powerboat certificate of competence

Chieftain Training

RYA & STCW Courses – Sail, Power, Super-Yacht & Workboat

MCA/RYA Advanced Powerboat COC Certificate of Competence

Advanced powerboat coc exam prep aims:.

The Advanced Powerboat COC Exam prep follows on from the RYA Powerboat Advanced Course. for those who require the MCA / RYA Advanced Powerboat Certificate of Competence. This Advanced Power exam also know as the Advanced Powerboat Commercial is intended for advanced drivers who wish to work commercially. It is broadly equivalent to the Yachtmaster Coastal Power Certificate of Competence Exam but examined in an open boat (such as an outboard driven RIB).

To give you the best chance of passing, we offer an intensive three day preparation course and exam. This will include two night exercises with our Instructor and a third one on the final night with your examiner. This course is often run back to back after the 2 day RYA Powerboat Advanced Course (similar named course).

ADVANCED POWERBOAT COC EXAM PREP DURATION:

This advanced powerboat commercial package spans three days. We need at least 4 to 5 hours of daylight and at least 3 to 4 hours of darkness each day so exact timings vary depending on the season. As an example, in December, Day 1 runs 1200 to 2100ish and June/July courses run 1400-0000ish. Day 2 is a longer day as you will complete a passage planning theory exercise in the morning as part of your exam preparation.

ADVANCED POWER COC EXAM PREP PRE REQUISITES:

Minimum age 18 (essential)
RYA First Aid or STCW Elementary First Aid or STCW Medical First Aid (essentiall)
RYA SRC, or higher GMDSS cert. (essential)
RYA Yachtmaster Offshore Shorebased (other training centres may accept you onto their exam preparation course without this prior training but we are committed to you passing your Advanced exam so will not waste your or our time)
RYA Advanced Powerboat Certificate (highly recommended)
RYA Radar (or equivalent knowledge)

The RYA and MCA state that Advanced Power CoC exam candidates must have the following minimum sea time, gained over at least two years.

30 days on board
2 days as skipper
12 night hours
For holders of the two-day Advanced Course Completion Certificate , this sea time is reduced to 20 days and 400 miles. We generally run these two courses back to back.

The cold and harsh reality is, that unless candidates have gained the above sea-time over a very structured formal training programme, they will usually require more experience in order to successfully pass the exam. You will typically log 6-8 night hours over the two training evenings of this course.

ADVANCED POWERBOAT COC EXAM PREP COURSE CONTENT:

There are four component to the final exam

Close quarter boat handling
Theoretical passage planning
Supporting knowledge (theory)
Skippering the night exercise (night pilotage)

During the Advanced Powerboat commercial exam, candidates will be expected to demonstrate that they are competent skippers. The examiner can test candidates on any part of the Powerboat scheme (except the safety-boat course) and on any part of the RYA Day Skipper Shorebased and/or RYA Yachtmaster Offshore Shorebased courses.

We will devote some of the advanced exam preparation course to each of the above four examined areas. However the two days preparation will be largely spent planning and carrying out the night exercise. The second morning will be devoted to your passage planning exercise.

It is important that candidate recognise this is an exam preparation course and they should arrive with knowledge and experience of most of the necassary skills and techniques. There is not time on this course to teach these skills from scratch, the exam preparation is an opportunity to polish and refine these skills with coaching from our Instructor before presenting yourself to an examiner on the final day. The exam syllabus is;

SYLLABUS FOR ADVANCED POWERBOAT EXAMINATION

1 preparation for sea.

Preparation of vessel
Safety brief
Stowing and securing gear for coastal passages
Engine operations and routine checks, fuel systems, kill cord
Fuel system, bleeding, changing filters and impellors

2 BOAT HANDLING

Hull forms and their handling characteristics, propeller configurations.
Knowledge of action to be taken in rough weather
Significance of tidal stream on sea conditions
Steering and power control through waves
Understanding and correct use of power trim and tabs
Towing, under open sea conditions and in confined areas
Strategy up and downwind and in heavy weather
Awareness of the effects of wind and tide when manoeuvring, including
Steering to transits and in buoyed channels
Turning in a confined space
All berthing and un-berthing
Picking up and leaving a mooring buoy
Recovery of man overboard
Awareness of ground speed and ability to hold the boat on station

3 RESPONSIBILITIES OF SKIPPER

Can skipper the vessel with effective crew communication
Preparing the vessel for sea and for adverse weather
Tactics for heavy weather and restricted visibility
Emergency and distress situations
Customs procedures
Courtesy to other water users

4 PASSAGE MAKING AND PILOTAGE

Your chart work and theory knowledge should include:

Charts, navigational publications and sources of navigational information
Chart work, including position fixing and shaping course to allow for tide
Tidal heights and depths
Buoyage and visual aids to navigation
Instruments, including compasses, logs, echo sounders, radio navaids and chartwork instruments
Passage planning and navigational tactics
Importance of pre-planning
High speed navigation, pre-planning and execution
Use of electronic navigation (GPS & Radar)
Pilotage techniques and plans for entry into or departure from harbour
Use of leading and clearing lines, transits and soundings as aids to pilotage.
Navigational records
Limits of navigational accuracy and margins of safety
Lee shore dangers

You should be able to enter and depart a charted port by day or night. Your Examiner will give you a pilotage exercise and ask you to explain your planning. You will need to be aware of the problems of collision avoidance and how to determine your position by night.

5 METEOROLOGY

You should be able to use weather and tidal information to predict likely sea conditions and make passage planning decisions.

Definition of terms including the Beaufort Scale, and their significance to small craft.
Sources of weather forecasts
Weather systems and local weather effects
Interpretation of weather forecasts, barometric trends and visible phenomena
Ability to make passage planning decisions based on forecast information

6 RULES OF THE ROAD

Application of the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea.
You should be able to identify vessels by day and night.

Candidates will be expected to know what safety equipment should be carried on board the vessel, based either on the recommendations in RYA booklet C8, or the Codes of Practice for the Safety of Small Commercial Vessels. In particular, candidates must know the responsibilities of a skipper in relation to:

Fire prevention and fighting
Hull damage/watertight integrity
Medical emergency
Towing and being towed
VHF emergency procedures
Explanation of helicopter rescue procedures
Use of flares
Man overboard
Search patterns
Lifejackets

WHAT’S INCLUDED IN THE ADVANCED POWERBOAT COC EXAM PREP?

2 days and 2 nights of instruction
Use of one of our RIBs for the 3 days and nights
Loan of a life jacket
An examiner arranged for you
Free on street parking
Tea & Coffee

WHAT’S NOT INCLUDED IN THE ADVANCED POWERBOAT COC EXAM PREP?

RYA Advanced Powerboat Exam Fee
Wet weather gear (£5 per day to hire)

OPTIONAL EXTRAS:

In order to then commercially endorse this qualification, skippers will also need a RYA Sea Survival Certificate , a Seafarers Medical from a doctor and a RYA PPR certificate. The RYA then charge you a commercial endorsement fee .

BOOKING THE ADVANCED POWERBOAT COC EXAM PREP

If the dates below do not suit please contact us as we may be able to arrange some dates around you.

IS THIS COURSE FOR ME?

This training course and exam is specifically aimed at the commercial sector (i.e. those wanting to drive powerboats for a living). The Advanced Power Exam will qualify you as skipper (master) of powerboats up to 24m in length, up to 20 nm from a safe haven and to carry up to 12 passengers. The Advanced CoC Commercial exam is popular across the industry from corporate entertainment RIB drivers, through wind farm transfer crew and onto parts of the offshore industry. It is a good stepping stone, on the way towards the Yachtmaster Offshore (Power) Certificate of Competence and probably the most appropriate MCA/RYA Certificate of Competence for skippers operating most RIBs.

WHY CHOOSE CHIEFTAIN TRAINING FOR THIS COURSE?

Our Senior management have been running preparation course for the Advanced Commercail COC since the day the exam was introduced in 2005. Our method is tested and proven and has set the industry standard which many other Instructors and training centres now try to follow. We want you to pass the final exam so we will push you hard during your time with us. Our Instructors will give you 100%.

Once you have booked the course and exam with us you will need to complete an RYA Exam Application Form