The Day Skipper course is taught on board a cruising yacht (for the Sail course) or motor cruiser (for the Motor course) of seven metres Length of Waterline (LWL) to 15 metres (LOA). You will learn pilotage, navigation, seamanship and boat handling up to the standard required to skipper a small cruising yacht or motor cruiser safely by day in waters with which you are familiar.
Duration: Sail: Five days/three sets of two days/five days non-consecutively in sets of three days and two days.
Motor: Four days/two groups of two days.
Preparation for the Sea
Knowledge of:
- Basic stability and buoyancy for small vessels
Knowledge of:
- Prepare a cruising vessel for sea, including engine checks, securing and stowage of all gear on deck and below
- Additional for Sail:
- Selection of sails
Deck Work
Can:
- Prepare an anchor, mooring warps and take charge on deck when mooring alongside, coming to a buoy, anchoring, weighing anchor and slipping from a buoy or an alongside berth
- Additional from Sail:
- Reef, shake out reefs and change sails to suit prevailing conditions
Navigation
- Is proficient in chart-work and routine navigational duties on passage including:
Knowledge of:
- The uses and limitations of AIS
Understands:
- Working up Dead Reckoning (DR)
- Use of a lead line, or similar
- How to work out a course to steer to allow for set, drift and leeway
Can:
- Take and plot visual fixes
- Use electronic navigation equipment for position fixing
- Use secondary means of position fixing
- Estimate tidal heights and tidal streams
- Use waypoints and routes
- Use knowledge of IALA buoyage
- Maintain navigational records
- Use an echo sounder
Pilotage
Can:
- Prepare and execute a pilotage plan for entry into, or departure from, harbour
- Use leading and clearing lines
- Use transits and soundings as aids to pilotage
Meteorology
Understands:
- How to interrupt shipping forecasts and use a barometer as a forecasting aid
Can:
- Source forecast information
Rules of the Road
Can:
- Demonstrate suitable awareness of other water users both at sea and in close-quarter manoeuvring
- Demonstrate a practical understanding of the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea
Maintenance and Repair Work
Knowledge of:
- The properties and uses of common synthetic-fibre ropes
Understands:
- Maintenance tasks and is able to carry them out
Engines
Has a working knowledge of the prevention of common engines faults and is competent in the following areas:
Knowledge of:
- The need for periodic maintenance checks on engines and electrical installations
- Requirements for tool kits, spares and lubricants
- The location of filters bleed points for fuel
- The tension of drive belts and how to adjust or replace them
Can:
- Carry out checks before starting, while running and after stopping
- Clean water filters and knows the locations of impellers
- Estimate fuel consumptions at various speeds and knows the effects of fouling
- Carry out basic troubleshooting
Victualling
Understands:
- How to victual a cruising vessel appropriately for the planned passage
Emergency Situations
Understands:
- How to issue distress signals by all available means, including distress flares and a VHF radio, in an emergency
- How to use a life raft
- How to secure a row
- Rescue procedures including helicopter rescue
- The effects of cold-water shock on a casualty in the water
- The aftercare requirements of a casualty who has been in the water
Can:
- Carry out the correct action as skipper for the recovery of a man overboard
Handling under Power (Sail and Motor)
Knowledge of:
- Effects of waves on boat handling and crew comfort
Understands:
- Differing styles of hull and propulsion systems
- How to moor and leave a bow/stern-to mooring (practical experience where possible)
- How to identify and take into account wind and current conditions when planning and executing manoeuvres (practical experience where possible)
Can:
- Carry out the following manoeuvres under power:
- Steer a straight course
- Turn in a confined space
- Anchor at a predetermined position
- Berth alongside
- Leave an alongside berth
- Pick up a mooring buoy
- Additional for motor vessels:
- Use power and trim tabs correctly
Yacht Handling under Sail (Sail Only)
Understands:
- The characteristics of different types of keel
- How to identify and take into account wind and current conditions when planning and executing manoeuvres and choosing appropriate sail plan (practical experience where possible)
Can:
- Bring a boat safely to and from a mooring buoy
- Anchor
- Steer and trim sails effectively on all points of sailing
Passage-making
Knowledge of:
- Marina locks
Understands:
- The practical benefits and limitations of a chart plotter or GNSS
Can:
- Plan and make a coastal passage, taking into account relevant navigational hazards and limitations imposed by the type of boat and the strength of the crew
Night Cruising
Knowledge of:
- Has experienced cruising at night, including leaving and entering harbour
Understands:
- Special considerations for pilotage plans, keeping a lookout and identifying marks by night
Next Steps
You now need to consolidate your training and gain skippering experience in waters with which you are familiar. When planning for going further afield and boating in an area in which you are unfamiliar, you should research whether the error is affected by any characteristics you did not experience on your course, such as katabatic winds a different buoyage system (IALA A/B or CEVINI), large tidal streams or range or different birthing arrangements (e.g. Med moorings). If your research shows further training would be prudent, please contact a RYA centre in that area.