Helms Course

Beginner to Intermediate Courses - Personal & Commercial

This course focuses on handling of a cruiser, narrowboat or barge, so providing people new to boating and experienced with the skills necessary to successfully skipper a vessel. The skills of slow marina handling and mooring on your berth is a necessity and an area where we focus to build confidence. Out on the water skills training, rope work, lock operation and theory elements all provide confident students who enjoy getting out onto the navigation. The course is run over two days and is up to three persons per instructor, people with prior experience can carry out the course as a one day direct assessment. Please see the course syllabus below.

The accompanying course book is available as a hard copy or the interactive ebook.

Helmsmanship & Boat Handling

Steering in a River or Canal

Interaction & Canal Effect

Control of Speed

Turning

Mooring & Unmooring

Man Overboard

Anchoring

Deckwork

Common Nautical Terms

Warps & Fenders

Throwing a Line

Knots

Securing

Engines

Engine Care

Routine Checks

Bridges & Tunnels

Operation of Bridges

Tunnel Procedures

Personal Safety

Identification of Risks

Cold Shock

Lifejackets & Buoyancy Aids

Crush Injury Fending Off

Risks to Children

Man Overboard Procedures

Locks

Maintenance of Levels

Operation of Locks

Lock Etiquette

Tending Lines in Locks

Care of the Environment

Avoiding Damage

Pollution Avoidance

Consideration for Others

Collision Avoidance

IRPCS Power & Sail

Bylaws & Local Regulations

Publications to be Carried