Fremantle Saililng Club

The Recreational Skipper's Ticket (RST) is a certificate of competency, not a licence. It is purely about demonstrating the minimum knowledge and practical skills needed to operate a boat safely on the water. It is based on a set of marine safety competencies that have been agreed nationally. The assessment of these competencies will be in two sections: theory and practical. 

Who has to have one?

This is a mandatory WA Government requirement and as of 1 April 2008, every skipper of a registrable, recreational vessel, powered by a motor greater than 4.5kwp (6 hp) (RST vessel) will be required to hold a Recreational Skipper’s Ticket. Further conditions are specified in the table below:

The RST Workbook

Everything that you can be assessed on, theory and practical, is contained in the RST Workbook. You can pick up one of these FREE workbooks from any Department office, your authorised assessor and many other boating and fishing outlets.

The chapters of the workbook assemble chunks of information into logical groups – buoyage, rules of the road and so on – and at the end of each chapter there is a sample set of questions. These questions are of the same standard as those in the theory assessment so, if you read the book and can answer all the questions in it, you should be well on your way to passing the assessment.

All the practical skills you can be asked to demonstrate are also in the workbook, with drawings and pace notes on how to carry them out. The practical assessment will be relevant to the type of boat and the location. The name says it all: it is a practical assessment, so you are demonstrating the skills, and your knowledge in practice, that should be applied to any trip – plus showing that you can cope with unexpected events.