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Skipper Small Powerboat | Online Course
Skipper Small Powerboat Mastery
** NEW 2025 ** Built to American National Standards, this course is the gold standard for operating powerboats 26 ft and under—whether you run an inboard, stern-drive, or outboard. In just 10 focused hours, you’ll gain professional-level skills:
- Precision docking and launch-ramp control in any wind or current
- Close-quarters maneuvering and right-of-way rules
- Near-coastal navigation with modern electronics and chart apps
- Essential systems know-how for engines, electrics, and fuel management
- Emergency drills for mechanical failures, heavy weather, and MOB situations
All content is self-paced, mobile-friendly, and scenario-driven, letting you sharpen skills on your schedule and revisit lessons anytime. Complete the program to add a respected credential to your NauticEd certificate.
Looking to command something larger? See our Large Powerboat Course for vessels over 26 ft.
Estimated time: 10 hours
Price: $125 $95.00
This course follows the American National Standards for on-water safe boating - Powerboats, which has been approved by the American National Standards Institute.
The Skipper Small Powerboat course is a 10-hour, fully online training program built to the American National Standards for safe powerboat operation. Designed for boaters operating vessels 26 ft and under, it delivers the essential knowledge and real-world strategies needed to operate confidently in near-coastal waters and moderate to rough conditions.
Covering all major propulsion types—inboard, stern-drive, outboard, and jet—this course includes precision docking, anchoring, navigation, electronics, and emergency handling. Each module is scenario-based, with practical instruction focused on actual boating situations—not just theory.
Whether you're new to coastal boating or refining your skills, this course offers a professional-level foundation trusted by marinas, instructors, and experienced boaters alike. Learn at your own pace and return to the material anytime for a refresher.
Topics covered in the Skipper Small Powerboat Course
- Maneuvering and Docking
- Slip Departure and Return
- Using Spring Lines
- Motoring at Speed
- Coping with Emergencies
- Weather and Sea Conditions
- Hull Designs
- Engines and the various drive systems
- Rules of the Nautical Road
- Communications
- Navigation
- Anchoring and Mooring
We guarantee both your satisfaction AND Lifetime access to any boating course you buy from us.
More about the online Skipper Small Powerboat course
- Learn to competently operate small powerboats up to 26 ft with this comprehensive online boating course
- Available immediately online
- Extensive and essential knowledge for operating at the beginner / intermediate levels for inboard engine powerboats 26 ft (8m) and below
- This boating course takes approximately 10 hours of total time to complete
- Take as long as you need to complete
- Return as many times as you like to review
- You may take the tests anytime and as many times as you like online via browser or offline via our mobile app. See our boating apps page
- Adds the Skipper Small Powerboat Course to your Boating Certificate and Resume
- This course follows the American National Standards EDU-1
- View Skipper Small Powerboat Course excerpts
This is an ONLINE course and test that is viewable in your browser window. The course pages are mobile-friendly. Thus you can review on any of your devices - computer, tablet, or phone.
Today's Investment: $125 $95
Not convinced yet that online boating courses are cool? Visit our fully interactive and completely free Navigation Rules Course. You'll see why online e-learning is SO MUCH BETTER than a boring old Book.
Upon completion, you will feel confident that you know the theory of what to do when in command of a small powerboat. And if you're new to the fun of boating, you'll look like a pro in front of your hands-on, on-the-water instructor.
Are you ready to "get your feet wet" and feel the exhilaration of boating? Then let's get started!
The test is reasonably simple as long as you have read the material. You can take the test as many times as you like to pass or improve your score without any extra cost. Once passed, you are awarded the NauticEd Skipper Small Powerboat Certificate and Rank, and you'll be on your way to building your boating competency resume, which can be used with boat rental companies worldwide. And the great thing is that once you've registered, you can log back in for life for FREE to review the material and brush up your skills. We're constantly updating the course and adding information on new technologies as they emerge, so for just $95 - you'll always be up to date.
If you still have questions about NauticEd, the courses, and/or the boating certifications, just ask our automated intelligent support system a question or contact us via email or phone - we're happy to help. Otherwise, register for the Skipper Small Powerboat Course now and enjoy your new adventures to come!
Learn all the theory of powerboating in the comfort of your home at your own pace with NauticEd. Register for the Skipper Small Powerboat Course now!
By Grant Headifen
NauticEd Global Director of Education
View Skipper Small Powerboat Course excerpt
List Price: $125.00 Price: $95.00 You Save: $30.00 (24%)
Excerpt from the course
Expand Excerpt from the courseAlready we have introduced you to a lot of information about boating - probably more than you thought. Well, hold onto your hat because this is the module you probably thought you signed up for - maneuvering your boat competently. Consequently, the topic of maneuvering and docking is the largest in this course.
This particular module covers general maneuvering - outside the marina. To lean a little on Pink Floyd's Meat and Pudding lyrics:
If you don't learn maneuvering you canna dock your boat.
How can you dock your boat if you canna do maneuvering!
Therefore this module is about making your boat do what you tell it to do using a combination of gears, throttle, and steering. No amount of holding your tongue sideways will help. To learn to maneuver less expensively, stay away from the marina at first. The following pages present real live exercises to gain confidence and competence in maneuvering.
Check out this animation on how to get into a slip with a heavy following wind.
Sea talk testimonials
I am a licensed U.S. Coast Guard 100 ton Captain and a commercial flight instructor. As an instructor, I am always trying to learn something new and a better way to teach my students. I have found that your sailing courses satisfy that need and thus incorporate them into my student syllabus.