |
April 7, 2010
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| Time: |
1900 - 2100 |
| Instructor: |
George Malindzak |
| Email: |
educationofficer@rsps.org |
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Location: |
American Red Cross Building 100 N. Peartree Ln., Raleigh, NC. The class will be held in the "Boardroom" upstairs.
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Phone: |
(919) 870-1834 |
Comments: Pre-payment for class is
required in order to insure the proper number of textbooks. Cost is $55.00 for textbook and weekend navigator software.
(Additional persons are $10.00 each if willing to share book). A PayPal account has been set up for your convenience.
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Junior Navigation - Fundamentals of
celestial navigation; importance of correct time and accurate plots; nautical
almanacs and navigational tables; using sextant.
| Start Date: |
In Progress |
| Time: |
Wednesdays, 1900 |
| Instructor: |
Wilbur Chapman |
| Email: |
executiveofficer@rsps.org |
| Phone: |
(919) 815-9103 |
| Location: |
6405 Lakeway Dr., Raleigh, NC 27612 |
Comments: Pre-payment for class is
required in order to insure the proper number of textbooks. Cost is $70.00 for the textbook.
(Additional persons are $10.00 each if willing to share book). A PayPal account has been set up for your convenience.
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Navigation - Extend your knowledge
of celestial navigation; theory; astronomical phenomena; mathematical
principals; practical applications.
| Start Date: |
Next Class Sept. 2010 |
| Time: |
1900 |
| Instructor: |
Ed Deyo |
| Email: |
edeyo1@nc.rr.com |
| Phone: |
(919) 467-6691 |
| Location: |
105 Bethenia Place, Cary, NC |
Comments: Pre-payment for class is
required in order to insure the proper number of textbooks. Cost is $14.00 for the textbook (incl. Capn navigational Software, a $300+ value). A PayPal account has been set up for your convenience.
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Weather - Learn to read a weather map
and the sky; understand what makes weather; interpret cloud formations and
sequences; make your own observations and predictions.
| Start Date: |
January 19, 2010 |
| Time: |
1900 - 2100 |
| Instructor: |
Tom Taylor, Jeff Orrock |
| Email: |
tomtaylor3@yahoo.com |
| Phone: |
(919) 266-1860 |
| Location: |
National Weather Service Office, 1005 Capability
Dr., Raleigh, NC 27606 |
Comments: Pre-payment for class is
required in order to insure the proper number of textbooks. Cost is $54.00 for the textbook
(incl. weather forecasting guide). A PayPal account has been set up for your convenience.
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Instructor Development - Organize
your thoughts and make good presentations; communicate effectively; overcome
that "nervous stomach". This is a fun course that is helpful beyond the
classroom.
| Start Date: |
January 25, 2010 |
| Time: |
1900 |
| Instructor: |
Larry Stockett |
| Email: |
stockett@worldnet.att.net |
| Phone: |
(919) 788-0300 |
| Location: |
3901 Stags Leap Circle, Raleigh, NC |
| Comments: |
Please contact Instructor for additional info
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Engine Maintenance - This course teaches the principles of gas & diesel engine cooling, lubrication, ignition, and fuel systems. The purpose is to help you prevent problems from occurring and provide you with the basic skills needed to diagnose problems should they occur. Covered also are inboard, outboard, and outdrive propulsion systems including transmission and propeller selection. Various steering systems, instrumentation, and control systems are also explained and the course concludes with a section on "Emergency Repairs at Sea". This is a 10 week course.
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Sail - Handling, anchoring,
mooring, docking, stability, true and apparent wind, rigs and hulls, sailing
theory, laying up and fitting out. Valuable information for sailors and power
boaters alike.
| Start Date: |
Next Class September, 2010 |
| Time: |
1900 |
| Instructor: |
Michael Dykstra |
| Email: |
Michael_Dykstra@ncsu.edu |
| Phone: |
(919)387-8483 |
| Location: |
Michael's House |
Comments: Pre-payment for class is
required in order to insure the proper number of textbooks. Cost is $45.00 for the textbook.
A PayPal account has been set up for your convenience.
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Cruise Planning - Where to go, what
to see; what to take (and not take); all the details that need to be planned
before you go.
| Start Date: |
Next Class January 2010 |
| Time: |
TBD |
| Instructor: |
Bob
Belvin |
| Email: |
bobbel22@aol.com |
| Phone: |
(919) 846-2846 |
| Location: |
TBD |
| Comments: |
Call instructor for course information.
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Marine Electronics - Radio, depth sounders, Loran, radar, GPS; proper wiring; theory of electrolysis; batteries.
| Start Date: |
In Progress |
| Time: |
Wednesdays, 1900 |
| Instructor: |
Burt Pearson |
| Email: |
opportunity@embarqmail.com |
| Phone: |
(919)496-2865 |
| Location: |
Millbrook Masonic Lodge, 2400 New Hope Rd., Raleigh |
| Comments: Pre-payment for class is required in order to insure the proper number of textbooks. Cost is $50.00 for books and materials. A PayPal account has been set up for your convenience. |
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