Irish National Sailing School
2027 Powerboat | Introduction to Powerboating | Course 1 | Saturday 9th January
Overview
Never driven a powerboat? By 5pm, you will have.
This is a one-day, hands-on introduction to powerboating in Dún Laoghaire Harbour, one of Ireland’s best places to learn. You don’t need any experience. Just bring your curiosity and we’ll take care of the rest. You’ll be at the helm from the start, learning to handle a range of boats with an instructor right beside you.
With no more than 3 students per instructor per boat, you get plenty of time driving rather than watching.
What you’ll do
- Get the boat ready for sea: the checks every skipper does before leaving the pontoon
- Starting up: engine starting and safety checks, done properly
- Master the basics: steering, low-speed manoeuvres, and parking and tying up alongside a dock
- Open the throttle: a RIB trip out of the harbour and your first taste of high-speed handling
- Bring them back: learn how to recover a person who has fallen overboard
What you’ll leave with
You’ll go home with your Irish Sailing Introduction to Powerboating Certificate, a lot of new confidence, and probably a big grin. If you’re hooked, the next step is the National Powerboat Certificate (Level 2), the qualification most people need to take a boat out on their own.
Who it’s for
Anyone aged 16 or over who wants to try powerboating: complete beginners, people thinking about buying a boat, or anyone looking for a different kind of day out on Dublin Bay.
Cancellations
Our cancellation policy for this course can be viewed here:
Why do we have this policy?
As a small business, we plan every course around the bookings we receive. Once you book, we schedule instructors, prepare boats and undertake other preparations. We want sailing and boating to be accessible to everyone, so we keep our fees as low as possible. That means there’s no margin to cover late cancellations, and we can’t make exceptions to this policy.
Please only book once you’re sure you can make your chosen dates. We look forward to seeing you on the water!
What To Bring
We provide waterproofs, lifejacket / buoyancy aid and all other safety equipment but it is necessary to bring the following:
- Warm layers to wear underneath water proofs.
- Grippy footwear that you don't mind getting a splash or two, old runners are ideal.
- Sun cream and hat (for sunny days) or
- Woolly Hat (for the colder days)
- Change of clothes, you're unlikely to fall in, but better to have them just in case.
- Shower Gear - Towel, Shampoo etc - for the same reason.
- Packed lunch, sandwiches are available from our onsite Café, or Monkstown Village is close by.
