Private FAQ

One of the most common challenges to private instruction is the lack of boat preparation. It shouldn’t be any surprise that inexperienced person looking to hire an instructor would not know how to prepare their boat for safe instructional cruise however it is essential that the boat is seaworthy and ready to go before the Instructor arrives. All too often instructors have arrived at boats, schedules have been blocked out, and the required safety equipment or the other equipment on board is not functional and sometimes the vessel is not functional. This puts the Captain and Instructor in an uncomfortable position because they are expected or required to operate only seaworthy vessels and their license is at risk when underway on noncompliant vessels or malfunctioning vessels. It’s hard enough dealing with inexperienced crew and all of the risks involved adding a poorly maintained and prepared boat is more than should be expected of an instructor. If an instructor arrives at the Boat on the booked day and the vessel is not seaworthy and ready to go for any reason the payment will be forfeited and the boat will not leave the dock. 

If there’s any question about the seaworthiness or the preparedness of the Vessel, GBA will gladly provide services preparing vessels to be Coast Guard approved and seaworthy prior to booking instructors. This can be a valuable opportunity for owners to see what goes into preparation, maintenance, and testing of vessels prior to departure.

Another comment challenge that instructors deal with is boat owners bringing pets or children aboard for their booked lesson. This adds liability to the Captain and Instructor and distraction to Students and although it is recommended to enlist children and learn how to deal with pets aboard it requires twice the time at least to be booked so if you’re considering bringing your children pets or anybody who’s not interested in learning or becoming part of the crew, book more time.