Affordable ‘Intro to Boating’ course lets you experience recreational boating

ROCHESTER, N.Y. – Want to learn the basics of powerboating or brush up on your skills? A partnership between the nonprofit BoatUS Foundation for Boating Safety and Clean Water, Fleet Boat Club and West Marine will bring an affordable on-water boat training course, “Intro to Powerboating,” to the club’s location at 1384 Empire Blvd., Rochester, on Saturday, Sept. 29. The course is three hours long, taught aboard 20- to 26-foot single-engine powerboats, and priced at $149. Class size is limited to four students per vessel, ensuring each student gets sufficient time at the helm under the watchful eye of a U.S. Coast Guard-certified instructor.

Boats are provided by Fleet Boat Club. The course is offered at 9 a.m., 9:30 a.m., 1 p.m. and 1:30 p.m. Students will learn engine shifting and throttle control, steering, stopping and station holding, understand the “weathervane” effect and how to use “the boater’s eye” technique to safely navigate.

The goal of the course is to address the high costs typically associated with at-the-helm training, making hands-on boating education more accessible. It also offers area residents the chance to try out recreational boating and gives boaters the opportunity to improve their boat-handling skills.

Space is limited. Students must be 21 years or older. To sign up for any on-water training course from the BoatUS Foundation, go to www.BoatUS.org/On-Water.

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Affordable on-water “Intro to Boating” powerboat courses to be held Sept. 29 at the Fleet Boat Club, Rochester, NY. Save your spot! https://bit.ly/2vNFRUz @FleetBoatClub, @BoatUSFoundation, #BoatTraining

About the BoatUS Foundation for Boating Safety and Clean Water:

The BoatUS Foundation for Boating Safety and Clean Water is a national leader promoting safe, clean and responsible boating. Funded primarily by donations from the more than half-million members of Boat Owners Association of The United States (BoatUS), the nonprofit provides innovative educational outreach directly to boaters and anglers with the aim of reducing accidents and fatalities, increasing stewardship of America's waterways and keeping boating safe for all. A range of boating safety courses – including 36 free state courses – can be found at BoatUS.org/Courses.