THE CONFIDENT BOATER
Know More. Worry Less. Enjoy Boating More.
A full day of practical boating education, real-world advice, great stories, good conversation, and lunch—all designed to help you become a safer, smarter, and more confident boater.
Six Hours | Naples, Florida | Lunch Included
This Isn’t Your Typical Boating Class
The Confident Boater isn’t about memorizing a textbook or earning another certificate. It’s about understanding the things that make the difference between simply operating a boat and actually feeling confident making decisions on the water.
What is the wind going to do to my boat? What does that marker actually mean? Should I go out today? How much water do I really have beneath me? What should I say on the VHF? What happens if I run aground? How should I approach this dock? Which boating apps should I actually use?
These are the kinds of questions we’ll answer.
The Confident Boater is six hours of practical, real-world boating education built around real situations, real questions, and the waters we boat right here in Southwest Florida.
What You’ll Learn
The Confident Boater covers the practical knowledge every recreational boater should understand—and plenty of things you may have never thought to ask.
Know Your Boat
Understand basic boat systems, terminology, pre-departure checks, safety equipment, fuel, range, and how to better understand what your boat is telling you.
Know Your Water
Learn about tides, currents, depth, draft, channels, markers, shallow water, passes, and the realities of boating around Naples, Marco Island, and Southwest Florida.
Understand the Weather
Make better sense of wind, waves, marine forecasts, sea conditions, and how to make smarter go/no-go decisions before leaving the dock.
Navigate With Confidence
Better understand charts, GPS, chartplotters, navigation apps, route planning, aids to navigation, and situational awareness on the water.
Handle the Boat
Explore docking strategies, anchoring, line handling, close-quarters maneuvering, using wind and current to your advantage, and communicating with your crew.
Be Ready for the Unexpected
Know what to do when things don’t go according to plan—from VHF and Coast Guard communications to grounding, engine problems, person overboard, and other emergencies.
Apps That Make Boating Easier
Discover the boating apps we actually use for navigation, weather, tides, wind, marine conditions, vessel tracking, destinations, and planning a better day on the water.
Using AI for Boating
Learn practical ways to use AI to plan trips, understand weather and tides, research destinations, troubleshoot questions, build checklists, and make boating information easier to understand—along with knowing when not to rely on it.
Rules, Communication & Courtesy
Better understand the Rules of the Road, right-of-way situations, boating etiquette, VHF radio use, communicating with the Coast Guard, and working effectively with your crew.
Six Hours. No PowerPoint Marathon.
This isn’t six hours of sitting quietly while someone reads slides to you.
The Confident Boater is designed to be interactive—practical boating education mixed with real-world advice, stories, questions, demonstrations, and conversation. We’ll talk through situations you’ve encountered on the water, answer the questions you’ve always wanted to ask, and share lessons that come from actually boating in Southwest Florida.
Bring your questions. Bring your experiences. Bring the things about boating that still make you wonder, “What am I supposed to do here?”
And somewhere along the way, we’ll have lunch.
Because becoming a better boater should still be fun.
Meet Your Fellow Boaters
Some of the best boating conversations happen when the class takes a break.
The Confident Boater is also an opportunity to meet other local boaters, share experiences, swap stories, ask questions, and learn from one another.
Throughout the day, we’ll make time for conversation during lunch, snacks, breaks, and small-group discussions. You might meet someone who boats in the same waters, owns a similar boat, has solved a problem you’re dealing with—or simply knows a great place you haven’t discovered yet.
Boating is a community, and we want The Confident Boater to feel like one.
Come to learn. Leave knowing a few more boaters.
Ready to Become a More Confident Boater?
Six hours of practical knowledge, real-world experience, and conversations designed to help you enjoy your time on the water with greater confidence.
Who Is The Confident Boater For?
You don’t have to be new to boating to become a more confident boater.
New Boat Owners
You bought the boat. Now you want to understand it—and feel more comfortable using it.
Experienced Boaters
You’ve been boating for years, but you know there’s always something more to learn.
Future Boat Owners
You’re considering buying a boat or have one on the way and want to be prepared before it arrives.
Couples & Boating Partners
You boat together and want both people to better understand navigation, safety, communication, and what’s happening on the water.
Boat Club Members & Renters
You regularly use different boats and want stronger boating knowledge and decision-making skills wherever you take the helm.
Southwest Florida Boaters
You want to better understand our local waters, weather, tides, passes, shallow areas, regulations, and the things that make boating here unique.
A Full Day Designed Around Better Boating
More than a class. A full-day experience designed to give you practical knowledge you can use every time you step aboard.
$295 registration
Bring One Guest Complimentary
Because boating is always better with a friend.
6 Hours of Interactive Instruction
Practical, real-world education with an experienced USCG Master Captain.
The Confident Boater Course Guide
A resource you can take home and reference after the class.
Lunch, Snacks & Refreshments
Included throughout the day.
Small-Group Discussions & Breakouts
Work through real boating situations with other boaters.
Southwest Florida Knowledge
Local waters, conditions, challenges and situations—not generic boating theory.
Bring Your Questions
The day is interactive, so your questions become part of the conversation.
One Registration. Two Boaters. One Full Day. $295.
The Before-Lunch Guarantee
We’re confident you’re going to get real value from The Confident Boater.
If you paid the full $295 registration fee and decide before lunch that we haven’t delivered the value you expected, tell Captain Bill before the scheduled lunch break.
We’ll refund your $295—and give you another $295.
That’s $590 back.
No hard feelings. No sitting through the rest of the day just because you paid for it.
That’s how confident we are in The Confident Boater.
The Before-Lunch Guarantee is available to registered participants who attend and participate in the program in good faith. To qualify for the double-money-back guarantee, a participant must have paid the full $295 registration fee, attend from the scheduled beginning of the program, and personally request the guarantee from Captain Bill before the scheduled lunch break. The guarantee is limited to one claim per person and household and may not be combined with scholarships, complimentary registrations, promotions, or other offers. Participants attending with a paid scholarship registration may receive a refund of the actual registration fee paid, but do not qualify for the additional $295 guarantee. Complimentary registrations and guests have no paid registration fee to refund.
Announcing The Confident Boater Scholarship
We believe better boating education creates safer, more knowledgeable, and more confident boaters. As part of Sunshine’s commitment to our local boating community, a limited number of Confident Boater Scholarships are available for each class.
Selected applicants may receive a scholarship reducing the $295 registration to just $25.
A limited number of 100% scholarships are also awarded for each class.
Current Sunshine clients automatically receive a 100% scholarship as one of the benefits of being part of the Sunshine family.
Boaters referred by participating boat dealers also qualify for a 100% scholarship.
And because boating is always better with a friend, your registration includes one complimentary guest.
Scholarships are limited and awarded through the application process. Simply tell us a little about yourself, your boating experience, and what you hope to learn.
Ready to Apply?
Partners in Better Boating
There are several ways to be part of The Confident Boater.
Ask Your Boat Dealer
You May Qualify for a 100% Scholarship
Recently purchased a boat, have one being delivered, or currently working with a boat dealer?
Participating dealers can refer their clients to The Confident Boater and provide them with a 100% scholarship to attend.
Ask your dealer if they participate in The Confident Boater Scholarship Program.
For Boat Dealers
Give Your Clients More Than the Keys
Help your customers become more knowledgeable and confident with the boat you helped put them in.
Participating dealers can refer qualified clients to The Confident Boater and provide them with a 100% scholarship as an added benefit of your relationship with them.
Host The Confident Boater
Bring the Experience to Your Members
Are you a yacht club, boating club, residential community, marina, nonprofit, or organization serving Southwest Florida boaters?
Bring The Confident Boater to your members, residents, or guests as a private or sponsored educational program.
Contact us to discuss hosting a class for your organization.