Global 21st centurySailing and powerboating educationWith international bareboat certification and licensing

Launching, trimming, docking, & navigation — step-by-step trainingCore powerboating skillsAmerican national standards curriculum

Basic to ultra advanced trainingPractical on-water instructorsGlobal network — north america and worldwide

Docking, charter preparation for modern cruising catsCatamaran training & certificationRecognized by charter companies and international port authorities

Build confidence for docking, navigation, weather, and systems essentialsAdvanced large power and sailboat trainingCompetency-based curriculum for chartering and ownership

The most modern up-to-dateInternational boating education platformApproved by the us coast guard under edu-1 and edu-3

Learn sailing

Beginner to advanced sailing

Explore Sailing Courses

Learn Powerboating

Real-world boat handling

Explore Powerboat Courses

Free Online Courses

Free eLogbook, eResume,
and more

Get Started Free

On-Water Training

Train with qualified
instructors

Find an instructor

Charters & Vacations

Charter with Expert Support

Plan a Charter Vacation

NauticEd is a modern sailing and powerboating education company that helps boaters build real competence through online learning, verified experience, and on-water training and assessment — from your first lesson to confident boat ownership and bareboat charter.

How NauticEd Works

NauticEd helps you build real competence through knowledge, on-water skills, and experience — so you feel safe and confident, no matter your goal. When needed, that competence supports certification and licensing, plus charter readiness and boat ownership.

1
Learn Theory & Knowledge

Why knowledge

Learn at your own pace with online courses that help you understand what to do — before you do it.
2
Skills Training & Assessment

Why skills

Apply what you learned and build skills through on-water practice and instruction.
3
Gain & Document Experience

Why experience

Real competence comes from doing. Log your experience and demonstrate your competence — with your free boating resume.

Results of real competence

Certification & licensing
Safety and real-world confidence
Bareboat charter readliness
Confident boat ownership

Start for Free

Why NauticEd?

A competence-first approach to learning, assessment, and real-world boating.

Competence Over Certification

Learning isn't complete until knowledge and skills work in the real world.
Assessment, Not Pressure

Progress is based on demonstrated ability — not a one-day test.
Experience Matters

Real competence comes from time on the water.
Education that Grows with You

From your first lesson to ownership and chartering — one continuous system.

Sailing & Powerboat Courses

Over 30 multimedia online and mobile device sailing and powerboat courses for beginners through advanced training. All surpassing international standards.

GO SAILING

GO POWERBOATING

Sailing & Powerboat Instructors

A global network of sailing and powerboating instructors integrating your knowledge learned online with practical on-the-water training and certification by American National Standards.

Choose a learning path that fits your goals

Beginners - Sail & Power
Inland & Near-Coastal Boating
Bareboat Chartering & Multiday Boating
Advanced & Offshore

Recommended Courses for Your Goal

Introduction to Sailing Course Bundle
Get details
Skipper Small Sailboats Course Bundle
Get details
Skipper Large Sailboats Course Bundle
Get details
Skipper Small Powerboat Course
Get details
Bareboat Charter Master Sailing Course Bundle
Get details
Bareboat Charter Master for Powerboats Bundle
Get details
Captain Offshore Sailing Course Bundle
Get details

Show me the ropes - I'm just getting started

Actually, there are four ropes on a boat: the bell rope, the bucket rope, the life ring rope, and the bolt rope. Just saying, because there are a lot of crusty ol’ sailors that say there are no ropes on a boat. Don't get us started on crusty know-everything sailors. Anyway …

To eventually become a confident and competent crew member or skipper, you need theoretical knowledge and practical skills and experience. Makes sense, right?

BUT, what is the pathway for you to gain the competence you need? At NauticEd, we have put that pathway together but our software platform allows for individualization. Everyone's goals are different, everyone starts from a different place, and everyones learning rate is different. This is why our courses are in multi-media format and are put together in bite sized modules to make learning easy and make the learning stick.

Simply, an interactive animation can save a thousand or more words and have a far lasting effect. Thus, you will be experiencing a 21st century approach to learning sailing and/or power boating. In addition, with NauticEd, you will experience NASBLA and the US Coast Guard's American National Standards training standards for boating. This means your certifications, if and when, issued are backed by true competence standards.

When you create a FREE account with NauticEd, the software platform will guide you and track your boating knowledge, skills, and experience growth. Simply by telling us your goals and experience at the top of this page, we will begin to help you with which are the best recommended courses for you personally, a professional practical training instructor, and we'll give you a free electronic logbook that tracks your on-the-water experience as well as a free resume builing tool that tells you how far you are along in reaching your goals. It’s the 21st century way of becoming a competent boater - to match YOU!

For sailing, if you're new, we recommend that you start with Introduction to Sailing which is just $27. However, if you want to see how we roll first before your investment, take our fun FREE Basic Sail Trim course. In this course, you’ll learn about the wind and its forces on the sails through a series of interactive animations. It's a wee bit more advanced than totally basic so you might be flummoxed with some of the terminology. Don't worry, we cover all that in the Introduction to Sailing course. After we have built your confidence in yourself and us, if you want to become a competent skipper, we have two easy choices to continue.

Skipper Small Keelboat: This follows the American National Standards (EDU-3) and when combined with on-the-water training is approved as meeting the American National Standard for sailing training and assessment. It is for those who want to competently skipper their own smaller keelboat up to about 25 feet (8m)
Skipper Large Sailboat: This builds further on the American National Standards and are for those starting out on a bigger boat 26 feet to 56 feet (8m to 18m).

For powerboating, we recommend everyone start with the FREE Navigation Rules Course for Powerboats. The course is a fresh take on the rules or giveway and because it is in mulitmedia format, it will help you retain the information better. After we have built your confidence in yourself and us, if you want to become a competent skipper, we have two easy choices to continue.

Skipper Small Powerboat: This follows the American National Standards (EDU-1) and when combined with on-the-water training is approved as meeting the American National Standard for sailing training and assessment. It is for those who want to competently skipper their own smaller powerboat up to about 25 feet (8m)
Skipper Large Powerboat: This builds further on the American National Standards and are for those starting out on a bigger powerboat 26 feet to 56 feet (8m to 18m).

Read on ...

For practical on-the-water training, we strongly encourage you to gain professional instruction from one of our affiliated training instructors who we recognize as meeting the American National Standards. Our instructors are highly trained, qualified, and socially rated by previous students; this information is viewable on the school's NauticEd page. This allows you to be confident that you are receiving the best instruction and direction as you begin your boating journey. Gaining more experience can be as simple as getting on the water with friends, with the local yacht club, a shared boat club, a paid sharing arrangement with a friend's boat, or on your own boat.

As you gain confidence and competence at one level, we encourage you to go back to the training instructor and gain further practical knowledge to raise to the next level. You enter all this experience (and any past experiences) into your FREE electronic Logbook. Plus, your instructors will digitally sign your logbook at your competence levels. It's the world's most technologically advanced and simply structured boating education program.

Our proprietary algorithm analyzes the courses you have passed and your practical boating experience and then issues Rank and Level Certifications based on your accomplishments. Simultaneously, our badge program directs and guides you to perform micro tasks which educate you about proper boating habits and knowledge like checking your EPIRB or side-stay turnbuckles. And don’t worry, by the time you finish our courses you’ll be eating sailing and boating terms for breakfast.

At every step of the way, we are in the background building your globally recognized boating resume and guiding you as to what to do next.

There is so much more to NauticEd that you will learn about on your guided journey to becoming a confident and competent sailor or power boater. The best thing for now however, is that you can start for FREE with a FREE elogbook and resume building tool - oh and a free boating course. Just sign up. It is that easy.

Get started

View our specialized sailing courses

View our specialized power boating courses

Back to Learning Paths

Be a competent inland and near-shore skipper

To us, you’re already the smartest boater out there. Too many times we all hear “I got it, you don’t need to teach me anything” or even just an insulting "I know" comment can create danger - you just trained your crew to not say anything - ever. Yet these are the folks shown in the YouTube video collages of greatest boating bungles. The prudent boater is the one who says “You can never teach me too much”.

To become a confident and competent sailor, you need theoretical knowledge, practical skills, and practical experience. Makes sense, right?

While NauticEd teaches all courses to international sailing and boating standards, we are nationally approved by the United States Coast Guard and our SLC sailing license is accepted internationally including all countries in the Mediterranean. Thus, NauticEd guides you through it all: online multimedia courses and testing, professional practical training schools, and a free electronic logbook that tracks your on-the-water experience. All the while, our software simultaneously and automatically builds you a globally accepted sailing and boating resume. It’s the 21st century way of becoming a competent sailor or power boater!

For you, we have some great multimedia courses that are going to up your game, keep you off YouTube, and make your crew follow your leadership because you know what you’re doing with certainty and confidence - and, it is obvious.

But as you know, just passing an online course is not going to make you a competent sailor. You must have practical skills experience as well. This is why we provide you with a FREE electronic logbook into which you enter past and present practical on-the-water experience. Entries can be as simple as days sailing with friends, the local yacht club, a shared boat club, on your own boat, or you can formalize it with any of our affiliated professional schools.

We have also built the world's best and most professional network of trusted American National Standards on-water instructors. And, we have instilled in them a culture of competence. Meaning, they take the word certification seriously. They know what the words "I certify" really mean. That when they sign you off as competent, they are putting their professional objective opinion of you on the line by saying "I certify that in my professional opinion you can handle what the ocean will throw at you to the grade I am signing you off". That's serious! For you it means that when you choose NauticEd, you're choosing COMPETENCE.

Read on ...

As you continue to grow your theoretical knowledge and practical on-the-water experience, NauticEd is there - keeping track for you. Every time you pass a course, make an entry into your electronic logbook or perform a badge task, our algorithm automatically calculates and builds your sailing resume for you. So while we issue Sailing and Powerboating Certifications that are globally accepted, we focus more on ensuring you become worthy of having the helm in your hands. Thus the resume and thus the word "COMPETENCE"

Deciding between an apple or an orange can sometimes make you think - "which one". But having to decide between Competence or a Certification is a no brainer for the prudent. Competence means you have the knowledge, skills, and experience to make the right choices when safety choices are presented. A certification given during a weekend course? Well, at best, mounted in a nice frame on your office wall can be a conversation starter.

At NauticEd, we have a competence culture. We deliver competence and we will tell you when you are not. We are not here to sell certifications and likelyyou are not here to collect shiny stickers. Our American National Standards instructors are fully trained to identify weaknesses in your skills and help you work through those BEFORE it becomes a problem. Then and only then - after competence is identified, you will receive an American National Standards Certification - which actually means something to you AND globally.

We have arranged our courses into bundles that probably align with your goals - or you can buy any course a-la-carte to improve your knowledge in a particular area. For inland or near-shore knowledge and skills competence, likely the "Skipper" Bundles and the Skipper Practical Training with our Professional American National Standards instructors are what you need.

Check out these Courses and Bundles:

See our Network of On-Water Instructors

Be the skipper on a yachting vacation

We always say there is nothing better than taking a yachting vacation, and if you can think of something better, well … you can do it on a yachting vacation anyway.

To become a confident and competent Bareboat Charter Master, you need theoretical knowledge and practical experience. Makes sense, right?

But don’t fall into the “certification” trap. In order to safely charter a ½ million dollar boat and guide friends and family through ocean waters, a shiny bareboat charter certification sticker earned in a two-weekend cram will never suffice. We have interviewed dozens of the world’s top yacht charter companies and they all have one requirement in common in order to let you charter one of their boats: it is a sailing RESUME demonstrating you are truely worthy to take out their yacht. It must display sufficient theoretical knowledge as well as an acceptable amount of practical experience.

Plus, in the Mediterranean and the Seychelles, you need a Boating License. NauticEd's SLC is the perfect and legally accepted answer. If you are an already experienced sailor, the SLC is easy and simple to gain. For newer boaters, we have an easy pathway to competence and eventual licensure.

NauticEd guides you through becoming properly licensed and recognized for bareboat chartering competence: online multimedia courses and testing, professional practical training instructors, and a free electronic logbook that tracks your on-the-water experience. All the while, our software simultaneously and automatically builds you a globally accepted boating resume. It’s the 21st century way of becoming a recognized competent boater!

First, we start you out with our Bareboat Charter Master Bundle of multimedia interactive courses and tests. They contain all the theoretical knowledge you need to know including: coastal and electronic navigation, anchoring, maneuvering a large boat in a marina, leadership skills, living aboard, dinghy skills and much more.

Then you enter your past and present practical on-the-water experience into your FREE electronic logbook. Entries can be as simple as days out sailing and boating with friends, the local yacht club, a shared boat club, on your own boat, and/or if you need more formalized training or a refresher, you can learn with any of our affiliated professional practical training instructors.

All the while, NauticEd is keeping track for you. Every time you pass a course, make an entry into your electronic logbook or perform a badge task, our algorithm automatically calculates and builds your international accepted boating resume demonstrating your Rank of Bareboat Charter Master. This is what all yacht charter companies require. Read on ...

The Bareboat Charter Master Certification Rank for Sailboats requires the Bareboat Charter Master Bundle of sailboat courses:

Skipper Large Sailboat
Maneuvering Under Power
Bareboat Chartering
Anchoring
Coastal Navigation
Electronic Navigation

You can access these courses individually or as one bundle.

The Bareboat Charter Master Certification Rank for Powerboats requires the Bareboat Charter Master Bundle of Powerboat of courses:

Skipper Large Powerboat
Bareboat Chartering
Coastal Navigation
Electronic Navigation

You can access these courses individually or as one bundle.

In addition to the theory knowledge courses, you should have an adequate amount of experience skippering and appropriate type and size boat. NauticEd has also put together the Bareboat Yacht chartering program so that there is no doubt in your mind that you have the proper knowledge and skills to ensure your vacation goes off with out a hitch. If in any manner, you have doubts about bareboat chartering after finishing the courses, then you should get with one of our practical on-water instructors. They will run you through an assessment to help you find any weaknesses. The very last thing you want to do is to arrive on location not even knowing that you have a weakness. Think PRUDENCE!

To gain the NauticEd SLC international sailing and boating license valid for European waters, you must complete the appropriate Bareboat Charter Master Rank and do a 1 day assessment of your skills. But don't mistake the simplicity of the process for ease of good knowledge and proper skills. The SLC has high standards, standards that keep people off youtube's best boating bungles videos and keep their friends and family safe on the water.

So, here is a big bold audacious challenge for you: achieve your internationally accepted NauticEd Bareboat Charter Master Rank and an SLC, then go skipper the most amazing yachting vacation of your life.

Visit the SLC international sailing and boating license page here

Back to Learning Paths

The deep blue and beyond

Religious or not, they say that you will meet God on the ocean at some time. The ocean demands that you be prepared and able to handle what it will throw at you. It has a way of teaching you what you don’t know.

That said, maximum preparedness is the key. But you already know that; that is why you are here now. You know that to be safe, you need theoretical knowledge and significant practical experience. But how much knowledge and how much experience?

NauticEd guides you through it all: online multimedia courses and testing, professional practical training schools both near shore and offshore, a free electronic logbook that tracks your on-the-water experience, and badges that teach you proper and safe boating behavior. All the while, our software simultaneously and automatically builds you a globally accepted sailing and boating resume and international license (the SLC). It’s the 21st century way of becoming a competent sailor of boater!

For sailors, we recommend you start out with the Captain’s bundle of online multimedia courses. For offshore power boaters, our courses can be accessed al la carte. We recommend the Bareboat Charter Master bundle of courses for powerboats plus add Weather, Safety at Sea, and Storm Tactics courses. These ready you for the deep blue and beyond: understanding global weather systems, storm tactics, and safety at sea knowledge such as how to ditch into a life raft, what should already be stored in your ditch bag, global communication systems, what to do if you lose your rudder or hit a container, and how to repair shredded sails. We also focus on life aboard and simple tips and tricks to make life easier. If you are serious about getting off shore, then this is the bundle of courses for you.

But as you know, just passing an online course is not going to make you a competent blue water sailor or boater. You must have practical experience as well. This is why we provide you with a FREE electronic logbook into which you enter past and present practical on-the-water experience. Entries can be as simple as days on the water with friends, the local yacht club, a shared boat club, on your own boat. We also introduce you to specialized training schools that focus on offshore training. You’ll have an opportunity to join their passages and see for yourself the wonder and, truth-be-told, sometimes hardship of an ocean passage. Read on ...

The Offshore Captain Rank for Sailboats requires the Captain Bundle of courses:

Skipper
Maneuvering Under Power
Bareboat Chartering
Anchoring
Coastal Navigation
Electronic Navigation
Storm Tactics
Global Weather Systems
Advanced Sail Trim
Safety at Sea

Access individually or as one bundle.

Start now by signing up for the NauticEd Captain’s Bundle of Courses and begin filling out your FREE NauticEd practical logbook.

Plus many of our instructors have vast experience and have sailing the world experience themselves. See our network of practical instructors that can help you with your audacious goal

View the Captain Bundle of Courses here

Back to Learning Paths

Standards & Recognition

Built on recognized national and international boating education standards.

NauticEd's curriculum, assessments, and instructor network align with American National Standards and are recognized by maritime authorities worldwide.

Virtual Reality Training

Learn skills from basic sailing to advanced docking and Nav rules. Accelerate your training with cutting-edge VR tech.

Be amazed with VR

Trusted by the world's leading sailing companies

From our students

4.9 out of 5 average across 74,175 student course ratings.

"I liked that there wasn’t pressure to rush. I could actually understand what I knew and what I still needed to work on."

Jamie, first-time boater
"By the time we chartered, I felt prepared instead of just approved. That made all the difference."

Alex, preparing for bareboat charter
"NauticEd helped me see boating as a skill I could build, not something I had to pass or fail."

Morgan, new boat owner

Get a Free Boating eLogbook

When you sign up for FREE, we give you a free boating logbook. Why?

Click to view more

Planning a Yacht Charter Vacation? Expert Help Is Included

View Options

SLC and ICC International Boating License

The International Certificate of Competence (ICC) and the Sailing License and Credentials (SLC) are internationally accepted licenses for skippers wanting to charter recreational sail and power yachts in European waters.

Click to view more

Gain the SLC or ICC through NauticEd

The ICC, issued under United Nations Resolution 40, created a universally agreed upon standard of competence for skippers of recreational boats.

Recently, the SLC has become recognized as a more readily accessible and acceptable license for powerboats and sailboats because more schools are able to adminsiter the practical boating competence assessment - especially in North America.

How does the ICC work? Because the ICC was created by the United Nations, a country that has adopted Resolution 40 must approve and assign a company or association to issue an ICC License. The United Kingdom has adopted Resolution 40; it has approved the Royal Yachting Association (RYA) to issue the ICC license to sailors after a skills assessment. But because neither the USA nor Canada have adopted Resolution 40, no USA or Canadian appointed company or association can issue a true ICC.

To solve this, NauticEd worked closely with NASBLA, the US Coast Guard, and European Maritime Agencies to ensure the American National Standards for boating training were recoginised internationally. Thus now, the SLC and the SLC-p license administerd by NauticEd exclusively, is fully accepted by European port authorites and all yacht charter companies. Read on ...

To receive an SLC or ICC, students must pass a series of theory knowledge boating courses and a one-day on-water assessment that tests their international sailing or powerboating skills. The NauticEd Bareboat Charter Master Bundle of courses serves to gain enough theoretical knowledge to pass the theory portion of the assessment. The practical on-the-water portion of the assessment requires demonstration of skills associated with bareboat chartering. The full skills list is downloadable for free under a NauticEd student's curriculum tab when they sign-in to NauticEd. Significant past history of sailing or powerbaoting experience is also required to be logged in the student's free online logbook. All this ensures that not only is the student legally licensed to charter a yacht, but also the student has a sufficient resume to be accepted by the charter company. Note: a license AND an adequate resume is always required.

If you are going on a sailing or powerboat vacation, contact us. Not only are we experts and agents for all the yacht charter companies worldwide, we can advise if you need a license and if your resume is adequate.

Learn more about how to gain the SLC

Set up a FREE account now and get a free eLogbook and resume building tool.

For sailors, get two free sailing courses

For powerboaters, get a free boating course

Simple and Easy Access

Cross-Platform, Multimedia, Interactive, Real-Time, Mobile Friendly, Recognized, and More.

Click to view more

GET FREE SAILING AND POWERBOAT COURSES!AND A FREE eLOGBOOK AND MORE! Go

Global 21st centurySailing and powerboating educationWith international bareboat certification and licensing

Launching, trimming, docking, & navigation — step-by-step trainingCore powerboating skillsAmerican national standards curriculum

Basic to ultra advanced trainingPractical on-water instructorsGlobal network — north america and worldwide

Docking, charter preparation for modern cruising catsCatamaran training & certificationRecognized by charter companies and international port authorities

Build confidence for docking, navigation, weather, and systems essentialsAdvanced large power and sailboat trainingCompetency-based curriculum for chartering and ownership

The most modern up-to-dateInternational boating education platformApproved by the us coast guard under edu-1 and edu-3

Learn sailing

Learn Powerboating

Free Online Courses

On-Water Training

Charters & Vacations

How NauticEd Works

Learn Theory & Knowledge

Skills Training & Assessment

Gain & Document Experience

Results of real competence

Why NauticEd?

Competence Over Certification

Assessment, Not Pressure

Experience Matters

Education that Grows with You

Sailing & Powerboat Courses

Sailing & Powerboat Instructors

Choose a learning path that fits your goals

Beginners - Sail & Power

Inland & Near-Coastal Boating

Bareboat Chartering & Multiday Boating

Advanced & Offshore

Recommended Courses for Your Goal

Introduction to Sailing Course Bundle

Skipper Small Sailboats Course Bundle

Skipper Large Sailboats Course Bundle

Skipper Small Powerboat Course

Bareboat Charter Master Sailing Course Bundle

Bareboat Charter Master for Powerboats Bundle

Captain Offshore Sailing Course Bundle

Show me the ropes - I'm just getting started

Be a competent inland and near-shore skipper

Be the skipper on a yachting vacation

The deep blue and beyond

Standards & Recognition

Built on recognized national and international boating education standards.

Virtual Reality Training

Trusted by the world's leading sailing companies

From our students

4.9 out of 5 average across 74,175 student course ratings.

Get a Free Boating eLogbook

Planning a Yacht Charter Vacation? Expert Help Is Included

SLC and ICC International Boating License

Gain the SLC or ICC through NauticEd

Simple and Easy Access