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RYA Multihull Basic Skills
Sailing a cat on your own, including getting it back upright when it goes over.
Basic Skills is the independence course of the multihull scheme.
It covers:
Righting a catamaran is a technique, not a strength contest — a righting line and body weight do the work. A sailor who has not practised it should not be sailing a cat out of sight of help.
- Who it suits
- Multihull Start Sailing holders.
- What it is not
- Not a stronger-wind qualification. Advanced Sailing covers that.
Primary source: RYA training. Course structures and prerequisites can change; confirm the current version with the training body and school.
The course in context
Basic Skills builds more dependable control of a small multihull after the first lessons. The aim is to link preparation, steering, sail handling and turns into purposeful sailing. It remains a small-boat pathway rather than training in large-catamaran navigation or accommodation systems.
Before you start
Introductory multihull skills or equivalent experience are needed. Discuss the type of boat you have used and how recently you sailed it. A change of boat can introduce different controls and recovery arrangements.
Skills you will develop
Consistent turns
Develop timing and coordination so changes of direction are deliberate. Look at the approach and exit as well as the turn itself.
Course and sail setting
Adjust the boat for different directions to the wind. Notice the response instead of treating one sheet position as suitable for the whole session.
Readiness and recovery
Take a more active role in preparation and the safety routines taught for the boat. Confidence should include knowing when to ask for help.
Training and assessment
Ask about the centre’s course level, conditions and post-course practice options. Completion does not imply unlimited wind or venue capability; the instructor should explain the conditions in which your skills are dependable.
Questions to ask the school
- Does my previous multihull experience fit?
- What practical standard is expected at completion?
- Which supported practice sessions are available?
Related learning
Other RYA courses
RYA Sailing Pathway
The whole RYA cruising route in order, and where you are allowed to skip a step.
RYA Cruising Level 1: Start Sailing
A short introduction aboard a small cruising yacht — the shortest way to find out whether yachting suits you.
RYA Cruising Level 2: Basic Skills
The follow-on from Level 1, adding real boat handling on a small cruising yacht.
RYA Start Yachting
Two days aboard a cruising yacht, for complete beginners who want a genuine taste of yachting.
RYA Day Skipper Theory
The classroom half of Day Skipper: charts, tides, buoyage, collision regulations and passage planning.
RYA Day Skipper Practical Sailing
Five days in which you stop being crew and start being the person responsible for the boat.
RYA Coastal Skipper Practical
Skippering beyond familiar water and beyond daylight — longer passages, night pilotage, heavier weather.
RYA Coastal Skipper and Yachtmaster Offshore Theory
The advanced shorebased course: tidal work, passage planning, meteorology and collision regulations at Yachtmaster depth.
Australian schools using RYA
These schools advertise training under the RYA system. This does not confirm that every school currently runs RYA Multihull Basic Skills; check the current course list directly.
Which course should you actually book?
Three questions — your experience, the boat you want to sail, and your goal — give you a starting course and the schools that teach it near you.