Western Australia Recreational Skippers Ticket Courses

The Recreational Skippers Ticket (RST) is set by the Department of Transport and required for anyone who would like to skipper a recreational vessel with an engine greater than 6hp in WA waters.

We’ve developed and refined our courses for over a decade to guide you effortlessly through all the RST requirements, and we’re proud of our 98% pass rate

A Recreational Skippers Ticket is needed for any person who wants to skipper a boat, dinghy, 70 foot launch or a PWC (jet ski). It does not matter what size or type of vessel as long as it is recreational and powered by an engine over 6hp.

The recreational skippers ticket will let you skipper any vessel of any length or engine size, so long as it’s not in a commercial capacity – eg driving the Rottnest Ferry.

We’ve just gone live with our new Recreational Skippers Ticket Online Course. The course is designed to provide all the theory you need for recreational boating, as well as teaching you all the rules to pass the exam. The course has helpful hints in many of the quiz questions, and the final quiz is designed so you can test yourself to see whether you are ready to sit for the exam with our assessor. There are videos in the course, so you can see situations on the water as they are explained. This is the best way to learn, rather than trying to learn it from a book. You can book and pay  for a class from our home page schedule, and the online course link will automatically be emailed to you to start learning now.

We hold our RST courses at various locations, most days of the week.

Course locations are decided by being close to you but also being quiet enough on the water to be able to train in a user friendly environment. We complete the practical in a quiet location so this means we do not do the course at a place like Hillarys or Deep Water Point on the Canning River on a weekend as there is way too much traffic on the water. Would you want to do your car driving test in the city on a Friday afternoon’s peak hour?

This might mean you might have to drive a little further to get a suitable course on a specific day, but trust us it’s worth the effort and will save you stress.

You will need to provide us suitable ID, and any extra forms necessary such as a consent form if under 18, or eyesight declaration form if you do not have an Australian MDL (motor drivers licence) or LP (Learners Permit).

Theory assessment is done via a Department of Transport standard closed-book 40 question Multiple Choice Questionnaire. The Department of Transport has established a standard pass criteria for all students. Minimum pass level is 34/40. A score rate of 30-33 is not a pass, but you can resit one more test on the same day for no extra charge after going over with our trainer where you went wrong.

Our success rate is an incredibly high 98%, with two attempts included at the test on the day. If you don’t pass during the comprehensive course, you can come back on any other course date and have another go – at no additional cost!

Once you have passed the theory assessment, we hop on our boat and the fun practical training part starts.

We sometimes are asked “I’ve never driven a boat before, can I do this? It might be too hard?”

Our courses are designed for people new to boating. To be honest it’s quite often easier to train someone with zero experience than someone who might have picked up some bad habits.

As part of the course we’ll take you out on the water, aboard one of our ABC vessels, and train you on the different boating tasks you need to know.

It’s a fun experience that takes a couple hours and designed for novices, so no previous experience is necessary. The boating practical is usually the favourite section of the day once your nerves settle, and you realise how simple it can be, it’s a ton of fun!

There are 11 formal tasks you need to be able to do competently, and the assessment for these is via a structured point system, laid out by the Department of Transport. These are based around the things a skipper usually does on every boating trip, and all we’re really doing is training you in the practical aspects of normal recreational boating.

To help you prepare for the assessment, view our Recreational Skippers Ticket videos for each of the below tasks, which explain what we’re looking for you to do in each task.

1. Situational awareness and general seamanship

2. Securing the boat to a pontoon

3. Performing a safety briefing to your passengers

4. Doing pre-start checks and start your motor

5. Logging on

6. Departing the berth

7. Person overboard

8. Steer a transit

9. Controlled stop

10. Docking the boat

11. Logging off

All these should be done while applying the collision regulations.

We will train you how to do it, and give you ample practice on each task; to help you build confidence and knowledge so you can pass the assessment.

When we think you’re ready, we’ll formally assess you on the 11 practical tasks above, which you have learnt and just practiced, which usually takes about 10 – 15 minutes.

Start times will be confirmed via email before the course.

Courses usually run for half a day. Start times vary as we have both morning and afternoon courses and usually last 5 hours.
Check the calendar on our centre’s home page as all details are provided there.

You’re now qualified and equipped to take your vessel out on the water, congratulations!

If you want to hone your skills or learn any advanced boating techniques, please feel free to look at our personalised custom boating lessons and get expert hands-on training today.