Boating Courses
Your Course to Safe Boating Begins Here !

Public Education Classes
Safe Boater's Class
Plus additional grade and elective courses

Please scroll thru the selections

 
 AMERICA'S BOATING COURSE
  The United States Power Squadrons
           
Award Winning Presentation !


         Your starting point for boating success !

    A dynamic one-day program taught by the
            Harris Chain Sail & Power Squadron along
                  with the  Lake County Sheriffs Office.  A
           "must do" for new boaters and an excellent
                 refresher for experienced boaters.
 
Often referred to as:

       The best boating education - anywhere !

It is State approved, and required for those born after January 1st, 1988 to receive a Florida State Boater Safety Education Identification card.

For more information about this class, from our national site, please click this information link

This class will be held at the World Famous
             The Villages
             Laurel Manor Recreation Center
             1985 Laurel Manor Drive
              The Villages, Florida 32162

 Look for Harris Chain Boating class signs.

This location is at the Corner of
                 State Route 466 & Buena Vista Blvd
 
                             Map Link Hit Here !

The course starts promprtly at 8:00 AM.
Class runs continously until around 5pm.

Please bring a bag Lunch as the class runs all day, without a formal lunch break.

This course concludes with a proctored test.

This course will satisfy Florida Court directed mandatory education requirements and Form 238 completion certification is available at additional charge.

Successful completion yields the candidate the following:

   - A state of Florida Safe Boaters card.

   - A certification of completion from the United States
     Power Squadron.

   - A Free six month trial membership in our local chapter,
     of the United States Power Squadrons !

We encourage entire families to attend -- at the same time!

Costs:  First Family Member  - $55.00
             (includes complete textbook set and Membership)

           Each same household, family member -
                          $25.00 each
             (Lectures and Testing, Membership)

               All Classes are to be prepaid via cash
                 or check , education department will 
                contact each student after they register.



          PRE REGISTRATION IS PREFERRED

                  Online Preregistration Closes 24 hours Before Each Class Begins

                      April 28th 2012 is the class date

              
Click Here To Pre-register  
      
          email the Course coordinator
                Lt/C Philip Ponticello, P

              352-702-0031  Squadron Hotline

    ****************************************************
            Brought Back by
         Popular demanD
     
Seamanship Class  

                   USPS education grade Course

              STARTING JAN 11th 2012
  Held at the Lake Square Mall- Community Room

This Seamanship course is a natural first/next step in building a foundation for confidence and competence for safe and enjoyable boating on the water. It extends the knowledge and skills of the boater in handling and maneuvering a vessel, either sail or power. The course provides a better understanding of how boats behave under various conditions including close quarters and open water operations. Knowledge and skills are increased in the areas of anchoring, emergencies, rules of the road, and marlinspike, also known as basic knots. Appendices include information to safe operation in waters of our neighbors to the north and south, Canada and Mexico. The course content and our series of coastal navigation courses should help in preparation for completion of the US Coast Guard licensing examination. An On-The-Water component enhances the learning experience.

   ####################################################

Piloting Course  
                          Completed Jan 2012

  Running Approx 10 weeks   7-9 pm

Held at the Lake Square Mall- Community Room

Piloting is the first course in the sequence of USPS courses on navigation, covering the basics of coastal and inland navigation. This course focuses on navigation as it is done on recreational boats today and embraces GPS as a primary navigation tool while covering enough of traditional techniques so the student will be able to find his/her way even if their GPS fails. The course includes many in-class exercises, developing the student’s skills through hands-on practice and learning. Ten classes normally are scheduled for presentation of this course. Topics covered include:

  • Charts and their interpretation
  • Navigation aids and how they point to safe water
  • Plotting courses and determining direction and distance
  • The mariner’s compass and converting between True and Magnetic
  • Use of GPS – typical GPS displays and information they provide, setting up waypoints and routes, staying on a GPS route.
  • Pre-planning safe courses and entering them into the GPS
  • Monitoring progress and determining position by both GPS and traditional techniques such as bearings and dead reckoning
  • The “Seaman’s Eye” – simple skills for checking that one is on course.



We would like to thank "The Villages" For supporting our safe boating effort. This partnership has provided a new group of safe boaters for Lake, Sumter, Marion and Orange County's of Florida
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Boat Operators Certification (BOC)
      Inland Navigation Segment
                 
Internationally recognized
                   The Harris Chain acted as host to the
                                        2nd annual
 United States Power Squadrons, members only, on the water, practical skills session. This class is an on the water, testing of skills and knowledge that is aquired through United States Power Squadrons classes. 

Succesfull Completion:
     Gives the member  an Internationally recognized 
            Passport that proves skills proficiency.

                         January 2011 National Meeting
                              Special Edition Class



-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

            Sail Class - elective course
                  Completed Feb 2011
Sail is a complete sail course beginning with basic boat designs, rigging and sail processes for the non-sailor.  The course proceeds into the physical aspects of sailing, sail applications, marlinespike, helmsmanship, and handling of more difficult sailing conditions, navigation rules, and an introduction to heavy weather sailing.


Classes will be held on Thursday evenings   7 - 9 pm
                      First Class    Jan 6th,  2011

        duration is expected to be 8 weeks

                              Class Completed  March 3rd, 2011

+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_
               Marine Electronics 
                   USPS elective course 
                          Completed Nov 2010 
 

3 segments of class study are involved. Segements will include Boat Electrical Systems, Marine Radio Communications, Marine Electonics for Navigation. A Boat is just not an Automobile on the water! Distinct differences in safety procedures, wiring logic and the use of specially designed electrical equipment will be discussed.

------------------------------------------------------
   Engine Maintenance
                        USPS elective course
\
    Completed 
----------------March 2010

Modern engines offer high reliability and good performance through the use of computerized systems for fuel delivery and engine timing. Most of these systems are “black boxes” that can no longer be serviced by weekend mechanics with ordinary tools. The EM course covers those repairs that do-it-yourselfers can still perform, teaches how to diagnose problems that might be beyond your ability to fix, and how to share information with your mechanic so the right repairs get performed.  The new Engine Maintenance 2009 also covers basic mechanical systems such as drive systems (propellers), steering systems, and engine controls.  The last chapter discusses solutions you might use to problems that could occur while afloat and away from a repair facility.  Gasoline, diesel, and outboard engines are treated independently in this chapter. 


Cruise Planning
                  USPS Elective Class-     
                Completed    July 2011

Designed for mariners who plan to cruise for just a day or for a year—in either a sail or powerboat—this course covers the following topics: cruise preparation and planning, boat and equipment, anchors and anchoring, security, chartering, cruising outside the United States, crew and provisioning, voyage management, communications, navigation, weather, and emergencies. The manual includes a twelve-month cruise planning timeline.


Become a Member - Enjoy the Privileges of membership !

                        The 

            
Best Boating Education

                investment you can make !

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  Held at the Lake Square Mall- Community Room

 

  Held at the Lake Square Mall- Community Room

 

  Held at the Lake Square Mall- Community Room

 

  Held at the Lake Square Mall- Community Room

 

  Held at the Lake Square Mall- Community Room

 

  Held at the Lake Square Mall- Community Room

 

  Held at the Lake Square Mall- Community Room

 

  Held at the Lake Square Mall- Community Room

 

  Held at the Lake Square Mall- Community Room

 

  Held at the Lake Square Mall- Community Room

 

  Held at the Lake Square Mall- Community Room

 

  Held at the Lake Square Mall- Community Room

 

  Held at the Lake Square Mall- Community Room

 

  Held at the Lake Square Mall- Community Room

 

  Held at the Lake Square Mall- Community Room

 

  Held at the Lake Square Mall- Community Room

 

  Held at the Lake Square Mall- Community Room

 

  Held at the Lake Square Mall- Community Room

 

  Held at the Lake Square Mall- Community Room

 

  Held at the Lake Square Mall- Community Room

 


Web Hosting Companies