Women in Boating

New educational program encourages women to take the helm

According to data collected by the market research firm Info-Link, men outnumber women 7-to-1 when it comes to registered boat owners. What about boats that are co-owned by a husband and wife? Who’s in command? It’s much harder to find data for this, but according to the article “Women at the Helm” in Pontoon and Deck Boat magazine, “Only 23 percent of women ever put themselves in the captain position on their own boat.”

This is actually a well-documented pattern in recreational boating. Anecdotally, I hear husbands bemoan the fact that their wives aren’t willing to learn more about operating the boat. I also had a neighbor tell me that he’d like to get a boat, but he didn’t know who would help him with the boat as he only has daughters. Yikes!

Not only are women missing out on a wonderful, healthy and rewarding activity, but it’s a whole lot safer if more than one person knows how to drive, dock the boat, use the radio and GPS, and navigate back home. So why aren’t more women taking the helm? The reasons have less to do with ability or interest than with how boating roles are established and reinforced over time.

In many couples, the first few boating trips set the pattern:

• One partner (often the husband) already has experience.
• He naturally takes the helm “to get everyone out safely.”
• The other partner takes on supportive roles (lines, fenders, lookout).

Once those roles are established, they tend to persist. Competence as a first mate is reinforced and praised while helm skills remain undeveloped. Over time, switching roles feels awkward rather than natural. The result is that women often step back from the helm not because they can’t operate the boat but because the conditions for learning never truly existed.

Why women-only programs work

America’s Boating Club Golden Isles/26 developed its Women in Boating program to remove these barriers. Our students range from brand-new boaters to women who have spent years aboard family boats but rarely had the chance to operate them.

Some are partners of longtime boat owners; others are solo boaters or women preparing to boat independently for the first time. It provides a low-pressure learning environment, hands-on helm time, permission to make mistakes and recover, and instruction from trained educators, not spouses.

To be clear, our women-only program means that we only take women as students. It does not mean that we only rely on female instructors. All our instructors supporting this program understand that the goal is confidence and independence, that students are there to run the boat themselves, and that taking the helm away undermines the program. Our participants respond well to instructors who coach rather than captain. This mindset matters more than gender.

We use the seminar portion of the program to talk through scenarios in advance:

• docking attempts
• missed approaches
• wind or current impacts
• slow, awkward maneuvers

We also use the time to encourage peer support, create camaraderie and reduce intimidation. By the time participants step aboard, they already feel like a team and are motivated to take the helm.

Marketing women-only programs

Programs like Women in Boating are significantly easier to market and generate interest for than generic boating classes. For one thing, the name alone identifies a clear and understandable value proposition.

“Women in Boating” communicates:

• who it’s for (women)
• what they’ll gain (confidence, skills, command)
• why it’s different (supportive, hands-on, empowering)

Our club placed a colorful eye-catching print ad in the local newspaper to promote the program. We also took advantage of the cooperative advertising program to recoup half the ad’s cost. As a result of the ad, the newspaper’s editor was intrigued by the program and wrote an article about the program, which appeared in the paper a week later. The program is aligned with our club’s mission and is making a difference. We are still fine-tuning it and our marketing approach. We expect to run the program twice a year in two locations across our region and plan to expand into advanced courses and specialty clinics in the future.

Our goal is simple. We want women to be more confident at the helm. When that happens, boating becomes safer, more enjoyable and more empowering for everyone aboard.

Note from National Education Officer Jan Wright: This program is a powerful reminder that confidence
grows through experience, encouragement, and time at the helm. We invite you to take advantage of our on-water training programs—from basic skills to advanced instruction, and from individual coaching to small group training. Our trainers can help you sharpen your boat handling skills and expand your boating horizons. To learn more, reach out to our On-Water Training & Certification team at owtccom@usps.org.