A recent online survey of over 400 women by BoatU.S. shows that parents play an important role in teaching their daughters recreational boating skills. But when girls grow up, many women believe there aren’t enough boating educational opportunities, especially those that are tailored for women.

The newly released results of the BoatUS “Boating Learning and Education Survey for Women” showed that nearly half of all women respondents (47%) said it was a parent who they first remember teaching them boating skills, and 47% also said they had first gone boating before age 10.

“What the survey essentially tells us is that families play an important part in introducing boating to young girls, but as adults they want to learn more in relaxed settings, perhaps away from a well-meaning spouse,” said Elaine Dickinson, Executive Editor of DIY Boat Owner magazine ( a BoatU.S. publication for do-it-yourself boaters ) and the leader of the BoatUS Women in Boating initiative.

Over two-thirds (67%) of women said they had taken some type of formal classroom boating training and 73% had some hands-on instruction, but there was clear support for more all-women courses (59%). Forty-two percent said that there aren’t enough opportunities for girls and women to learn how to operate a boat, and when asked what kind of learning opportunities are needed, 80% said more hands-on events for women.

Also of interest was that three times as many women found a women-only course, seminar or training “effective” as those who didn’t (33% to 11% respectively). “While there is much debate on whether women-only instruction is better, there is no doubt that women boaters prefer to learn in an environment that doesn’t have the pressure associated with co-ed instruction,” said Dickinson.

The topics that female respondents said they want instruction in include boat systems such as engines or electrical (71%); navigation (62%) and upgrading boat-handling skills (52%).

The respondents to the survey were not just first mates. Over three-quarters (78%) currently own either a powerboat (55%) or sailboat (53%). To see full survey results, go to BoatUS.com/women.

BoatUS – Boat Owners Association of The United States sponsors two annual women’s sailing conventions that teach a variety of boating skills in women-only settings. For information on the next one, the 18 th Annual Women’s Sailing Convention presented by the Southern California Yachting Association (SCYA) on Saturday, Feb. 3 at the Bahia Corinthian Yacht Club in Corona del Mar, CA, go to go to http://www.BoatUS.com/women. The other event is held annually in early June at the Corinthian Yacht Club in Marblehead, MA. 