Two days. One course.
You’re at the helm.
FBC Loch Lomond is an RYA-accredited training centre. The Powerboat Level 2 course is delivered on site at Loch Lomond — and it’s included with every membership.
We are an official RYA Recognised Training Centre.
Freedom Boat Club Loch Lomond is inspected and recognised by the Royal Yachting Association — the UK’s national governing body for boating. That means our instructors, our boats, our safety procedures and our teaching syllabus are all independently audited to RYA standards.
- RYA-qualified instructors — every course is delivered by certified RYA powerboat instructors.
- Certificates that travel — the RYA Powerboat Level 2 is recognised across the UK and internationally, and is the basis for the ICC (International Certificate of Competence).
- Train on the boats you’ll actually drive — courses run on our own member fleet, on the water you’ll boat on.
- Training included with membership — every new member’s RYA Powerboat Level 2 is part of joining, scheduled within four weeks.
Recognised Training Centre status is reviewed and renewed by RYA inspection.
The qualification most members start with.
Powerboat Level 2 is the recognised UK qualification for skippering powered craft up to 10 metres at displacement and planing speeds. It is the qualification most insurers, marinas and overseas clubs ask for, and it is the standard FBC requires of every named member.
The course runs over two consecutive days, with a maximum of three students per instructor. By the end of day two you will have driven the boat at speed, picked up a mooring, anchored, recovered a man overboard, and held the helm in real wind. Lifetime certificate, ICC eligibility (the international qualification you need for US clubs).
- Boat handling
Low-speed manoeuvring, ropework, theory - Coming alongside
Berthing, leaving and returning to the pontoon - Manoeuvres at speed
High-speed handling on planing craft - Anchoring
Anchor selection, scope, picking up moorings - Navigation basics
Charts, bearings, tidal awareness - Mooring & ropework
Knots, line handling, secure mooring - Man overboard
MOB drill, recovery procedures - Engine & safety checks
Pre-flight checks, emergency procedures
You do not need to know anything.
The most common worry we hear at a taster is “I’ve never even been on a boat” — and it is genuinely the wrong worry. Powerboat Level 2 is designed as the entry-level RYA qualification. Our instructors specialise in first-timers. Loch Lomond is a sheltered, freshwater training environment with no tides and predictable conditions for nine months of the year. You will be fine.
The course is also an answer to a question some new members didn’t know they had: can I do this at all? By the second day you have the answer, and the answer is yes.
What’s not included
To keep the course price honest:
- RYA certification fee — payable directly to the RYA on completion. Currently around £55.
- Fuel — used during the course. Charged at cost on the day.
- Photocopied course pack — handed out on day one, optional digital copy if preferred.
What is included
- Two full days of instruction
- Use of a training boat from the FBC fleet (Zodiac, Quicksilver, or SeaRay SPX)
- Insurance for the duration of the course
- Tea, coffee, water on board
- Access to the Bandry Bay pontoon and clubhouse
- The certificate-issuing process — we handle the paperwork
Try the boat first. Book the course after.
Most members do a free taster session before committing. The taster is a 90-minute experience at Bandry Bay — the boat handles you for an hour, you handle the boat for the second half.