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The US Coast Guard Auxiliary offers a number of Public Education courses in the Seacoast New Hampshire and Maine region, use the Boating Courses link to look up public education courses near you.  The following courses form the core of the Auxiliary boating education program:

Boating Skills and Seamanship (BS&S)

Boating Skills and Seamanship the Auxiliary flagship boater education course. It is a comprehensive course designed for both the experienced and the novice boater. It is typically run in 13 two-hour evening classes.  Many insurance companies offer discounts on boat insurance to individuals who successfully complete this course.

The first eight lessons comprise the "core" course, which qualifies you for a nationally-recognized boater education certificate:

Lesson 1 - - Which Boat is for You

Lesson 2 - - Equipment for Your Boat

Lesson 3 - - Trailering Your Boat

Lesson 4 - - Handling Your Boat

Lesson 5 - - Your Highway Signs

Lesson 6 - - The Rules You Must Follow

Lesson 7 - - Inland Boating

Lesson 8 - - The Rest of our Story

Depending on facility availability, the following lessons may optionally be offered:

Lesson 9 - - Introduction to Navigation

Lesson 10 - - Powering Your Boat

Lesson 11 - - Lines and Knots for Your Boat

Lesson 12 - - Weather and Boating

Lesson 13 - - Your Boat’s Radio

About Boating Safely (ABS)

About Boating Safely covers the following topics in one day or two evening sessions:

Introduction to boating

Boating laws

Personal safety equipment

Safe boat handling

Navigation Boating problems

Trailering, storing, and protecting your boat

Hunting and fishing, waterskiing, and river boating

This course is designed to meet the minimun national boating safety education standards in the shortest time allowed by law. It is extremely fast-paced and requires good study skills. The certificate you'll receive is valid in all states which currently require boating education. Many students who take this course in order to meet their state's legal requirements end up wishing they'd taken the more in-depth, and slower paced, BS&S course.

The Weekend Navigator (WN)

The Weekend Navigator will teach you how to navigate in the digital age and will also teach you the time-honored techniques that never lose their usefulness. Learn to use marine GPS, charts, and other electronic and traditional navigation tools. This course is designed for anyone who wants to learn coastal navigation.This course is taught in two parts:

Part One will make students comfortable with basic coastal navigation using both electronic and traditional navigation tools. Topics covered include an overview of the process of navigation, planning on the fly, piloting without electronics, using Buoys and lights, plotting courses, calculating distances and bearings.

Part Two continues with pre-voyage planning including plotting courses on paper and digital charts, and entering waypoints into a GPS. Part Two includes a large number of practical exercises and in-depth discussions of navigation techniques and tips.