The Squadron Boating Course
Note: The Squadron Boating Course is no longer available from USPS Headquarters. This page will only remain available until the last The Squadron Boating Course classes are completed. The Squadron Boating Course has been replaced by America's Boating Course - 3rd Edition.
The Squadron Boating Course, 2004
edition,was shipped with a revised Bowditch Bay practice chart, new
exam and new instructor manual. The student manual also included the Maptech Chart Navigator Training CD. An
instructor update sheet was available.
The 2004 student manual had been recertified by NASBLA
with the use of an 18-page supplement. The
2004 edition included selected new graphics as well as all addendum topics
from the previous edition. In addition, several new topics had been
added: Homeland Security, EPIRBs, environmental tips, and Finding Your
Way Digitally.
The Squadron Boating Course 2004 exam had been revised to better address the NASBLA testing standards.
The 2004 Instructor Manual contained references to the The
Squadron Boating Course PowerPoint slides contained on the Basic Boating Skills CD shipped to all SEOs and DEOs. The IM also contained a detailed mapping of all new exam questions to the homework and information about the six exam questions that do not come from the homework.
The Squadron Boating Course was NASBLA approved through 31 December 2010.
Topics
News
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Revised Slides for The Squadron Boating Course Presentation. See the
Download section for an update to this presentation.
(05 Mar08)
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The Squadron Boating Course Plotter. The 8"x10" plotter
has been replaced by the standard 4"x15" plotter now used
in all USPS member courses. Three new files are available to help facilitate
this change: instructor information, revised student manual Section
7, and an animated PowerPoint presentation. Obtain the files from the
Download section.
(03 Feb 06)
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Downloads
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Revised Slides for The Squadron Boating Course Presentation. This PowerPoint file (535KB) contains a correction for
The Squadron Boating Course, Chapter 12, slide #52. Delete slide #52 and #53 and insert slide #2 and #3 from this file. Carefully read the comments on the ppt "Notes Page". That is, click on "View" and then "Notes Page". The revisions on slide #3 are just the animated arrows."
(05 Mar 08)
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New
Student Supplement to the 2004 Edition of The
Squadron Boating Course.
This 18-page
supplement (827KB,
PDF) to the 2004 Edition covers technological and regulatory changes
in boating as well as new information on boating equipment and
environmental conditions. The supplement is an important part of
the course material because it extends the NASBLA certification
of
The Squadron
Boating Course.
Instructor
information (18KB,
PDF) regarding this supplement is also available.
(16 Feb 07)
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The Squadron Boating Course
Plotter. An animated PowerPoint
presentation is the key means to introduce students to the 4"x15" plotter. Demos
are included showing the creation of course lines, determining direction,
and labeling. This presentation must be shown either with the
free 2003 PowerPoint Viewer (get it
here)
or the full 2003 PowerPoint program; prior versions of PowerPoint will
not display the animation.
Download
the ppt file (2894KB).
An optional,
multi-page update for Section 7 of the Student Manual is
available for download (PDF, 389KB). It is suggested that only
a limited number of hard copies may be needed. After viewing
the animated PowerPoint presentation, all students may not require
a copy of this Section 7 update. New orders being shipped by
USPS Headquarters will NOT include this update. A one page
Instructor Information sheet (PDF,
38KB) is also available explaining the change from
the 8x10 plotter to the 4x15 plotter. (03 Feb 06)
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The Squadron Boating Course Exam Information. The
exam answer 71b should be corrected to 082° (081° is a typo
in the new 2004 exam). Also,
please note that exam questions 73 and 74 utilize a measured distance
of 12.5 nm as determined from the paper version of the 2003 Bowditch
Bay chart (distance may vary depending upon chart shrinkage). The
2004 edition of The Squadron Boating Course also has duplicate
questions (#10 and #37) in the new exam. The Squadron Boating
Course Instructor Information (below) has guidance on how to handle the duplicate
questions. (16
Nov 04)
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The Squadron Boating Course Instructor Information. Download
Instructor Information (PDF,
23KB) for the 2004 Edition of
The Squadron Boating Course. This file
includes the update to
The Squadron Boating Course, Appendix A, “A
Day’s Cruise”.
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Two Page Homework Answer Sheet
Form. This
form,
as a 27 KB PDF file, is available for use in
The Squadron Boating
Course classes. We
recommend that this form be reproduced in double sided format so that
students have only one sheet of paper to deal with.
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The Squadron Boating Course PowerPoint Slides. These
are the same files and slides that are available on the USPS
Basic Boating Skills CD. If
you prefer, you may order the CD from USPS HQ. You will need Microsoft
PowerPoint to view or print the downloaded slides. See the Educational
Department Help page to obtain a
free viewer for
these slides. Download a printable
PDF copy (7KB)
of useful tips for these slides. Download the official USPS
PowerPoint slides for
use in
The Squadron Boating Course.
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