beginner · Sail

RYA Powerboating Level 1 & 2

Learn to handle powerboats safely — from basic boat handling to independent coastal cruising.

DURATION

Level 1: 1 day. Level 2: 2 days. Often run together as a combined 2-day Level 1+2 course.

MODULES

4 mod · 8 topics

COST · RYA

Level 1: GBP 150 – 300. Level 2: GBP 250 – 450. Combined: GBP 350 – 600.

LEVEL

Beginner

WHAT THIS COVERS

RYA Powerboat Level 1 introduces you to powerboating fundamentals — launching, boat handling at slow speed, mooring, and basic safety. Level 2 builds on Level 1 with high-speed boat handling, manoeuvring at planing speeds, and coastal navigation. Level 2 is the qualifying course for the International Certificate of Competence (ICC), which most Mediterranean rental companies require.

WHO IT'S FOR

Anyone wanting to drive RIBs, sportsboats, tenders, or small motorboats. Level 2 is the practical minimum for chartering or renting motorboats in the Med, the Caribbean, and most popular boating destinations. Yacht-club members, parents teaching kids, charter customers, tender drivers.

SYLLABUS · 4 MODULES

LEVEL 1: 1 DAY. LEVEL 2: 2 DAYS. OFTEN RUN TOGETHER AS A COMBINED 2-DAY LEVEL 1+2 COURSE.

Powerboat Fundamentals

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Powerboat MOB & Emergencies

2 topics

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WHAT YOU'LL LEAVE WITH

**Boat handling at slow speed** — close-quarters manoeuvring, ferry gliding

**Coming alongside** and leaving a berth, both ahead and astern

**High-speed planing** — getting on and off the plane, trimming, handling chop

**Man overboard** recovery from a powerboat

**Basic navigation** — pilotage, ColRegs, buoyage relevant to powerboats

**Towing** another vessel, and being towed

**Safety equipment** specific to powerboats — kill cord, killcord lanyard, lifejackets

MODULE CONTENT

Powerboat Fundamentals

How a powerboat is different from a sailing yacht. The boat's behaviour at slow speed, planing speed, and the killcord that has to be on your wrist.

Powerboats come in two hull types: displacement and planing. The hull type decides how the boat handles, what speeds it operates at, and how you trim and steer.

Displacement hulls

Sit in the water as they move — hull stays at the same waterline at all speeds
Hull speed limited by waterline length (rough formula: hull speed in knots = 1.34 × √(waterline length in feet))
Energy-efficient at slow speeds (under 6 knots typically)
Used on: traditional motor cruisers, trawlers, sailing yacht hulls

Planing hulls

Lift up onto the water as speed increases — the bow rises, the stern flattens, the boat 'planes'
Speed limit set by power, not hull length — fast planing boats hit 30–50 knots
Inefficient at slow speeds (the boat is plowing through water rather than skimming over it)
Used on: RIBs, sportsboats, runabouts, jet-skis, most modern small powerboats

NOTE

The hump speed is the transition between displacement and planing — typically around 8–12 knots for a small powerboat. At hump speed, the boat is at maximum drag, the bow is highest, and the engine is working hardest. Push through it quickly with full throttle, then ease back once on the plane.

Boat Handling

Slow-speed handling, mooring, and the manoeuvres that the Level 1 and Level 2 exams test. Coming alongside, leaving the berth, ferry gliding.

Most of the difficult work in powerboating is at slow speed. The boat is not on the plane, the wind has more relative effect, and you are usually in close proximity to other boats or pontoons. The skill is to use propeller wash, prop walk, and small precise throttle inputs to position the boat exactly.

Slow-speed handling concepts

Prop walk — the sideways force from the propeller's rotation. A right-handed propeller (most outboards) walks the stern to starboard in forward gear, to port in astern gear
Pivot point — the point on the boat around which it turns. Forward gear: about one-third back from the bow. Astern gear: about one-third forward from the stern
Wind effect — at slow speed the wind pushes the bow off, more than the rudder/prop pull it back. Plan upwind
Throttle as steering — short bursts of throttle in the right direction often work better than continuous steering. Especially in astern

NOTE

Ferry gliding: using the engine to hold the boat sideways against a current, advancing slowly while crabbing into a tight space. Essential for tide-affected harbour entries. Power against tide + helm to one side = lateral movement without longitudinal progress.

Planing & High-Speed

Getting on the plane, trimming, handling chop, and the boat-handling skills that distinguish Level 2 from Level 1.

Planing is the high-speed regime where the boat skims on top of the water rather than plowing through it. Most modern powerboats are designed to plane; sub-planing speeds are unpleasant (high bow, poor visibility, fuel waste).

Getting on the plane

Crew positioned forward of mid-ships to push the bow down
Trim tabs (if fitted) set fully down
Apply full throttle smoothly
Bow rises sharply, boat slows briefly at hump speed
Boat surges forward as planing engages — bow drops, sound changes
Ease back throttle to cruise; raise trim tabs to a comfortable level

Trim is the angle of the propeller (and on outboards, the entire drive leg) relative to the boat. Up trim = drive leg angled away from the transom = bow rises = better visibility but slower. Down trim = drive angled into the transom = bow lowers = faster but wetter. The skill is finding the trim that lets the boat run flattest at the desired cruising speed.

IMPORTANT

Over-trimming up at high speed leads to chine walking — the boat oscillates side to side and can flip. If it starts happening, back off throttle and trim down immediately. This is a Level 2 advanced topic but worth knowing.

Powerboat MOB & Emergencies

MOB recovery from a powerboat, towing and being towed, and the engine-out scenario you should rehearse before the exam.

Powerboat MOB is faster and more controllable than yacht MOB because you have engine power. The procedure differs in that you typically use the engine to manoeuvre back, not sail.

Powerboat MOB sequence

Shout 'MAN OVERBOARD'
Throw a buoyancy aid — life ring or fender
Detail a spotter — eyes only on the casualty
Hit MOB button on the chart plotter if fitted
Slow down, turn 180° back toward the casualty (the 'one-turn' return)
Approach into the wind/tide — the same as coming alongside a pontoon
Stop the engine when the casualty is alongside (so the propeller cannot strike them)
Recover the casualty over the lowest part of the gunwale, or via a transom step / bathing platform

IMPORTANT

Engine off before contact. Always. The propeller injuries from MOB recovery are some of the worst marine casualties recorded. Stopping the engine takes 5 seconds and saves limbs.

RYA Powerboating Level 1 & 2

Learn to handle powerboats safely — from basic boat handling to independent coastal cruising.

DURATION

Level 1: 1 day. Level 2: 2 days. Often run together as a combined 2-day Level 1+2 course.

MODULES

4 mod · 8 topics

COST · RYA

Level 1: GBP 150 – 300. Level 2: GBP 250 – 450. Combined: GBP 350 – 600.

LEVEL

Beginner

Powerboat Fundamentals

How a powerboat is different from a sailing yacht. The boat's behaviour at slow speed, planing speed, and the killcord that has to be on your wrist.

Powerboats come in two hull types: displacement and planing. The hull type decides how the boat handles, what speeds it operates at, and how you trim and steer.

Displacement hulls

Sit in the water as they move — hull stays at the same waterline at all speeds
Hull speed limited by waterline length (rough formula: hull speed in knots = 1.34 × √(waterline length in feet))
Energy-efficient at slow speeds (under 6 knots typically)
Used on: traditional motor cruisers, trawlers, sailing yacht hulls

Planing hulls

Lift up onto the water as speed increases — the bow rises, the stern flattens, the boat 'planes'
Speed limit set by power, not hull length — fast planing boats hit 30–50 knots
Inefficient at slow speeds (the boat is plowing through water rather than skimming over it)
Used on: RIBs, sportsboats, runabouts, jet-skis, most modern small powerboats

NOTE

Boat Handling

Slow-speed handling, mooring, and the manoeuvres that the Level 1 and Level 2 exams test. Coming alongside, leaving the berth, ferry gliding.

Slow-speed handling concepts

Prop walk — the sideways force from the propeller's rotation. A right-handed propeller (most outboards) walks the stern to starboard in forward gear, to port in astern gear
Pivot point — the point on the boat around which it turns. Forward gear: about one-third back from the bow. Astern gear: about one-third forward from the stern
Wind effect — at slow speed the wind pushes the bow off, more than the rudder/prop pull it back. Plan upwind
Throttle as steering — short bursts of throttle in the right direction often work better than continuous steering. Especially in astern

NOTE

Planing & High-Speed

Getting on the plane, trimming, handling chop, and the boat-handling skills that distinguish Level 2 from Level 1.

Getting on the plane

Crew positioned forward of mid-ships to push the bow down
Trim tabs (if fitted) set fully down
Apply full throttle smoothly
Bow rises sharply, boat slows briefly at hump speed
Boat surges forward as planing engages — bow drops, sound changes
Ease back throttle to cruise; raise trim tabs to a comfortable level

IMPORTANT

Powerboat MOB & Emergencies

MOB recovery from a powerboat, towing and being towed, and the engine-out scenario you should rehearse before the exam.

Powerboat MOB is faster and more controllable than yacht MOB because you have engine power. The procedure differs in that you typically use the engine to manoeuvre back, not sail.

Powerboat MOB sequence

Shout 'MAN OVERBOARD'
Throw a buoyancy aid — life ring or fender
Detail a spotter — eyes only on the casualty
Hit MOB button on the chart plotter if fitted
Slow down, turn 180° back toward the casualty (the 'one-turn' return)
Approach into the wind/tide — the same as coming alongside a pontoon
Stop the engine when the casualty is alongside (so the propeller cannot strike them)
Recover the casualty over the lowest part of the gunwale, or via a transom step / bathing platform

IMPORTANT

Engine off before contact. Always. The propeller injuries from MOB recovery are some of the worst marine casualties recorded. Stopping the engine takes 5 seconds and saves limbs.