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

357 Total Reviews
Did the Comp Crew course recently and I can't praise the company and our instructor Matt enough. Fantastic experience, learned a huge amount and it was very professionally run. Can't wait to get back and do the next stage.
Christopher Jones
21/10/2025
Excellent experience, very professional and knowledgeable personnel, I would absolutely recommend this company to anyone wanting to improve their sailing knowledge
allen brice
20/10/2025
My first training experience with SBT, indeed anyone, and a very good one. The course was well lead by our instructor Bryan, who seemed to go the extra mile with classroom info too. Plenty of time on the rib, both the serious stuff and the fun bits too. Probably helped being on a course with two other enthusiastic students. It feels like i came away with sound basic knowledge which i can now bulid upon. I will likely go back and do the higher levels. Highly recommended to anyone interesred in power boat training.
Richard Crawley
16/10/2025
Richard, Thank you for taking the time to review your course with Bryan and us at Solent Boat Training. We look forward to meeting you on future course we might be able to provide for your advancement. SBT Team 20/10/2025
Competent crew The course was amazing, Simon out instructor was top class, calm , patient and extremely knowledgeable. 10/10 highly recommend
Daniel Cropper-Holmes
14/10/2025
Daniel, Thank you for your review. We are delighted you enjoyed your time with Simon and look forward to meeting you again soon. SBT team 14/10/2025
Excellent training course , well managed training school. Fantastic location to gain experience and knowledge in a very busy marine environment. Instructors helpful and experienced. Completed my Competent Crew and will go on to get my Day Skipper Practical. First class !
Phil Ward
14/10/2025
Phil, Thank you very much for your review and praise for your instructor. We look forward to meeting you again and guiding you towards your Day Skipper Practical. SBT Team 14/10/2025
What a fantastic boat training company. I had Brian recently for a RYA level 2 power boat course and I thoroughly enjoyed every aspect of it! I honestly cannot fault it at all and im already booked to return in November to complete the VHF radio course. Solent Boating training is thoroughly recommended for any boat training needs...
Keir Doubas
04/10/2025
Keir, Thank you for your high recommendation and encouraging comments for your instructor. We look forward to seeing you again in November. SBT team 14/10/2025
Took the diesel engine course with Sean. Whilst I'm not ever going to make a mechanic I'm now confident I'd have a go if I had to try and fix one. A really good value,informative and fun day, thanks Sean!
Carolyn Thomson Easter
01/10/2025
Carolyn, Thank you for your review and we are delighted that you now have the confidence, to tackle any of those troublesome engines. SBT Team 14/10/2025
I recently completed the theory part of the Day Skipper course with Solent Boat Training and had a fantastic experience. Sean was an excellent instructor – clear, knowledgeable, and patient throughout. He explained everything in a way that made even the trickier parts easy to understand, and kept the sessions engaging. I came away feeling much more confident and well-prepared for the next stages. I’d highly recommend Solent Boat Training and especially Sean to anyone considering this course.
Aida P
29/09/2025
Hi Aida, We are delighted that you gained much from the course. We look forward to meeting you again, where you can put those new found skills into practice. SBT Team 14/10/2025
Amy Starkey
29/09/2025
Thank you for your 5 * review Amy and look forward to seeing you again soon. SBT Team 14/10/2025
Day Skipper Theory (split weekend - Sept 2025) - Expected to hate the course but loved it! This course massively exceeded expectations and I have no doubt that online versions can't be compared. Not sure how it's not a requirement for the Day Skipper licence. Our trainer was Sean who is great at what he does. I was very impressed at his ability to speak so enthusiastically and passionately about sailing theory for 40 hours., while cracking jokes and making it a really fun course to do. He was encouraging to everyone and extremely patient with the class, which made a really safe and easy going learning environment. Really recommend SBT and will be going back for sure :)
Charlotte Cooper
28/09/2025
Charlotte, We are delighted that we could be of service and that you enjoyed the course, more than you may have initially thought. We can't wait to meet you again and watch you put all that you've learnt, into practice on the water. SBT Team 14/10/2025