Owner Yacht Training in Fort Lauderdale & South Florida
You bought the boat. Congratulations. Now comes the part where you'd like to leave the dock and come back to it without an audience filming from the seawall.
Fort Lauderdale is where we teach that, on your own catamaran or motor yacht, roughly 40 to 100 feet. It's a six-day week on your own boat, after closing, in some of the busiest water on the East Coast.
What the training is
- After closing, on your boat. Not a classroom, not a borrowed boat. The helm you'll actually use.
- Six days. Docking, close-quarters handling, systems, navigation, and the everyday decisions nobody covers during the sale.
- Insurance. Many policies restrict owner helm until training, and some require a captain aboard for a period, often a year. That's a common condition, not a universal one. A week of training insurers commonly accept for sign-off can often help satisfy it, depending on the insurer, so check your own policy or ask your agent.
- Need a captain first? Our sister company Premium Captains can put a captain aboard while you wait for training or for your insurer.
Why here makes a good classroom
- The New River and the ICW give you tight turns, current, and drawbridges, which is exactly what docking practice should feel like.
- Port Everglades teaches you to share an inlet with ships that don't slow down for anyone.
- The ocean is right there, so open-water handling doesn't need a long commute.
- Bridge schedules teach patience and holding position, two skills that come up every single weekend here.
FAQs
Can I do the training before I close?
No. Training happens after closing, on your own boat.
Will this get me off the captain requirement?
It can often help satisfy it, but your insurer decides. Check your own policy or ask your agent before you book.
Do you train on catamarans and motor yachts?
Both, roughly 40 to 100 feet.
How long is the training?
A six-day week on your own boat. Weather can move a day around, and we'd rather reschedule than teach docking in conditions nobody should dock in.
My boat isn't in Fort Lauderdale. Now what?
We also train out of Virginia Beach, and Premium Captains can bring the boat to either place.