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Day Skipper with Tim Pentall
Solent
Tim was a great tutor - knowledgeable, approachable, calm and patient. He got the balance right between instruction and enthusiasm/humour - I learnt a lot and had a good time.
10/07/2026
Competent crew
The solent
Had an absolutely amazing time with Tim Pentall, I'd heavily reccomend him as an instructor and really reccomend the competent crew course. Its an amazing first course to help get you into the world of yachting and has inspired me to do more big boat sailing!
10/07/2026
Day Skipper Practical
Solent
Just completed my RYA Day Skipper Practical course with Solent Boat Training, and I couldn’t recommend them highly enough. The entire five days exceeded my expectations from start to finish. The Instructor (Tim Pentall): Tim was absolutely phenomenal. He has an incredible wealth of knowledge but delivers it with a calm, patient, and highly reassuring approach. He knows exactly how to build your confidence, letting you take the reins and learn from hands-on experience while ensuring everyone on board feels completely safe. His great sense of humor made intense days of pilotage and close-quarters boat handling genuinely fun. The Boat: The yacht provided was excellent—well-maintained, clean, comfortable, and perfectly set up for training. Everything worked exactly as it should, making the practical learning seamless and comfortable to live aboard. The Experience: Sailing the Solent is a masterclass in navigation, tides, and traffic, making it the perfect training ground. We got to experience a fantastic variety of conditions, night sailing, and harbor entries that brought the theory to life. If you're looking to take your Day Skipper, book with SBT and look for Tim. A truly brilliant week on the water!
10/07/2026
Competent Crew
Solent
Have had the most fantastic time and learnt an extraordinary amount on the Competent Crew course thanks to our calm, friendly and extremely knowledgeable instructor Tim Pentall. He made an intense amount of education still feel like a glorious holiday. Would highly recommend, and can’t wait to do my Day Skipper next!
10/07/2026
PB2
Carver
Great course for PB2. Sean was very knowledgable and patient with us. Small class size meant we all had lots of hands on experience. Cant fault them!
09/07/2026
Powerboat Intermediate
Solent Boat Training
We had an amazing and interesting 2 days during the Powerboat Intermediate course. We learnt about essential things such as the effect of wind and current, we also got to plan our route which we then followed the following day. The instructors were passionate and very helpful. It was an amazing experience that I would highly suggest to anyone.
07/07/2026
Power Boat Level 2
I thought is was a great course! Neil had so much knowledge and I feel confident going out on the water after competing PB2. I would highly recommend for everyone.
07/07/2026
Powerboat level 2
Shamrock Quay
Can’t recommend highly enough. You are in safe hands, with great equipment. The course layers in the skills so you come out feeling confident having practiced what you need to do. They build a mindset to think about wind, tide and other boats so you are always planning ahead and being thoughtful about the crew in your charge and other boats. If you think you know everything, that PB2 is box ticking, you’ll be humbled and will learn a lot!
06/07/2026
PB2
Solent Boat Training -RYA Training Centre – Southampton
Can't fault this course and Kieran our instructor. Great boats and equipment. Really professional but also fun. I'd forgotten to get a photo done beforehand but it turned out to not be a problem as they can do it for £5. 100% recommend.
06/07/2026
RYA Day Skipper Motor/Motorboat RYA Helmsman
Solent Boat Training -RYA Training Centre – Southampton
Solent Boat Training is Highly professional, safe, and informative! Three of us recently completed RYA Day Skipper Motorboat RYA course and one Helmsman with Solent Boat Training and we couldn't be happier with the experience on Southampton Water. The instructors are incredibly knowledgeable, patient, and focused on safety, which gave us a massive confidence boost on the water. The equipment and facilities were top-notch (Rodman 1040 Motorboat) and the hands-on experience in the Solent was invaluable. Whether you are a complete beginner or looking to sharpen your skills, we would highly recommend them. We converted to the ICC (International Certificate of Competence) for use abroad. We all agree Best money spent, thanks to all at Solent training centre, they go the extra mile & have genuine interest in what they do so I would give Five stars! Well done ????
05/07/2026
Powerboat Level2
Shamrock Quay
Great course, expertly delivered by Bryan. Started the course feeling unsure about everything..ended it feeling calm and confident about taking a boat out with friends and family. Bryan was patient and good at explaining how to handle the boat out on the open water and in a marina. And we had a lot of fun! Boat and other equipment was 1st Class. Highly recommend.
03/07/2026
Power Boat Training 2
Shamrock Quay
Excellent 2 day course run by Alex. My son and I thoroughly enjoyed this - there was a good balance of classroom theory and practical teaching out on the water. There is so more to driving a powerboat than just driving it I wouldn’t recommend anyone going out without it. Alex was very thorough but he also made it fun and now we feel confident to take our own boat out.
30/06/2026
Day Skipper Practical
Solent
I had an amazing time on the Solent learning new skills. Our instructor, Mark, enabled all of us to reach our goals. He used the weather and the environment to full advantage creating opportunities to learn and consolidate the course content. Best of all it was great fun.
30/06/2026
SBT Outboard Engine Course
Shamrock Quay
This was a seriously good course! Sean explained how 2 stroke and 4 stroke engines worked in great detail and with added humour. No question was too stupid and was answered in depth, even when we raised specific problems with our own personal engines. I took a huge amount of knowledge away with me from this course and feel confident that I can now tackle some minor repairs and full servicing. The afternoons practical session involved looking at the engines we had learnt about, taking various components out of the engines and rebuilding them which was great, and there was a good variety of different engines to get to grip with. Thanks SBT and Sean for a great day!
29/06/2026
RYA Comptent Crew Practical Sailing
Solent
The Competent Crew course that I completed with Mark was an absolutly fantastic first foray into the world of Yachting on the open ocean. It was well instructed, the information was digestible and easy to process, while providing multiple opportunities to test what we have learned, and the boat and locations visited were also great. I cannot recommend this school enough. I will definitely be back for my Day Skipper and beyond!
28/06/2026
2 day Milebuilder
Lincoln
I would recommend this to anyone wanting to increase their hours on the water. From the beginning everything was well organised and professional. Once on board, Tim our instructor, was very warm and welcoming and also left me feeling immediately safe on board, in capable hands. Tim guided us all expertly through the two days, noticing what we all needed, our skill levels and what was needed in any given moment - and then allowed us to do all the sailing, and get our miles in, whilst maintaining the highest level mastery over what was happening on the the boat and the conditions we were in. I cannot recommend solent boat training and particulary Tim, highly enough, will be going again.
24/06/2026
Day Skipper practical
Southampton
I had a really great time. Communication was clear during booking however joining instructions need to be found on the website. My instructor, Simon, was lovely and he made all of us feel very welcome and safe on the water and so we were able to understand what we needed to do. Would definitely recommend Solent Boat Training and would come back!
23/06/2026
Day Skipper / Competent Crew
Southampton
Had a great 5 days with Matt. A few challenges, but Matt saw us through with some excellent Instructions and knowledge. Learned loads, made fiends, fantastic experience. Thank you
23/06/2026
Comp Crew
Worcester
I have completed numerous training courses with SBT - Comp crew, Powerboat level two, VHF radio, Marine Engine maintenance, Marina skills, Day Skipper theory and Day skipper practical, at this centre, they’re a great company to work with! Instructors are relaxed and really knowledgeable, great communication from the moment you book the course, and a great fleet of training boats. Wouldn’t use anyone else now . *edited June 26* Just completed comp crew again with my 14 year old daughter with SBT - superb experience for my daughter the instructor (Dom) was superb at delivering the course at exactly the right level for my daughter she thoroughly enjoyed the course and is already talking about completing her Day Skipper qualification when she is older.
22/06/2026
Powerboat level 2
Solent
Brilliant 2 days with Paul on the PB 2 course. Building skills under Paul's watchful , informative, and practical eye. Thank you.
15/06/2026
RYA Day Skipper
Solent
Brilliant week with instructor Magnus in tricky Solent conditions but perfect for the RYA Day Skipper 5 day course. Really enjoyed the week and all the effort Magnus and the wider SBT put in. We were on sailing yacht "Hope"
08/06/2026
RYA First Aid at Sea
Shamrock Quay
Excellent course very well presented. I have done many first aid courses over the years and I found this course to be one of the better ones in that it covers potential situations whilst at sea very well.
08/06/2026
2-day mile builder sailing course
Hampshire
I’ve just completed the 2-day Mile Builder sailing course and it was absolutely fantastic. The boat was excellent, and Tim, the instructor, was brilliant—friendly, calm, and incredibly knowledgeable. He explained each manoeuvre clearly with step-by-step guidance, making everything easy to understand. Over the two days, there was plenty of hands-on experience, with Tim always on hand to offer calm, supportive explanations, which really helped build confidence. I’d highly recommend this course to anyone who feels a bit rusty or wants to get back into sailing. I’m already looking forward to doing another course with SBT soon.
08/06/2026
Powerboat Level 2
Southampton
This was a great course, as a novice power boater I learned a huge amount over the two days. Kieran was an excellent instructor and the time just flew by!
04/06/2026
2 Day Solent Mile Builder
Shamrock Quay
A fantastic two-day RYA sailing experience on the Solent. Our instructor, Terry was knowledgeable, calm and endlessly informative, with a real passion for sailing that came through in everything he did. His positive energy and clear instruction made learning both enjoyable and confidence-building. We experienced a wide range of conditions, from sunshine to hailstorms, sailed to Yarmouth and enjoyed lunch on the Beaulieu River. Despite some challenging weather, we had a brilliant time and learned a huge amount. Highly recommended.
03/06/2026