Solent RYA Powerboat, Sailing, Motorboat, Radio & Theory Courses

Welcome to Solent Boat Training - Your gateway to unrivalled adventures on the open water, offering expert training in Sailing, Motorboating and Powerboating

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Solent Boat Training runs the full range of RYA Powerboat courses including the popular RYA Powerboat Level 2 ICC from as little as £199 per person.

RYA-Sailing-Courses

Solent Boat Training runs the full RYA sailing courses scheme including the popular RYA Competent Crew & Day Skipper Courses.

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Solent Boat Training offer the full range of RYA motorboat courses including RYA Motorboat Helmsman & RYA Day Skipper.

Solent Shorebased Courses

Solent Boat Training runs a wide range of shorebased courses including RYA VHF Radio, RYA Diesel Engine Maintenance & RYA First Aid at Sea from £49 per person.

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Solent Boat Training Special Offers & Gift Vouchers

RYA Navigation Course

Solent Boat Training runs all the RYA Navigation & Theory Courses including the popular RYA Day Skipper Theory.

Solent Day Sailing Courses

Our Solent Day Sailing Experiences are perfect for both absolute beginners with no sailing experience through to Qualified sailors looking for a day out on the water.

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Close quarter handling in the marina and sail trim are taught in these one day courses.

Cross-Channel-Sailing

Sailing mile builders in the Solent and the West Country. Available for groups or individuals from £199pp

About Solent Boat Training - RYA Advanced Training Centre

Solent Boat Training (SBT) is a leading National RYA boat training centre, providing expert marine training to both the general public and the maritime industry.  Based within the famous English Solent and offering 20 years of experience, we pride ourselves in delivering Low Student Ratio and Competitively Priced Training.

Our courses cover a wide range of water and classroom skills, catering to leisure boaters looking to enhance their knowledge and expertise on the water.

We have students traveling from all over the UK, Europe and even the USA, to train with our approved RYA, HSE & MCA instructors.  All the courses and events found on our website are run by fully qualified instructors and skippers from our own training centre.

Our highly qualified instructors and state-of-the-art facilities allow us to offer comprehensive training programs, designed to meet the needs of boating enthusiasts of all levels. Whether you are a beginner or a seasoned sailor, Solent Boat Training is committed to helping you achieve your maritime goals efficiently and safely.
 
We Specialise in Low Student to Instructor ratio training, at amazing competitive prices, because we believe in offering the best value for money.

 

Our Fleet of Boats are based in Southampton, allowing us to offer courses & events all over the Solent.

With our large assortment of yachts, motorboats & rigid inflatables, we have the complete flexibility to run courses for private individuals, companies and organisations alike. We offer training for all, from an absolute beginner to aspiring Yachtmaster Ocean Skippers. We also work alongside and are the training provider for Solent Boat Charters, a large local sailing events company. We have 6 classrooms, including a training workshop, all within the marina.  Together with free accommodation, included with all sailing courses, this means your training will be to the highest standard. We offer RYA courses from our Training Centre in Southampton, as well as own boat tuition all around the Solent area including, Yarmouth, Hamble, Lymington & Cowes.

RYA Powerboat Courses Inc Level 2 & ICC

We run the RYA Powerboat Level 2 courses throughout the year, on our own fleet of 6m training ribs, with Intermediate level training courses run on either of our 7.2m XS Ribs from our base in Southampton.

In addition, we also run MCA & SBT advanced powerboat training courses & events on our 7.5m XS Ribs. 

Many of these boats are MCA commercially coded vessels for day and night use up to 20 miles from land, far more than we actually require for these RYA powerboat courses.

We run a complete range of training courses including the RYA Intermediate Powerboat course and the RYA Advanced Powerboat course, with MCA commercial exam (by arrangement).

RYA courses are run from our Southampton based training centre, as well as own boat tuition all around the Solent including, Yarmouth, Hamble, Lymington & Cowes.

RYA Sail Cruising Courses Inc Competent Crew & Day Skipper

With our own fleet of Bavaria 37 cruising sailing yachts moored in Sharock Quay marina in Southampton offering the full range of RYA sail cruising courses from "Start Yachting", "RYA Competent Crew Course" the popular "RYA Day Skipper Practical Course" through to the Yachtmaster preparation course.

Their 3 double cabins and large saloon area make sailing the Solent, visiting new harbours and learning new skills a very pleasant experience indeed. We specialise in low ratio student to instructor courses as we feel this offers a more complete experience for very little extra expense.  We also offer our own SBT skills days, mileage builders and specialist events that fit perfectly in between the range of RYA sailing courses offered.

At SBT we believe in offering amazing value for money, compared to many local competitors, with most running courses a higher ratio of students per instructor on each course, while also charging more.

We offer our RYA courses from Southampton, as well as own boat tuition all around the Solent including, Yarmouth, Hamble, Lymington & Cowes.

Sailing Mile Building & Experience Sailing Days

With our yachts based in centrally in Southampton, we are able to offer a vast range of sailing mile builders and sailing experience days.  This allows our past present and future students the chance to increase their knowledge and experience, whilst putting in to practice, previously learnt skills.


Sailing Experience Days Sailing Mile Builders

RYA Motor Cruising Courses

We have a fantastic Flybridge Motorboat called 'Kingfisher', a Rodman 1040 Adv.She is perfect for the entire range of RYA motorboat courses. ' RYA Motor Cruising Training Courses' run from our fleets base in Southampton's Shamrock Quay. 

SBT courses offer complete flexibility to train you in many aspects of motorboat handling and fits in between the RYA motorboat courses.

We can run motorboat courses from our Southampton base as well as own boat tuition all around the Solent including, Yarmouth, Hamble, Lymington & Cowes.

RYA & SBT - Shore Based & Theory Courses

Our classroom overlooks Shamrock Quay Marina in Southampton and is only 50 yards from the water's edge.

Our classrooms are a warm and safe environment for all of our shore based courses, including; RYA VHF Radio, Marine Radar, First Aid, Day Skipper Theory, Coastal Skipper & Yachtmaster Theory courses.

Our own SBT Outboard Petrol Engine Maintenance course and the RYA Diesel Engine Maintenance courses have become increasingly popular.

HSE First Aid Training Courses

SBT are a fully certified HSE first aid training centre offering the popular First Aid Courses including;

  • Emergency first aid at work
  • Paediatric First Aid
  • Activity First Aid.

Own Boat Tuition

Our RYA instructors are able to travel to any venue in the Solent area and offer the full range of RYA courses on your vessel or at your premise. We call this own boat tuition.

 

Own Boat Tuition

Check out our Google Reviews

315 Total Reviews
Just completed the RYA Day Skipper practical course at SBT and couldn’t be happier with both the course content and the quality of instruction. Our instructor, Tim Pentall, instantly created an atmosphere of camaraderie amongst the crew, which lasted the whole 5 days - I hadn’t laughed so much for many years. The instruction given was top class, covering the DS syllabus but also concentrating on real world applications, with an appropriate level of encouragement and feedback both positive & (necessarily) negative being given. The night exercise in particular was comprehensively planned and appraised. Overall, I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend both course and instructor to anyone looking to pursue a RYA sailing qualification.
Ian Layford
07/07/2025
Hi Ian, We are very thankful for your course review, recommendation and positive words for your instructor, Tim (we will pass them on). We hope you will be able to put the additional skills learnt on you Day Skipper course to use in the future and look forward to seeing you again, if and when you decide to progress further. Until then, we wish you many hours of Happy and Safe Sailing. SBT Team 08/07/2025
Completed my PB2 course over the weekend and loved every bit of it from start to finish! A big thank you to my instructor Bryan — He was incredibly patient, clear in his explanations, and super supportive throughout. He really helped me feel more confident on the water .Grateful for such a positive and empowering experience!
Burcu K.
07/07/2025
Burcu, Thank you for your review, we will pass on your thanks to Bryan. Hopefully, with your new found skills and confidence, you will enjoy many hours of Safe and Happy boating. We hope to meet you again soon. SBT Team 08/07/2025
Me, my wife and my daughter had an excellent experience learning with Bryan. From start to finish, he was just fantastic!. His friendly attitude immediately put us at ease, and he explained everything clearly and in a way that was easy to understand no matter how complex the topic seemed at first. What stood out most was his patience. No question was ever too small or too repetitive, and he always took the time to ensure I fully understood each step before moving on. I never felt rushed or overwhelmed. Thanks to his calm guidance and clear instruction, we now really feel confident and safe behind the wheel of a powerboat. I highly recommend Solent Boat Training to anyone looking to learn in a supportive and professional environment!
Volkan Kaban
07/07/2025
Volkan, Thank you very much for your review and encouraging feedback for your instructor Bryan. We are delighted that you enjoyed your time with us at Solent Boat Training and we look forward to meeting you all again in the future. SBT Team 08/07/2025
Tim was a great instructor, he was always very helpful and informative whilst also being fun and kind. As someone who had never been on a sailing boat before, Tim teaching gave me great confidence and new skills. Would definitely recommend this course to anyone interested.
isabelle hague
04/07/2025
Isabelle, We are delighted that Tim could introduce you to the world of sailing. We look forward to meeting you again as you progress. Until then, Safe & Happy Sailing. SBT Team 08/07/2025
Delighted to complete my Day Skipper with Solent Boat Training. The weather certainly helped, but the boat, instructor (Simon) and experience were top notch. Book today for a day sail or a tuition week!
Nick Bailey
30/06/2025
Hi Nick, Thank you for your review and recommendation. We hope you will join us again when it is time to progress or just go sailing. SBT Team 08/07/2025
Attended the 1 day shore based SBT Petrol Outboard Maintenance Course. Great location, facilities, materials and props. Trainer was friendly and very knowledgeable. Good mix of theory and practical. Great value for money too.
Wai Wong
14/06/2025
Wai, Thank you for your review and we're glad you enjoyed your Outboard Maintenance Course with us. SBT Team 08/07/2025
The course was very informative and Sean was a brilliant teacher making things really easy to understand. Really enjoyed the weekend here. Thank you Solent Boat training!!
j h
11/06/2025
Thank you JH!!! It was great to meet you and we are glad you enjoyed your time with us. SBT Team 08/07/2025
I took the competent crew course here and it was brilliant. I learned so much every day. Our instructor, Tim, was always calm, collected, knowledgeable, helpful and encouraging, He always kept the crew safe while teaching us. He made time to answer our endless stream of questions and to offer advice. Thank you very much, Tim. The comp crew course at SBT is worth every penny for novice crew and complete beginners. On top of that, Tim helped to tailor the course to the crew's pursuits from the very start. Bring a notepad, and a camera to help remember everything!
Dylan Martin
06/06/2025
Hi Dylan, We are grateful for your review and encouraging comments for your instructor Tim. We hope to meet you again on any further courses. SBT Team 08/07/2025
Excellent course learned a lot Instructor Roy was very knowledgeable and helpful Would recommend these guys no question (PB2 course)
jim Cudd
03/06/2025
Jim, Thank you for your review and recommendation. We are glad you enjoyed your time with Roy. Please visit us again soon. SBT Team 09/06/2025
We have just completed our two-day Level 2 Powerboat course at Solent Boat Training. I had expected the experience to be a good one, but it exceeded my expectations. Alex was great; knowledgeable, skilled, and good company. Despite some filthy weather we really enjoyed ourselves, and learnt a lot!
Tony Ward
02/06/2025
Tony, Thank you for taking the time to pen us a review. Enjoy your boating and we hope to see you again soon. SBT Team 09/06/2025