Hot Duck

Last month my Dad and I took the 2 day class with Tres. My Dad and I have both been around the water and running boats our whole lives, but we figured that we could still learn something from the class. As for offshore performance boats, this Apache is my 5th, but I am just now getting my Dad involved with it. Even so, I must say that we both learned a lot from the class.

Tres covers everything from hull designs, prop designs, proper handling, proper setup, proper maintenance, etc on both cats and vee hulls. He even covers trailers and trailering in general. He teaches you how to recognize and recover from dangerous situations, exactly what is going on under the boat in certain situations, why certain hulls handle like they do and he covers the myths and facts of each hull design. He also teaches you how changes in the hull or prop will change the handling and performance of the boat, how to recognize a boat that is not set up or being run correctly and how to recognize potential problems.

On top of all of this, he spends the second day of the class out on the water showing you what you learned in the classroom. He demonstrates everything including the pre trip inspection, docking in all different conditions, proper and improper trim techniques, proper and improper handling, how to recognize a problem long before it becomes a problem and everything in between.

When we were there he used a Gladiator for the class and showed us over and over where the breaking point of that hull was and how to recognize when we were approaching that edge. He demonstrated the boat sliding out and then how to recover it over and over. By actually being there and experiencing it in the boat, you can see first hand what it feels like when the boat is running right on the edge and you can see how quickly the boat goes past that edge and begins to spin.

I would say that overall the class is well worth the time and the expense. Even if you come away from it learning only one thing, that one thing may make a difference between getting into trouble or coming home safely one day. No matter how much you think you know, suck up the pride and give the class a shot. I guarantee that even the most experienced person will learn something. Besides, the class can save you some money on your insurance, which will give you more money for fuel.

Picture 1: Could you imagine a better classroom that this?

Picture 2: Nothing like making a Gladiator slide at 70mph!

Picture 3: Tres, thanks for a job well done.

Martin Offshore
(954) 587-1220

dhlaw

You mean you can slide a twin step???

Shane

Ask Bruce, he is good at crashing!

Sean H

i don't believe it... stepped hulls are very stable...

Hot Duck

You are right. Stepped hulls are stable, but they have their limits just like any other hull design. I said this long before taking the class, and after taking the class I still believe that the major problem with stepped bottoms is that people don't know how to run them. They are different from traditional vee hulls, but I will leave that issue alone because I don't want to turn this thread into a stepped hull vs non stepped hull debate. We all know that issue has already been beaten to death around here!

My first stepped bottom boat was a twin step Top Gun. When I bought that boat, Phil Lipschutz spent some time with me teaching me the differences between a stepped hull and a traditional vee. After that boat I had a Gladiator. Between the two boats, we raced them both and used them for pleasure without any problems. Phil taught me the basics about the stepped bottoms and Tres taught me the details, theories and hydrodynamics that make the stepped bottoms different from traditional vee hulls.

I seriously think that everybody should consider this class, especially if they are running a stepped bottom or a cat. As far as I know, this is the only class of it's type. Besides, a little continuing education is always a good thing.

LostinBoston

Tres's class is awesome.
good to see more people taking it.
Hey Tres, if the class gets too popular and you need some extra hands, I'm looking for a job.

No matter how much time someone has had onthe water, they can still learn from this class.

Indy

I think I'll be signing up for this next winter

Tres

Now that the class has been going along, many that have taken it feel they have benefitted greatly and should apply the knowledge to the everyday safe boating!

PorscheSpeed

price?

kcgbjc

I look forward to taking the class some day. I gotta get the wife to believe I need it so I have been making sure to bump into a lot of docks lately. KIDDING!!

I will get out there one day tho.