Lee Chesneau is a recently retired NOAA/NWS Ocean Prediction Center meteorologist who has been educating boaters on the science, practical application, and forecasting of weather for years. Lee will provide an in-depth look into weather that will allow you to make smart cruising decisions and help you to better understand your immediate area as well as the cruising areas in which you plan to venture.

This course includes an introduction to weather terminology; you’ll also learn about the components of the atmosphere and how they affect the weather around us, the all-important factor of precipitation and visibility, and pressure and wind concepts. Understanding why and how weather happens the way it does can help you become a safer boater. Lee also will explain surface pressure maps, upper air, and wave formations and patterns, and frontal and non-frontal systems, combining lectures with hands-on practice with various weather and surface maps. The course will provide a foundation to make you a weather-wise mariner, enabling you to confidently identify your weather windows and make the “go or no-go” decision that can make or break your cruise!

Classes will run 8:30 a.m.–5:30 p.m. for two full days of instruction. All learning materials will be provided, as will lunch each day. Call Trawler Fest toll free at 888.487.2953. Your cost for the class is $450.

Steve D’Antonio, PMM’s technical editor, will lead this in-depth course that will help you get to know your boat’s systems. Go beyond the basics of your diesel engine and gain the knowledge and skills to have a more comprehensive understanding of what is in your Holy Place. Steve will cover the components of your engine room and how they operate, showing you what to check and what to troubleshoot, maintain, and service. He also will discuss generators, running gear, AC/DC systems, and, of course, the diesel engine, providing you with the necessary tools to make your next cruising adventure a more confident, successful, and self-sufficient experience.

Those taking the course also will spend time in the engine room of a trawler at the event, allowing you to translate what you’ve learned in the classroom into in-person identification. You will identify the many components you’ve learned about and associate what you see with the systems on your own trawler.

Class will run 8:30 a.m.–5:30 p.m. for two full days of instruction. All learning materials will be provided, as will lunch each day. Class size is limited to 24, so registration must be done in advance by phone. Call Trawler Fest toll free at 888.487.2953. Your cost for the class is $450. (Wait list only.)

Bob Smith, developer of Lehman Ford diesel engines, will present this two-day, hands-on diesel engine course during PassageMaker University in Anacortes. Bob will bring with him a complete engine and all the tools needed for the class. All of the components of the Lehman Ford engine that Bob uses for the course are easily visible, which makes class demonstrations clear and understandable.

On the morning of the first day of the course, Bob will introduce theory. You will get your hands dirty in the afternoon with basic engine maintenance procedures. On day two, you will run the engine you have worked on and will spend some more time on troubleshooting, repairs, and preventive and regular maintenance procedures.

This University course is one of the most popular and it always fills up quickly! Class will run from 8:30 a.m.–5:30 p.m. for the two full days of instruction. Lunch will be provided each day. All tools will also be provided.

Class size is limited to 16, so registration must be done in advance by phone—call early to make your reservation! Call Trawler Fest toll free at 888.487.2953. Your cost for the class is $450. (Wait list only.)

This two day hands-on course is taught by Bob Senter, the head of Northern Lights/Lugger service training. He will familiarize you with a fully operational, Northern Lights L1066H modern, electronically controlled marine engine, its operation, maintenance, troubleshooting, mechanical and electronic diagnostics. Bob will cover how diesel engines work and provide an overview of electronic engines. The course includes information on lubrication, cooling, fuel, exhaust, electricity, and controls. By the end of the course, you should be comfortable recognizing components, understanding operation, maintenance, and minor troubleshooting procedures on a modern marine engine. You will work with both hard copy and electronic information resources and will receive several valuable reference manuals. This course emphasizes real world cruising needs, maintenance, and diagnostics and is not an engine overhaul course.

Class size is limited to 16, so registration must be done in advance by phone—call early to make your reservation! Call Trawler Fest toll free at 888.487.2953. Your cost for the class is $450.

With years of professional teaching and boating experience on their side, Capts. Patti Moore and Carol Cuddyer, founders of Sea Sense—the Women’s Sailing and Powerboating School, will share with you boat handling and seamanship skills that are guaranteed to instill knowledge and confidence. This two-day course will cover boating terminology and theory, hull shapes and how they perform, single versus twin screw, proper use of docklines, effects of wind and water on boat handling, and more.

This course will be taught entirely aboard single and twin-screw boats. Time at the helm with an experienced captain and instructor will help you combine all of the theory and handling skills introduced throughout the course. This hands-on class offers you the opportunity to try different things, make mistakes, learn from your peers, and ask questions, all the while gaining confidence and an understanding of boat handling and seamanship. The focus is on being a partner, not a passenger! The capacity for each boat is eight ladies. Please specify whether you are interested in single or twin-screw instruction when you register.

We will provide updated information on the class boats as it is available. Call Trawler Fest toll free at 888.487.2953. Your cost for the class is $450. (Wait list only.)

This two-day program will cover the basics for any boat owner of how to perform simple repairs and how to handle troubleshooting and maintenance procedures on your boat’s electrical system. The course covers electricity fundamentals such as the relationship between volts, ohms, amps, and watts and how they interact. You will learn how to determine such things as appropriate wire sizes for use with various electrical loads on board, how to select appropriately sized and rated overcurrent protection devices like fuses and circuit breakers, and how to determine the appropriate size of such things as shore power systems and battery banks to keep all the equipment up and running. The course covers how to properly terminate wire and some of the basic ABYC Standards as they apply to wire support and chafe protection.

Once the fundamentals are set in place, you will learn how to use a multimeter, how to take electrical measurements for both low voltage DC and higher voltage AC systems, and what those measurements mean. You are encouraged to bring your own instrument (if you have one) so you can familiarize yourselves with its use and features. If you haven’t purchased a multimeter yet, you will learn what features to look for and what features are frivolous for the average user.

The course will also include a review of some common electrical system tests you can easily perform to establish whether your boat’s electrical system is designed in accordance with ABYC Standards, and whether maintenance or upgrading of the system is required.

Registration must be done in advance by phone—call early to make your reservation! Call Trawler Fest toll free at 888.487.2953. Your cost for the class is $450.

This is a continuation of learning from Day One and will conclude with the Wednesday evening cocktail reception to celebrate the graduation of PMU attendees and kick-off the three-day Trawler Fest event.

This is a continuation of learning from Day One and will conclude with the Wednesday evening cocktail reception to celebrate the graduation of PMU attendees and kick-off the three-day Trawler Fest event. (Wait list only.)

This is a continuation of learning from Day One and will conclude with the Wednesday evening cocktail reception to celebrate the graduation of PMU attendees and kick-off the three-day Trawler Fest event.

This is a continuation of learning from Day One and will conclude with the Wednesday evening cocktail reception to celebrate the graduation of PMU attendees and kick-off the three-day Trawler Fest event. (Wait list only.)

This is a continuation of learning from Day One and will conclude with the Wednesday evening cocktail reception to celebrate the graduation of PMU attendees and kick-off the three-day Trawler Fest event. (Wait list only.)

This is a continuation of learning from Day One and will conclude with the Wednesday evening cocktail reception to celebrate the graduation of PMU attendees and kick-off the three-day Trawler Fest event.