The USPS® Boating Course is a traditional civic service of United States Power Squadrons®. Since the course began in 1914, local Squadrons have given it to anyone who wished to attend - more than three million people. This ever-growing interest leads us to believe that it has helped many and we feel that you, too, will benefit.
This course is designed to be useful to all boaters, from the fisherman in an outboard to the skipper in a family cruiser to the sailing enthusiast. All are subject to nautical rules and regulations. All should respect traditional courtesies of the sea. All are subject to the forces of nature. The course is meant to be of interest to the entire family, older children are welcome; we encourage your family to attend as a group.
United States Power Squadrons® Basic Boating Course is contained in six chapters. The course is divided into two types of learning: In class lectures plus reading assignments, and homework sections, not directly covered in the classroom setting. Each section of each chapter has homework questions at the end, used to test the Student's retention of the information presented. For a synopsis of the different classes click here.
United States Power Squadrons® also has a condensed Boat Smart® Class. The class is a shortened version of the Public Boating course but still contains the necessary information to be a smart, safe boater on our inland waterways. If a person enjoys boating and would like more knowledgeable they can join the Power Squadron and take a number of other courses from Sailing and Diesel Maintenance to Advanced Piloting and Celestial Navigation. By clicking on the Boat Smart above you can see some of the items covered.
Click on this link to check for upcoming classes.
The USPS course is also available for home study on a video. If you want to obtain the Boating Course Video and Plotting Kit call 1 (888) FOR-USPS.
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Webmaster; Cdr. David Baltzell, AP
Updated 28 Feb 2018