RYA START MOTOR CRUISING OVERVIEW:
This course is ideal for introducing friends or family members to crewing a motor boat, and for giving them an understanding of how they can assist the helm. Where as the RYA’s Helmsman’s Course is a beginner level Motor Cruising course aimed at those who will be taking the helm and may progress on to become a Day Skipper, the Start Motor Cruising course is designed for beginners who wish to crew, rather than take the lead.
RYA START MOTOR CRUISING AIMS:
This course is aimed at helping family members and friends crew a motor cruiser effectively.

RYA START MOTOR CRUISING COURSE DURATION:
2 days. This course is usually run alongside our RYA Helmsman’s, RYA Day Skipper Power and RYA Coastal Skipper Power Courses, which means you can train as a motor yacht crew while another family member trains to become a skipper. We can also run a bespoke stand alone Start Motor Cruising 1 day course if required.
PRE REQUISITES:
As a beginner level course, there are no specific pre-requisites for the Start Motor Cruising course. It is suitable for all members of the family, although children must be a minimum age of 8.
RYA START MOTOR CRUISING COURSE CONTENT:
- Personal safety
- Crewing and assisting the helm
- Seamanship
- Dealing with emergency situations
- Coming alongside
- Picking up a mooring
- Boat handling
START MOTOR CRUISING COURSE RATIO & VESSEL:
The RYA set a maximum Motor Cruising ratio of 5 students to 1 instructor (5:1) on Motor Cruising courses. While this may work in the sail cruising world, we feel that onboard a motorboat, this can lead to long periods of you watching others but with nothing to do yourself. At Chieftain Training, we deliberately go much further.
- Cherokee (8.5m, single engine): maximum 3:1
- Sybarus (10.5m, twin engine): maximum 4:1
Click here for information about our training vessel(s). Vessel allocation for a particular course is based-on our operational requirements.
WHAT’S INCLUDED?
- 2-days use of our motor cruiser
- 2-days of instruction
- Diesel and onboard consumables
- Lunch, tea/coffee and snacks on board
- RYA Start Motor Cruising Certificate
- Loan of a life jacket
- Free Parking

WHAT’S NOT INCLUDED?
- Accommodation
- Wet Weather gear (£5/day to hire from us)
