Boat Driving Lessons on Your Own Boat | San Diego Yacht Training

The Program

What this actually is

Here's how it usually goes. The broker arranged a couple of hours with a captain when you bought the boat. Since then it's been YouTube at night and trial and error on weekends — and a quietly growing list of conditions you avoid. Departures only happen on glass-calm days. The family has watched a few tense ones and started suggesting lunch ashore instead. Nobody says it out loud, but confidence aboard — yours and theirs — has been heading the wrong way.

None of that means you're not capable. It means nobody ever actually trained you on your boat. The first session starts with a conversation: what do you avoid? Backing in? Wind on the beam? Leaving short-handed? Taking the family out without a second capable adult aboard? We build the curriculum from your honest answers and work through it at your pace — on your vessel, in your slip, in the conditions you currently wait out. Power or sail, 35 to 90 feet.

Who It's For

You'll recognise yourself in one of these

Zero-wind days only

If the forecast decides whether the boat leaves the slip, the boat isn't fully yours yet. We train in the conditions you currently avoid — deliberately, one notch at a time.

The family's confidence has slipped

They've seen the tense departures. Nothing rebuilds a crew's trust like watching you run the boat calmly — and getting real jobs aboard themselves.

You want your partner comfortable, not just aboard

A nervous partner quietly caps every trip you plan. Couples sessions get both of you operating, so the boat stops being your project and becomes something you do together.

The Curriculum

What we cover

Your curriculum, first session

We map your goals and your avoid-list, then sequence the sessions to attack them in order. No filler modules.

Docking and close-quarters

Your slip, your fairway, the actual wind you deal with. Repetition until the approach is boring.

Boat handling under way

Pivot turns, station-keeping, anchoring, MOB recovery — the manoeuvres that make everything else calmer.

Short-handed operation

Lines, fenders, comms and planning so you can run the boat without a crowd aboard.

Debrief and homework

Every session ends with written notes: what improved, what to practise, what's next.

Generic training builds generic confidence. Training on your own boat builds the kind you can feel in your hands on Saturday morning.

Straight Answers

Questions owners actually ask

Do you teach sailing lessons too, or just powerboats?

Both. I've run everything from a 1979 pilothouse sailboat (mine) to 90ft motoryachts. Sail handling, reefing, and short-handed sailing on your own sailboat are all standard requests.

How many sessions will I need?

Most owners see a real shift in two to four sessions. Docking confidence specifically often turns a corner in session two — it's repetition, not talent.

Can lessons count toward an insurance requirement?

Yes — if your carrier requires supervised hours, I log these sessions the same way. See the insurance-required training page for the documentation details.

What does it cost?

Training starts from $150. Every program is scoped to your boat, your goals, and the hours involved — and you get a fixed quote before we book anything. No hourly surprises.

Start Here

Request a free intro lesson

One hour on your boat, at your dock. No charge, no obligation. You'll get a straight read on where you're at, what to work on first, and whether this program is the right fit. If it's not, I'll tell you.

Or just call

858-230-5079

What this actually is

You'll recognise yourself in one of these

What we cover

Questions owners actually ask

Request a free intro lesson

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