Powerboat Training UK is a professional but family run RYA Training Centre that was founded during the year 2000. When we founded the school our aim was to grow a centre that coupled an honest and straightforward approach to dealing with our customers coupled to a highly professional approach to training using first rate facilities and equipment. Twenty five years on as one of the longest standing RYA Training Centres we are pleased to say that we think we have achieved and surpassed that aim.
Our history
Powerboat Training UK has brought together three longstanding RYA Training Centres to operate under one umbrella but each with their own distinctive histories, specialisms and strengths.
We started in 2000 with Powerboat Training UK. PTUK, as we often refer to the business, started with its first classroom at Parkstone Sea Cadets and a 5.6m Avon RIB based at Cobbs Quay Marina. Our approach with PTUK was to create a highly professional school with as far as feasible the approach of a larger professional organisation yet being ultimately a very small family run business. As we established ourselves in Poole and at Cobbs Quay Marina – where we took on permanent training space in 2003 – we started to train lots of local leisure users alongside many travelling to us from all over the UK. We also started to support various commercial, law enforcement and military clients.
In 2014 Aquasafe Powerboat School joined the PTUK stable. Aquasafe was founded roughly the same time as PTUK and was based initially from Calshot where it operated as part of Specialist RIB Charter. When that business was bought by Solent RIB Charter Aquasafe separated out to be run by Adam Wilson. We worked with Adam to assist with the set up of the school at Lymington Yacht Haven as Solent RIB Charter’s training provider. When Adam wanted to step back from the day to day running of the centre we took on its running and Aquasafe remains our RYA Training Centre with recognition in the Solent. We continue to work closely with Solent RIB Charter who we have worked with since we founded and they did likewise over 20 years ago.
2021 saw Marine Education come in under the PTUK umbrella. Marine Education was founded by longstanding RYA Trainer Candi Abbott who we have worked alongside for over 20 years too. Candi is author of the RYA Personal Watercraft Handbook and like Adam wanted to step away from the day to day running of a centre whilst remaining actively involved in the teaching. Marine Education is based at Port of Poole Marina and is where we run our personal watercraft instructor courses from and you may find yourself visiting the marina as part of a powerboat course to use the classroom there.
More recently
In recent years we have invested considerably to ensure that our website is as good as any other business in our sector and that the booking system we use gives our clients a positive, effective annd professional experience. We appreciate that at a time when you can purchase in seconds from Amazon or get a great buying experience from the John Lewis website then our clients will tend to expect similar from us. In reality we don’t have the resources of either of those businesses and the IT/web team at PTUK whilst good can only achieve so much but hopefully we get it right the vast majority of the time.
Post Covid PTUK has massively developed. The first stage was the new booking system we installed in 2001 and since then we’ve really pushed forward on the range of courses we can run. 2023/2024 saw us become both a Scottish Qualification Authority (‘SQA’) accredited training centre and a Maritime & Coastguard Agency (‘MCA’) approved training centre. The SQA’s equivalent in England & Wales is ‘Ofqual’ and the SQA and Ofqual are government bodies and they place exceptionally high demands on those that seek accreditation and then retain it. The MCA are similar and becoming approved by both is testament to the effort we go to to ensure that our internal systems, our instructors and the way we manage our instructor team are of the highest standard. Whilst the SQA and MCA are distinct from the RYA we have taken to applying those same standards across our RYA teaching.
Our investment has continued across our craft with our training craft being well equipped, in great condition and providing first class platforms for the training that we deliver.
Over the years the school has grown and evolved far faster than we could have ever hoped and we would like to think that we are now considered amongst the premier providers of RYA Powerboat, Personal Watercraft (‘Jetski’), Motor Cruising and Shorebased training in the UK – and for certain specialist courses further afield.
Our team
From our early days we have always been hugely careful about which Instructors we ask to train for us and always ensure that they go through a full induction programme before they work with you. After all whilst we can provide the facilities and the kit for your training course it is the Instructor that you will remember and will inspire you to recommend us to others.
We have a core group of Instructors that work for us with the majority having been with us for many years. The group of instructors is supported in the Office by Viv who ensures that everything runs smoothly and that Instructors, Classrooms and Boats are booked and that your course is both fun and straightforward to book.
The RYA Books
It seems amazing but it was about 20 years ago that Paul submitted the text and images for the first edition of a new book – the RYA Powerboat Handbook. Since that first edition there have been two further editions and numerous minor re-writes (‘reprints’) and we’d expect a fourth edition over the next year or two to address the changes that the RYA ‘Digital First’ project has given rise to. The RYA Powerboat Handbook is available in six languages (English, Portuguese, German, Italian, Arabic & Polish) and is widely recognised as the ‘goto’ publication for powerboating.
The RYA Advanced Powerboat Handbook followed on in 2014 which Paul also wrote. This book was aimed squarely at those at the advanced level as commercial operators or instructors. Both books are available via the RYA website and you can read numerous reviews about them on Amazon.
One of the comments we always hear about the books is how great the graphics are. Indeed they are and this is down to the illustrator – Pete Galvin – who worked with Paul on the books and translated Paul’s rough sketches into proper detailed images. When the Powerboat Handbook was finished Pete had never even been on a boat although a few years later we teased him down on his Level 2 course. Having read the book numerous times and drawn the images he was definitely the most experienced and least experienced person ever to do the course!
Paul and the instructor team also contribute regularly to a variety of magazines including a monthly slot with Powerboat and RIB Magazine. Paul was also one of a few contributors to the book – ‘Heavy Weather Powerboating’ published book by Adlard Coles.
As we have stated our approach is very much to be honest and upfront with people about training. We feel that by doing so – even if it means recommending people to other training providers – that this is the right approach. Like any business we won’t get everything right but we’ll be honest enough to admit our mistakes and work to improve. We hope this little trip through our history’s has been of interest. We know there are tonnes of schools out there to choose from and there are lots of schools with very good looking websites. Hopefully our longevity is testament to our approach.
We always welcome calls, emails and particularly visits to our Office. We sincerely hope that we have the chance of providing training to you and look forward to working with you.
Updated Jan25
