SEAMANSHIPLearn How to Operate Your Boat with Confidence
Welcome aboard
What We Do
Instruction and Delivery, One Boat At a Time
SeamanshipSelect a handle
From the Marina to Open Water
Gain certainty at the helm with guidance from an experienced captain and lifelong boater. Whether you are purchasing your first boat or transitioning to a larger vessel, having professional support by your side can make the experience smoother, safer, and far more enjoyable.
Often, instruction and direction are better received from a professional that is outside the family or regular crew dynamic — and that’s where I can help.
Each experience begins with a personal consultation to better understand your goals, comfort level, and the specific needs of your crew. From there, we create a customized, hands-on training plan tailored to both your vessel and the situations you are most likely to encounter on the water.
Because every boat — and every boater — is unique, instruction is one-on-one and designed to improve handling skills, maintain composure and address real-world nautical challenges. The mission is simple: help captains and crews become more comfortable, capable, and reassured aboard their vessel and create safe and memorable experiences for years to come.
Operating Around the Marina
Build confidence handling your boat in close quarters and at slow speeds around marinas, fuel docks, and while maneuvering in and out of your slip. Hands-on instruction is focused on improving boat control, docking techniques, and understanding how wind, current, and prop walk affect your vessel in confined spaces.
Training can also include the essential skills needed to properly secure your boat — from line handling and tying off to pylons, to setting fenders correctly, connecting shore power safely, and preparing the vessel for a secure stay at the dock.
The goal is to help you and your crew operate calmly, efficiently, and confidently in the marina environment, turning stressful docking situations into smooth and controlled arrivals and departures.
Running in Open Water
Conditions on the water can change quickly and dramatically, making open-water experience essential for both safety and comfort. Learn how to better read wind and wave conditions while developing the skills needed to provide the smoothest and safest ride possible for your boat and passengers.
Hands-on training can include understanding and optimizing ride quality in a variety of sea conditions, including head seas, beam seas, following seas, and quartering seas. Practice proper approach angles, throttle control, and trim adjustments to gain confidence handling your vessel in changing conditions.
Instruction can also cover anchoring techniques and strategies for different water depths and bottom conditions, helping you become more comfortable whether anchoring for leisure, overnight stays, or emergency situations.
The goal is to build real-world experience and decision-making skills that allow captains and crews to operate confidently and comfortably beyond the marina.
How It Works – Training
Three Steps, One Vessel
Step 1: A personal conversation about your goals, comfort level, crew, and vessel.
Step 2: Develop a customized, hands-on training procedure.
Step 3: In person instruction with the vessel captain, the crew or both.
Delivery Captain Services
Professional vessel delivery services are available throughout the Great Lakes during the spring, summer, and fall seasons. Whether you are taking delivery of a new boat, relocating for seasonal storage, provisioning for an extended stay, or simply prefer to avoid long runs and enjoy the destination instead, we can help move your vessel safely and efficiently.
With a trusted network of experienced captains and crew across Michigan, pickups and deliveries can be coordinated anywhere connected to navigable water throughout the region. Every trip is handled with professionalism, careful planning, and respect for both the vessel and the owner’s expectations.
From short relocations to extended passages, the goal is to provide dependable service and peace of mind so you can spend more time enjoying your boat and less time worrying about logistics.
Contact us to discuss your boating needs and see if we are the right fit for your next journey on the water.
How It Works – Delivery
Three Steps, One Vessel
Step 1: A personal conversation about your goals, comfort level, crew, and vessel.
Step 2: A customized delivery plan.
Step 3: A captained delivery of your vessel.
Buying Your Next Boat
There is no such thing as the perfect boat for every occasion. As life and lifestyles change, so do your needs—and the right boat should evolve with them.
I can help you determine the best fit based on capabilities, style, brand, value, and overall ownership experience, while carefully weighing the pros and cons of each option.
From day boats to long-range cruisers and everything in between, we’ll start by understanding how you plan to use your boat today and how those needs may change in the future. We’ll consider the size and amenities needed for your desired level of comfort, the range required, and the balance between ride quality, performance, and interior volume.
Because boats are ultimately limited by physics and hydrodynamics, bigger is not always better. The goal is to identify the vessel that best matches your priorities, lifestyle, and intended use.
Together, we’ll navigate the many nuances that go into selecting the right boat and find the one that makes the most sense for you.
Who you’ll be working with
About the Captain
Captain Heath Trerice
USCG Certified Captain · Traverse City, Michigan
Captain Heath Trerice (aka Captain T) has been boating for virtually his entire life and was operating boats long before he could legally drive a car. His passion for all things nautical runs deep — he is currently on his sixteenth vessel and has served as captain or crew on hundreds more.
A mechanical engineer by trade, Heath also manufactured instrumentation for the marine industry, giving him both hands-on and technical expertise. Over the years, he has helped countless friends, family members, and fellow boaters acquire, maintain, and gain confidence in the boating lifestyle.
Recognizing the growing need for experience-based guidance, he decided to share his knowledge with the public so others could fully enjoy the lifestyle he loves so deeply.
Clients quickly discover that Captain T is approachable, patient, and nonjudgmental, with the belief that everyone starts somewhere — and there is always room to improve.
Based in Traverse City, Michigan, Captain T provides services throughout the Great Lakes region and is available to travel as needed for training, consulting, and vessel delivery.
From the helm
In their words.
Docking our 38-footer used to be the most stressful part of every trip. After two sessions with Captain T, my wife and I bring it into the slip without a word.
Mark · Sea Ray 380Sample He moved our boat from Charlevoix to Grand Haven and sent updates the whole way. Arrived cleaner than we left it.
Linda & Tom · Tiara 39Sample Patient, clear, and zero ego. First open-water run in real chop and I finally understood what the boat was telling me.
Dave · Boston Whaler 320Sample
Where we work
Based in Traverse City. Serving the Great Lakes.
Available to travel for training, consulting, and delivery.
Seamanship: the art, skill, and knowledge of operating, navigating, and maintaining a water craft.