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Catalog of Course Descriptions
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America's
Boating Course
if you are interested in an exciting, in-depth boating safety course, check
out
America's
Boating Course.
Many boat insurance companies will offer discounts on boating insurance to
boaters who successfully complete America's Boating Course. And, this
beginner boating class will give you the knowledge needed to obtain a boat
license or safety certification in many states.
This boat safety course is fun and very thorough. The course content has
been developed conjunction with state boating safety agencies responsible
for boater education, is approved by the National Association of State
Boating Law Administrators (NASBLA), and is recognized by the U.S. Coast
Guard.
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Advanced Grade Certificate Classes
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Seamanship Building on the basics
taught in the public boating course, Seamanship is the recommended first
course for new members, both power boaters and sailors. Students learn
practical marlinespike, navigation rules, hull design and performance,
responsibilities of the skipper, boat care, operating a boat under normal
and abnormal conditions, what to do in various emergencies and weather
conditions, nautical customs and common courtesy on the water. This course
provides a needed introduction to the USPS Educational Program and a strong
foundation for members going on to other Advanced Grades courses and/or
Cruise Planning or Sail.
Piloting
is the first of the
navigational classes focusing on techniques for piloting a boat in coastal and
inland conditions. The course emphasizes planning and checking along with the
use of GPS for determining position, and introduces digital charting along with
traditional charting, compass and dead reckoning skills. Plotting, labeling, use
of the compass, aids to navigation and a host of related topics are included in
this all-new approach to coastal and inland piloting.
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Advanced Piloting
builds on the knowledge gained in Piloting to teach how to navigate safely in
coastal waters -- predict tides and tidal currents and their impact on boat
position, advanced positioning techniques, and the use of electronic navigation
systems for positioning and course planning You
must be a USPS member and have taken Basic Boating to sign up.
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Junior Navigator
begins the study of celestial and offshore (open-ocean) navigation, integrated
electronic positioning systems, sight taking with a mariner's sextant on the
sun, moon, planets, & stars and how to
reduce sights using the nautical almanac to determine position. Passage planning
with Pilot (special open-ocean) Charts, Personal Computers, Great Circle routing
and Wind & Current corrections all contribute to the students understanding of
the Offshore Navigators duties and routines to safely conduct a voyage.
Navigation
is the highest level certificate course
offered by USPS and expands the celestial skills learned in JN and will be
taught in conjunction with the New York Squadron.
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Elective Courses
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Marine
Electronics:
Part one of
the new 3
 part
USPS Marine Electronics Course, Marine Electrical Systems
covers the practice of wiring your boat, including boat electrical wiring
practices and diagrams, direct and alternating current power, galvanic and stray
current corrosion, and lightning protection. Students will make actual high
quality connections, build simple circuits as found in our boats, discuss in
detail problems involved in adding batteries and bilge pumps and are invited to
bring their electrical problems in for the class to discuss. Real life
troubleshooting is emphasized throughout, so students should feel comfortable
performing even tricky wiring tasks after passing this course.
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Engine Maintenance:
The new USPS Engine Maintenance
2007
 stresses the diagnosis of modern systems, while also teaching the basics of
engine layout and operation. Gasoline inboards, outboards, and diesel
engines are taught in a way that reinforces the common aspects of how
engines work. This new course is complete in one book with one exam.
Modern engines offer high reliability
and good performance through the use of computerized systems for fuel
deliveryand 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. Our Squadron places
emphasis on fuel storage and cleanliness issues for both diesel and
ethanol-blended gasoline. The new Engine Maintenance 2007 also covers basic
mechanical systems such as drive systems (propellers),
steering systems, and engine controls.)
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Amateur Radio: The North River
Technician
 and
General
License
Amateur Radio courses have eight sessions and cover the material
required to obtain an General Class amateur radio license. The FCC has recently
removed the Morse Code requirement for this license so that people who pass the
exam can operate on the worldwide amateur bands. The Course uses the ARRL
course manuals. These courses are not official USPS courses but are ARRL
courses with which USPS has a partnership agreement. |
Weather: Awareness of weather phenomena,
how to read the weather map
 and the sky, and understand and anticipate weather
developments for more pleasurable boating are the objectives of this course.
Subjects studied include: characteristics and structure of the atmosphere,
what weather is and its basic causes, normal development and movement of
weather over the earth, and the factors considered in weather forecasting.
Observations that the skipper can make afloat include both instrumental and
visual: cloud sequences and the weather they predict; air masses, fronts,
storms, and fog; and the use of radio and television weather broadcasts.
Throughout the course the student is encouraged to make observations and
predictions in order to gain experience in applying the principles taught
and develop greater insight into weather phenomena.
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