Certifications and Insurance

[hellosailor]

In the US, I think the federal Congress passed the "plain English" contract laws in the 1980's. That has worked about as well as the War Powers Act (designed to prevent another Vietnam mess) has worked to keep our troops out of the Middle East and other places where Congress has not made the required formal declaration of war.

[annualLeave]

Hello,
The issue of certification of competence for insurance is not as clear as many people think. Many companies do not require any certificate and will not even give a cheaper rate if you have one, but this is not always the case.
Boat charters do require a certificate of training (in Europe, usually ICC, which can be obtained directly with a RYA Day Skipper).
You are right that it is possible to learn a lot on your own. And if you are a self learner, you can save good money by doing it. Just make sure that you cover what is actually covered on for example RYA's courses.

However, I would not say that a online day skipper (RYA) is not worth doing. The fact that it is online does not mean that it is easy. There is quite a lot of work to be done (chartwork, reading, etc) that may not be straightforward for beginners. To complete the Day Skipper, it is also necessary to go for the Practical Course, which usually involves 5 days aboard.
Hope this helps.
Cheers

[Dulls]

Originally Posted by l2ustyl3ullet

Quiet right about the faceless internet. I just thought it might be a simple question where people can speak from the experience. And I have a dislike of talking to people on the phone for some reason.

But nice to get another opinion on the formal training.

Do the RYA Day skipper theory and then practical. It wont teach you everything
but it will teach you enough to start with and point out what you will need to know in the future. They are good courses. If you self teach you can do everything but you may have a few holes that need filling. I dont think anyone needs anything more than these courses.

[capt jgw]

The piece of paper just shows you've had the training. It's the training that's important, and if you get without the piece of paper that's fine. The problem is convincing other people like your insurance agent that you were trained. Hence the piece of paper.
I currently hold a USCG Master 200 GT license and spent many years running commercial passenger boats and teaching OUPV/Master license courses. I get no more discount on my insurance with all that then I did with just a basic boat safety certificate. The insurance carriers only want the basics, so that's all the paper you need. Pursue whatever more advanced stuff you want but it's just for your own peace of mind. Unless you want to go commercial, then come see me or others for the course.