Free Mini-Courses for Life Aboard and Cruising

Carolyn Shearlock, John Herlig, and Larry Webber on a beach in the Bahamas, representing experienced cruisers behind The Boat Galley’s trusted resources for living aboard and cruising.

Free Mini-Courses for Life on a Boat

Whether you’re exploring the idea of living aboard, preparing to cruise, dealing with the challenges that the first year brings, or mastering cooking in a tiny galley, we’ve got you covered.

Explore Our Mini-Courses

Choose the course that fits your needs and start learning instantly.

Free mini-course on living aboard: learn the realities of life on a boat and explore the liveaboard lifestyle

Tile image for the free Discover Cruising Life mini-course, introducing the joys and challenges of living on a boat.

5-star review for Discover Living on a Boat:

Discover Living Aboard

$0.00

Dip your toes into the liveaboard lifestyle with this mini-course

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Free mini-course on living on a boat full time: learn essential skills, planning, and gear for the liveaboard lifestyle

Tile image for the free Prepare to Cruise mini-course, guiding boaters through essential steps for starting their cruising life.

Prepare to Live on a Boat Full-Time

$0.00

Start your journey to living on a boat with this free step-by-step guide

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Free resource offering essential advice for new liveaboard boaters to handle the steep learning curve of boat life.

Tile image for the free mini-course Overcoming Overwhelm, offering strategies to tackle the challenges of boat life.

Overcoming The Learning Curve

$0.00

Learn to navigate the challenges of boat life

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Free mini-course on cooking aboard: create easy, delicious meals with limited galley space.

Tile image for the free Cooking for Adventures mini-course, helping boaters plan, prep, and cook meals while cruising.

A blue background shows a black square border with a red check mark at the top. Inside, text says: Learn to cook delicious galley meals anywhere with Intro to Cooking on a Boat, a free, on-demand course for adventurers by Carolyn Shearlock from The Boat Galley.

Intro to Cooking on a Boat

$0.00

Create delicious meals no matter how minimal your kitchen setup

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Why Choose These Free Resources?

✔ Practical: Focused, actionable advice for real-life questions and challenges.

✔ Immediately Available: Instant access right after purchase—no waiting, no delays. You'll get a link to the course on the order confirmation page and login instructions will be emailed to you for future access.

✔ Flexible: On-demand, self-paced, with lifetime access.

✔ Free: No cost, no strings attached—just valuable guidance.

✔ Trusted: Created by experienced cruisers who want you to succeed.

Looking for More?

These free courses are just the beginning. From trusted cruising guides to in-depth courses and handy reference materials, we’ve got resources to help you navigate every aspect of boat life. Explore the categories below to get started.👇

Online Courses

Learn essential skills for boat life with our practical, on-demand courses—accessible anytime, anywhere, forever

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Cover of The Boat Galley Bahamas Cruising Guide, part of our quick-reference guide collection for boaters and cruisers.

Cruising Guides

Quickly find anchorages, services, bridges, and more with our topic-focused, easy-to-use waterproof cruising guides

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Boat documents organizer for storing titles, registrations, and insurance—practical gift for boaters.

Books & References

Essential books and references to simplify life aboard—cooking, record-keeping, VHF and outboard usage, and more

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Compass icon representing free boating resources, tools, and guides for living on a boat

Free Resources

Boost your cruising confidence with free tools, mini-courses, checklists, and resources to help you every step of your way

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Helping You Cruise With Confidence Since 2010

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"Wicked Awesome!" - David L.

"Carolyn’s resources are a gold mine." - Whitney M.

Where You've Seen Us

Meet The Boat Galley Team

At The Boat Galley, we’re all cruisers. We know the joys—and the challenges—of boat life. The steep learning curve, costly mistakes, and hours spent searching for answers can be overwhelming. We’ve been there. That’s why we’ve created practical tools, trusted resources, and real-world guides to help you skip the frustrations and focus on enjoying your cruising life.