Learn

Learn Boating Skills & Safety

Engage

Engage in the Fun

Connect

Connect with our Columbus Boating Family

Anchoring

Member Fee:         $  tbd      Nonmember Fee:  $  tbd

ANCHORING

Don't drift!  Understand the issues and problems involving anchoring, such as anchor types and sizes.  Learn proper anchoring techniques for your area.  By understanding anchoring conditions and situations, you'll protect your boat and get a good night's sleep on the water. The seminar materials include the Anchoring Seminar booklet and an optional Anchoring Quick Guide.

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Course Covers:

• Anchor Types

• What Size Anchor

• Anchoring

• Tips and Tricks

• Buying an Anchor

• Where Anchors Work Best

• Length of Line or Chain

• Types of Lines

• Types of Chains

• Holding Power

Charting

Member Fee:         $  0      Nonmember Fee:  $  0

CHARTING

Whether you're planning a cruise, going fishing, or traveling to a local marina, knowing how to read and use nautical charts is essential to safe boating.  Charts include must-have information, including bottom contours, hazards, and aids to navigation, to help you travel safely. Each student receives a Student Guide for the seminar. An optional waterproof flip-fold Chart Symbols and On-the-Water Guide to take along on the boat with you is also available.

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Course Covers:

• Chart Features

• Chart Scales

• Below the Water Information

• Aids to Navigation

• Latitude and Longitude

• Planning Your Course

• Obstacles to Avoid

Crossing Borders

Member Fee:         $  0      Nonmember Fee:  $  0

CROSSING BORDERS

​If you live in the border states, you can cross international borders and visit our neighbors to the north or south. But what do you need to know? This seminar explains the immigration and customs process and the programs that enable boaters to easily cross into Canada, Mexico or the Bahamas. Be prepared by having the correct documents; we can help you get there. Each student receives a full-color Student Guide especially written for the seminar.

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Course Covers:

• Immigration & Customs Process

• Correct Documents for Crossing

• Contacting the Proper Authorities

• Timelines for Entry & Departure

• Items to Leave Home

Cruise Planning

Member Fee:         $  0      Nonmember Fee:  $  0

Cruise Planning

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Course Covers:

• Planning & Preparation

• Boat and Equipment

• Anchors and Anchoring

• Security

• Chartering

• Outside the US

• Provisioning

• Crew Selection

• Emergencies

Emergencies On Board

Member Fee:         $  0      Nonmember Fee:  $  0

EMERGENCIES ON BOARD

Learn how to adequately prepare for common emergencies and deal with them when they occur.  Gain practical knowledge about accident prevention, running aground, onboard fires, getting lost, towing, and medical emergencies.  A must-have for skippers, this seminar provides valuable skills for anyone venturing on the water. The seminar comes with a full-color Student Guide for the seminar. The Emergencies on Board Quick Guide—a handy reference to use in responding to emergency situations—is optionally available.

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Course Covers:

• Preventing Accidents

• Making Emergency Calls & Signals

• Running Aground

• Person Overboard

• Putting Out Fires

• Losing Power

• Medical Situations

• Steering Failures

• Getting Lost

Marine Radar

Member Fee:         $  0      Nonmember Fee:  $  0

MARINE RADAR

Don't get lost in the fog.  Whether you want to navigate safely or decide what equipment to purchase, this seminar provides clear advice.  Learn how RADAR works, how to use it effectively, and its limitations as a piloting aid.  You'll receive a copy of the Student Notes that has copies of the slides used in the seminar. The RADAR Book by Kevin Monahan is optionally available.

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Course Covers:

• GPS Technology

• Chart Plotters

• Navigating by Waypoints & Routes

• PC Creation & Download to Device

• Device Features

• Tablet & Smartphone Nav Apps

• Maptech Chart Navigator Software

• Standard Horizon Emulator

Paddling

Member Fee:         $  0      Nonmember Fee:  $  0

Paddling

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Course Covers:

• Boards and Paddles

• Techniques

• Safety

Practical Marine Electrical

Maintenance

Member Fee:         $  0      Nonmember Fee:  $  0

Practical Marine Electrical Maintenance

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The Practical Marine Electrical Maintenance stresses the diagnosis of modern systems, while also teaching the basics of boat electrical systems.

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The 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 last chapter discusses solutions to problems that could occur while afloat and away from a repair facility.

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Course Covers:

• Overview of Electrical Systems

• Correct Installations

• Troubleshooting

• Tools Needed

• Fixing Common Problems

• Locating Stray Current

• Battery Maintenance

Practical Marine Engine

Maintenance

Member Fee:         $  0      Nonmember Fee:  $  0

Practical Marine Engine Maintenance

​The Practical Marine Engine Maintenance 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.

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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 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. It also covers basic mechanical systems such as drive systems (propellers), steering systems, and engine controls.

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Course Covers:

• Basic Engine Functioning

• Common Repairs

• Tools Needed

• Changing Oil

• Listening to Problems

Training Your Boat & Trailer Tune-Up

Member Fee:         $  0      Nonmember Fee:  $  0

TRAILERING AND TRAILER TUNE UP

Whether you're planning a cruise, going fishing, or traveling to a local marina, you need to know how to handle your trailer.

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Techniques for proper hooking up, load distribution, lighting, tires, and trailer maintenance are covered.

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Useful aids to backing up are an important part of the seminar.

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Course Covers:

• How to Trailer

• Basic Techniques

• Safely Coupling

• Lighting

• Backing Up

• Highway Safety

• Tires and Bearings

Weather

Member Fee:         $  5      Nonmember Fee:  $ 20

Weather

The safety and comfort of those who venture out on the water have always been weather dependent. In this course, students will become keener observers of the weather, but weather observations only have meaning in the context of the basic principles of meteorology, the science of the atmosphere.

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The course focuses on how weather systems form, behave, move, and interact with one another and reflects the availability of all sorts of weather reports and forecasts on the Internet.

Weather is a general weather course benefiting those sitting in their living rooms, as much as those standing behind the helm.

Each student receives:

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• a Weather Manual, America's Boating Club Weather, an explanatory text with full-color photographs and drawings covering weather in the United States and its coastal and inland waters

• a set of three Daily Weather Maps: learning aids with a complete explanation of map symbols designed to develop weather map reading and analysis skills

• NOAA’s Sky Watcher Chart: a reference to assist in identifying cloud types, helpful indicators of approaching weather.

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A closed-book exam is administrated at the last class and is mailed to America's Boating Club Headquarters for grading.

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Course Covers:

• How weather systems form

• Behavior, movement & interaction

• Reports and forecasts

• Meteorology

• Upper air systems

• Atmospheric dynamics