Yachtmaster Course UK: 4 Schools’ Prices Compared (2026)

26 Oct 2026

Yachtmaster course in the UK: the short answer

A Yachtmaster course in the UK has two parts: a theory course (£325 online to £1,000 residential) and a practical prep-and-exam week (£895 to £1,000). On top, you pay the RYA exam fee, which schools quote as £266 for Yachtmaster Offshore and £230 for Coastal. If you already have the sea miles, budget roughly £1,500–£2,300 (about €1,770–€2,700 / $1,990–$3,040) and two weeks.

• How much does a Yachtmaster course cost in the UK? About £1,500–£2,300 for theory, a prep week and the Offshore exam fee, depending on the school and whether you live in.
• How long does a Yachtmaster course take? A six- or seven-day theory course (or online at your own pace) plus a six- or seven-day prep-and-exam week. Building the sea time first takes far longer.
• Is there a yacht master online course? For the theory, yes. Falmouth School of Sailing sells the Coastal Skipper/Yachtmaster theory online for £325 with 12 months' access. The prep week and exam are always on a boat.
• Do you need sea miles before the exam? Yes. Yachtmaster Offshore needs 50 days at sea, 2,500 miles and 5 passages over 60 miles, all within the last 10 years.
• Coastal or Offshore for yacht crew? Offshore if you can. Commercially endorsed, it covers command of vessels up to 200 GT, up to 150 miles from a safe haven. Coastal stops at 24 metres and 20 miles.

Prices checked on each school's own site on 22 October 2026. Conversions at £1 = €1.19 = $1.34 (ECB, 22 October 2026).

UK Yachtmaster course prices compared

"Theory" is the RYA Coastal Skipper / Yachtmaster Offshore shorebased course. "Prep & exam" is the practical week on a school boat, finishing with the exam. The same prep week covers both Coastal and Offshore candidates.

Go West has the cheapest prep week on paper, and Falmouth's online course is the cheapest theory. UKSA costs the most because it's residential only, so accommodation is built in. Always ask exactly what's extra: exam fee, moorings, food and school admin charges all vary.

Falmouth School of Sailing

Falmouth's six-day classroom theory course is £485, with 2027 dates on 25–30 January, 15–20 March and 10–15 May. You need Day Skipper theory or equivalent and must be 16 or over. The online version (£325), run with Skippers Online instructors, has 14 lessons, 30-plus quizzes, unlimited exam attempts and an RYA course completion certificate.

The prep and exam week is £965 per person, 5pm Sunday to noon the following Sunday, and you can live aboard or go home in the evenings. Dates are 17–24 January and 25 April–2 May 2027. Falmouth adds £25 registration per exam and £40 toward the examiner's travel, plus the RYA fee.

Hamble School of Yachting

Hamble's theory course is £425: six days, Monday to Saturday, non-residential, with RYA course notes included. Next dates are 9–14 November 2026, then 8–13 February and 8–13 March 2027.

The prep and exam week is £995, Monday to Sunday: five days of preparation and a two-day exam weekend, with food included except the evening you join. The £266 exam fee is extra, and Hamble suggests budgeting about £30 for moorings. With dates on 9–15 November and 7–13 December 2026 and about 19 more through 2027, it's the easiest school here to fit around a season.

Yachts on the River Hamble. Hamble School of Yachting runs its £995 prep-and-exam week from Mercury Yacht Harbour, a few minutes upriver. Photo: Mark Percy, CC BY-SA 2.0.

Go West Sailing (Largs, Scotland)

Go West runs a six-day prep and exam course for £895 out of Largs Yacht Haven on the Firth of Clyde, from 6:30pm Sunday to about noon Friday. The exam fee is extra. Its page still quotes the old fees (£231 Offshore, £200 Coastal), so budget for the current £266 or £230.

UKSA (Isle of Wight)

UKSA's theory course is seven days and residential only, finishing with a 2.5-hour written exam (60% to pass). Its prep and exam course is also seven residential days: five of prep, two of exam. Both cost £970 for 16–22 December 2026 and £1,000 on 2027 dates, and neither page says whether the RYA exam fee is included. On 22 October 2026 the two pages showed identical dates and prices. That could be correct, but confirm with UKSA before you book.

Sailing on the Solent off Cowes, where UKSA's residential Yachtmaster courses are based. Photo: ITookSomePhotos, CC BY 4.0.

Not priced online: Plymouth Sailing School and Hamble Point

Plymouth Sailing School doesn't list a Yachtmaster price on its site. Email [email protected] or call 01752 493377. Hamble Point Sailing School isn't priced on its own site either, so ask the school direct rather than trusting a course-listing site.

RYA Yachtmaster exam fees (2026)

The exam fee goes to the RYA, paid online, on top of whatever the school charges. The RYA's course pages link to its exam payment service but don't print the amount. Schools quote these 2026 RYA fees (Falmouth School of Sailing, First Class Sailing):

Some school pages still show older fees, so go by these.

Sea time you need before the Yachtmaster exam

The course week doesn't count toward your sea time. You need the miles before you turn up. These are the RYA's requirements for Yachtmaster Offshore and Yachtmaster Coastal:

The RYA says at least half the qualifying sea time "should be gained in tidal waters and on vessels less than 24m LOA". For Offshore, your days at sea can be on yachts up to 500 GT, so superyacht time can count, but only toward the other half. You still need the small-boat miles. All of it must be in the same discipline (sail or power) as your exam. If you already hold Offshore in the other discipline, the requirement drops to 25 days, 1,250 miles and 3 passages.

You'll also need a Short Range Certificate (SRC) or higher GMDSS radio certificate, a valid first aid certificate from the RYA's accepted list, and photo ID.

Yachtmaster theory course: classroom or online?

Online is the cheapest and most flexible route, and it's a real option for crew on a boat. The theory course covers chart work, tidal calculations, passage planning, meteorology and the collision regulations, and ends in a written exam. The RYA doesn't list it as a prerequisite on its exam pages, but schools recommend it and expect you to know the material by the prep week, because the examiner tests it on the water.

The theory course is mostly this: chart work, tidal calculations and passage planning with plotter and dividers, ending in a written exam. Photo: J. S. Bond, CC BY-SA 3.0.

• Online (Falmouth, £325): study between watches or during a yard period, with 12 months' access. The catch is discipline. Tidal heights and chart plotting are hard to teach yourself, and nobody chases you to finish.
• Classroom (£425–£485, six days): an intense week with an instructor checking your chart work. Good if you have a week ashore anyway.
• Residential (UKSA, £970–£1,000): classroom plus a bed and meals on the Isle of Wight. It costs the most, but you have nothing else to arrange.

Yachtmaster courses from zero: fast-track programmes

If you have no sea time, a fast-track course builds the miles and takes you through the exam. These cost many times more than the separate courses above.

• UKSA Professional Yachtmaster Offshore: "novice to qualified Yachtmaster in just 16 weeks". It's £14,050 course only or £14,935 residential (shared bunk rooms and meals), with 2027 start dates on 29 March, 10 May, 2 August and 1 September, and 0% finance through Cherry Godfrey. UKSA
• Hamble School of Yachting Fast Track: 98 days of tuition, 72 of them at sea, with a Yachtmaster module of about five weeks. Price not on the page. Hamble
• Falmouth School of Sailing Module 3, RYA Yachtmaster (Sail): 33 days. Price not listed.

If you're aiming for superyachts, there's a cheaper route: work as a deckhand (here's what it pays), log your miles, and take the two one-week courses when you're ready. Some boats will help pay for it.

What a Yachtmaster course costs in total

These totals assume you already have the sea time and are taking Yachtmaster Offshore (£266 exam fee):

The non-residential routes don't include travel or a bed for the theory week. The UKSA total assumes the exam fee is extra, so it'll be lower if UKSA includes it. To work commercially, add the £49 commercial endorsement and the tickets listed below.

Why yacht crew take the Yachtmaster

For crew, the Yachtmaster is mostly a step toward becoming an officer. A commercially endorsed Yachtmaster Offshore lets you work as master of commercial vessels up to 200 GT, up to 150 miles from a safe haven. It's also one of the prerequisites for the MCA Officer of the Watch (Yachts <3000GT), along with sea service, the EDH, navigation and radar courses and an oral exam. Our junior deckhand guide shows where it sits on the deck ladder, and the yacht captain salary guide covers what each ticket pays.

To get the commercial endorsement you need:

• the Yachtmaster certificate of competence
• the RYA's online Professional Practices and Responsibilities (PPR) course
• RYA Basic Sea Survival or STCW Personal Survival Techniques (part of STCW Basic Safety Training)
• an SRC or other GMDSS certificate
• an ML5 or ENG1 medical. ENG1 is required for category 0 or 1 waters, and the MCA won't accept an ML5 more than a year old.

The endorsement lasts up to five years. To revalidate it you need at least 150 days of sea service in the previous five years and a valid medical. In the UK, see ENG1 doctors in the UK. If your PST is more than five years old, you'll need an STCW refresher first.

How to book

1. Add up your sea time first. Check your days, miles, skipper days and passages against the RYA table above. If you're short, keep sailing before you book.
2. Get your SRC and first aid done before the prep week. You need both for the exam.
3. Do the theory, online or in a classroom, ideally before the prep week.
4. Book the prep and exam week direct with the school, and ask what's included: exam fee, moorings, food, admin charges. Pay the RYA fee when the school tells you to, at the current £266 / £230, even if the school's page shows an older figure.

Your next step

Count your miles. If you have them, book a Yachtmaster course from the table above. If you don't, the cheapest way to get them is to work on boats. Sign up free on Radius, check in at the port you're in, and captains and recruiters can see your verified ENG1, STCW and CV on a live map. For the full picture on getting hired, see our guide to yacht jobs.