The three-day Basic Keelboat Instructor Certification Course is an extremely intensive evaluation of your ability to teach sailing to the US SAILING Keelboat Certification System Standard. This standard is the most rigorous in the country and requires practice, study and preparation by even the most gifted and experienced professional instructors. We are evaluating in great detail everything about your teaching and sailing knowledge, skills and ability.
Prerequisites:
- Extensive experience sailing and teaching on keelboats.
- Current Standard First Aid and CPR cards from a USCG-approved program.
- Current US SAILING membership.
- Letter of recommendation from current/most recent sailing employer or if self-employed, a letter from another instructor not associated with your program.
- Written sailing resume.
- Minimum age of 18.
Evaluation Length:
Three days. Absence from any part of the course will exclude the Instructor Candidate from evaluation.
Successful completion of the course includes passing the following:
- Demonstrate competency in: Boathandling, Mooring, Shortening Sail, Docking, Navigation Rules (Rules of the Road), Heave to/Lie to, Marlinspike Seamanship, Aids to Navigation, Overboard Recovery. Instructor Candidates should anticipate singlehanding on a keelboat. In addition to many of the skills listed above, this will include demonstrating competency in sailing off the dock, mooring or slip, tacking, jibing, stopping, reefing, backing the boat and returning to the dock, mooring or slip.
- Sailing skills test - Practical*
- Marlinspike Seamanship test - Practical*
- Swimming/PFD skills check - Practical*
- Demonstrative and communication ability – Practical
- Basic Keelboat Instructor Exam – Written
- Boating Basics test – Written
- The Instructor Trainer's evaluation
*The sailing skills test, marlinspike seamanship test, and swimming/PFD check will be given to Instructor Candidates by the Instructor Trainer (IT) at the course.
Written tests will be handled in the following manner:
- nstructor Candidates will be provided with study questions in advance. The review questions for Boating Basics can be found in the back of the Boating Basics book. These questions can be used for open book studying prior to testing.
- The actual tests will be closed book. Questions on the Basic Keelboat Instructor Exam are based on the reading material, and the Boating Basics test will consist of questions taken directly from the study questions.
- A passing grade for each test will require answering 80% of the questions correctly.
- Practical and written tests each stand on their own. Each test must be passed and each practical skill demonstrated in order to successfully pass the course. The Instructor Trainer determines whether the Instructor Candidate successfully completes the course. Absence from any part of the evaluation session will exclude the Instructor Candidate from evaluation.
Course Outcomes:
- Passing:
The Instructor Candidate has successfully completed each of the items above and the Instructor Trainers’ Evaluation. In order to pass this evaluation, the Instructor Candidate must pass the instructor written exam with an 80 percent and the boating basics exam with an 85 percent as well as perform all teaching, swimming and sailing tests to the Instructor Trainers’ satisfaction.
- Plan of Improvement:
The Instructor Candidate has not yet successfully completed what is required and has been given a specific Plan of Improvement to complete with approved and assigned Training Program representatives within a specific time frame. Arrangements for re-testing and the completion of a Plan of Improvement must be done through the Keelboat Program office. The cost of completing a Plan of Improvement is $50, to be paid to the Keelboat Program office upon arrangement of the completion (with the exception of written make-up tests, which are administered with no charge). The responsibility for completion of a Plan of Improvement rests with the Instructor Candidate. Instructor Candidates will get only one chance to complete their Plan of Improvement, should they be unsuccessful at this attempt, they will have failed the evaluation. In this situation the Instructor Candidate may retake the entire course, at full cost, one year from the original course date.
- Failing:
The Instructor Candidate did not come close enough to meeting the evaluative criteria at the time of the course to be given a Plan of Improvement or did not complete the specifics in the Plan of Improvement that was given. If an Instructor Candidate fails an evaluative session and would still like to become certified as a Basic Keelboat Instructor, they may re-apply at a later date, one full year and at full cost, for another course.
- Plan of Completion:
Instructor Trainers were unable to complete the evaluation, therefore the Instructor Candidate must complete the course at a later date. US SAILING and US SAILING Instructor Trainers assume no responsibility for lack of wind or other acts of nature which may result in a Plan of Completion. Arrangements for completion must be done through the Keelboat Program office within 90 days of the course date, and will be dealt with on a case by case basis. Any additional expenses are the responsibility of the Instructor Candidate.
For more information about the Instructor Certification Course, please contact us.