This course is aimed at people whom have no previous boating experience, also will further the training of more experienced users and will teach you both the theory and practical side on controlling a power boat in confined area i.e. in a marina and at high speed in open water.
We also added in an introduction to Chartwork & Position Fixing (as part of a BSAC SDC Course) where you will also have the benefits of understanding charts, tides and the weather, also how to prepare and execute a route passage plan to go to sea.
You will be out and about in boats on both days of this two-day course, which includes a mix of four theory, two dry practical and three open-water practical sessions aboard a RIB. You will learn about the responsibilities of owning, towing and driving a boat, and how to launch and recover it.
With a maximum of three students per instructor in sessions on the water, you will learn how to drive the boat and will have plenty of hands-on time to practise a range of boat manoeuvres to improve your boat-handling skills and safely drop off and recover divers on a dive site.
Practical skills include high-speed driving, slow-speed manoeuvring, anchoring and coming alongside. You will develop your overall seamanship skills, including voyage planning, essential rules of the road and learn the actions to take in an emergency.
This is a great fun and enjoyable course for all.....
Our next scheduled dates :-
30th & 31st March
15th & 16th April
4th & 5th May
18th & 19th May
15th & 16th June
6th & 7th July
3rd & 4th August
14th & 15th September
19th & 20th October
2nd & 3rd November
23rd & 24th November
7th & 8th December
Cost £285.00 + £65.00 for a printed training pack (while stocks last, before going digital).dates to be added…
No dates that work’s for you, simply give us a ring, happy to arrange bespoke dates…
Additional dates can be easily added for club or group bookings of 3
This is a one day workshop for individuals students who have completed the BSAC Boat Handling Course, specially designed to run on a one to one basis, to enable you to develop your skills in both theory and practical elements with a minimums of 5 hours behind the helm to gain confidence, so you can then be able to attend the Diver Coxswain Assessment (DCA).
This workshop creates an avenue for those who don’t have access to a Rhib or wish to fast track their training to gain the Diver Coxswain Qualification (please note the DCA is not included within this course).
This workshop can also be run for two students over two days, simply contact us for details ...
So what’s involved…
Prior to the event you will be emailed two simple passage plan exercises for you to prepare, both will be to local dive sites in and around Weymouth & Portland.
You will need to obtain a local chart of the area either Weymouth & Portland 2255 or ideally Portland Harbour 2268.
These passage plans will be of the same format which was taught on your BSAC Boat Handling Course with us.
On the day of the event, we will meet at Portland Marina and use our Dive Boat ‘Waverider’ as a floating classroom with tea & coffee, where we will review your passage plans and offer a supporting advice.
We will then go out on the water and review sheltered water manoeuvres including 3 point turn, picking up a mooring buoy and coming alongside the jetty. Afterwards we will then go out and locate and deploy a shot onto the chosen dive site using your passage plan.
We will then return back to the marina and carry out a review of your second passage plan and repeat.
We will also review MOB and emergency situations.
On completion you would have completed the minimal 5 hours and gaining vital experience…
Our next scheduled dates :-
11th & 12th May
22nd & 23rd June
13th & 14th July
10th & 11th August
31st August & 1st September
Cost £330.00
No dates that work’s for you, simply give us a ring, happy to arrange bespoke dates….
Additional dates can be easily added for club, group or individual bookings....
This two-day course, which includes a day afloat to consolidate your practical navigation skills following a day of theory sessions, dry practical sessions, and planning.
You will develop your overall knowledge of planning for more exciting exploratory diving, including:
Our next scheduled dates …
9th & 10th March
20th & 21st April
8th & 9th June
20th & 21st July
24th & 25th August
7th & 8th September
12th & 13th October
16th & 17th November
Cost £285.00 + £65.00 for a printed training pack (while stocks last, before going digital).
Additional dates can be easily added for club or group bookings of 3….
This is a one day workshop to refresh your practical boat handling techniques and theoretical skills with chart work, passage planning and seamanship knowledge, along with open water sessions to enhance your skills as a skipper and a navigator in preparation for the Diver Coxswain Assessment.
The following skills will be covered:
Our next scheduled dates :-
16th March
27th April
25th May
1st June
29th June
27th July
17th August
21st September
5th October
26th October
9th November
30th November
Cost £180.00
No dates that works’s for you, simply give us a ring, happy to arrange bespoke dates…
Additional dates can be easily added for club or group bookings of 3….
Open to anyone aged over 16 who has completed a BSAC Boat Handling Course or RYA Level 2 and has since logged a minimum of five hours boat-handling, or can demonstrate 20 hours or more of previous boat-handling experience.
We would require a written confirmation from the Diving Officer of the 20 hours Boat Handling experience.
In the Diver Coxswain assessment you will be orally tested on your theory knowledge of boat safety equipment, what to do in an emergency, knots and rules of the road.
You will be practically assessed on your skills covering:
Boat Handling is a great way to get non-divers involved in the club, especially if they have family members that dive. No diving qualification is necessary to take part.
On completion you can apply for the ICC International Certificate for Operators of Pleasures Craft available via BSAC HQ.
Our next scheduled dates :-
17th March
28th April
26th May
2nd June
30th June
28th July
18th August
6th October
27th October
10th November
1st December
Cost £170.00 + £15.50 (Assessment Pack)
Plus you need to purchase your BSAC Diver
Assessment Pack from the BSAC Shop.
https://923da3-3b.myshopify.com/products/diver-coxswain
No dates that work’s for you, simply give us a ring, happy to arrange bespoke dates…
Additional dates can be easily added for club or group bookings of 3…
Want to fast track your training…?
This bespoke BSAC intensive course, takes you from Boat Handling to Diver Coxswain Assessment in only 5 days…
Course is based on a maximum of two students per boat.
Day One & Two : BSAC Boat Handling Course
Day Three : BSAC Post Boat Handling Workshop
Day Four : BSAC Diver Coxswain Preparation Workshop
Day Five : BSAC Diver Coxswain Assessment
Our next scheduled dates :
Dates for 2026
23rd - 27th March
13th - 17th April (1 space)
27th - 31st July
No dates that work’s for you, simply give us a ring, happy to arrange bespoke dates…
Other dates available contact us for details.
Cost £1,500.00 + £65.00 for printed training pack (while stocks last, before going digital)
Plus you need to purchase your BSAC Diver Assessment Pack from the BSAC Shop.
If you’re an experienced Boat Handler looking to sharpen your edge or want to refresh and enhance your existing skills ready to teach others, the new Boat Handling Instructor Workshop (BHIW) is designed with you in mind.
This intensive two-day course and assessment focuses not just on what you teach, but how you teach it – raising standards and confidence at every level.
Day one centres on hands-on practice, honing your own handling skills and exploring teaching methods. Day two progresses to showcasing your instruction techniques and knowledge, assessing your ability to teach both practical and theoretical elements of boat handling.
Successful candidates will be registered as approved Boat Handling Instructors, able to teach independently within club, regional or centre environments.
Open to all BSAC Open Water Instructors who are also experienced Diver Coxswains, the new workshop aims to give members greater opportunity to become a Boat Handling Instructor. Once qualified, they will be able to teach BSAC's Boat Handling SDC within their own club.
To participate in the new Boat Handling
Instructor Workshop, members need to be
an Open Water Instructor and current BSAC
member medically tit to dive, as well as a
BSAC Diver Cox'n with at least 20 logged boat handling hours and hold a RYA VHF SRC Radio certificate.
Next scheduled dates are:-
Contact us for details…
Cost £250.00 (plus training pack)
Additional dates can be easily added for club or group bookings…
This one day course will give you the confidence to use first aid in a real emergency, including improvising dressings and splints using materials and equipment commonly found at the dive site or on a dive boat.
Contact us for dates ….
Cost £165.00 (plus training pack)
Additional dates can be easily added for club or group bookings…
£8.50 including postage.
Paperback copy of the current edition of this comprehensive manual covering every aspect of seamanship a diver coxswain is ever likely to require, which is also a vital revision manual for First Class Divers and Instructors.
A comprehensive "Seamanship: A Guide for Divers" manual which covers various aspects of boat
£8.50 including postage.
Paperback copy of the current edition of this comprehensive manual covering every aspect of seamanship a diver coxswain is ever likely to require, which is also a vital revision manual for First Class Divers and Instructors.
A comprehensive "Seamanship: A Guide for Divers" manual which covers various aspects of boat handling, from basic terminology to emergency procedures, making it essential for dive boat operators. The manual also includes information on weather, charts, VHF operations, and boat maintenance, all in a format suitable for divers.
Key areas covered in the manual:
ISBN: 0953891976 (March 2020)
PLEASE NOTE: This book is included as part of the course material in the Boat Handling skill development course, available in electronic format only…
This course consists as a one day classroom based with theory and practical lessons to refresh the use of Oxygen Administration and Basic Life Support to a casualty and the use of an Automated External Defibrillator (AED). Being qualified in its use gives you the confidence to treat a diving-related injury either on a boat or on dry land.
Contact us for dates….
Cost £165.00 + £45.00 for a printed training pack (while stocks last, before going digital).
Additional dates can be easily added for club or group bookings…
This workshop is to make sure divers are fully prepared for diving in the sea in the UK and Ireland.
The aim is to reduce serious incidents and fatalities at sea.
Covering dive planning, rescue skills, sea survival and calling for help at the surface.
The workshop includes two dives which will cover key UK diving skills as well as the basics of sea survival techniques. Divers will have to plan dives thoroughly; we will cover other topics like how to call for help as well as how to increase visibility on the surface in a lost diver situation.
This workshop is aimed to provide not only a refresher of key safety aspects but also teach divers new safety skills.
This is a two day workshop with a days classroom theory and a practical day in water.
Cost £260.00
This is a 4-hour session, which serves as an introduction to the basics of boat handling. The session will cover essential pre-boat safety checks, the use of basic controls, how to steer and maneuver the boat from a pontoon, and how to control the boat at both slow and fast speeds within the safety of Portland Harbour. This introduction is a great complement to activities like Portland scuba diving. Cost: £225.00 (minimum requirement of 2 people).