High Tide Boating

Navigating the Waves: A Guide to High Tide Boating in Australia

Melbourne’s Leading
Boating Service Company

BOATING SERVICES

Boating Instruction

Boat handling courses so you can boat with confidence.

Skipper Services

Hire a skipper and relax with family and friends.

Purchase Advice

Find the ideal balance and boat for you

Boat Restoration & Project Management

From minor repairs to major works

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Gyro Stabilisers

Enjoy a comfortable ride with our wide range of gyro stabilisers

Welcome to High Tide Boating

The premier provider of boat services and training in Melbourne, High Tide Boating offers you a range of services and a network of industry professionals to help you with all your boating needs.

We have been helping people like you enjoy boating in Melbourne since 2007. And now with our online programs we are able to help people Australia wide and beyond.

The core of our business is boating instruction, teaching you to drive your boat and overcome the fear of docking and maneuvering within a marina.

Additionally we work with boat owners to maintain their boat and get all the work required done in a timely and cost effective manner – providing ample advice and care along the way. Especially first time boat owners (over 30 ft) or those upgrading to larger sizes.

Our team has a combined 58 years of experience in the boating industry.

Our boat driver training features our unique techniques developed over 30 years and are delivered with an easy to understand and implement methodology.

Call us or email to see how we can help you.

Get A Quote

Who is Captain Ned?

Captain Ned’s love for boats started when he was a young boy living in Mallacoota.

That passion has taken our seasoned captain all over the Australian coastline as well as abroad. As a commercially licensed skipper for over 2 decades and with over 10,000 hours under his belt of simply messing about with boats, Captain Ned is a true professional in the boating world. 

In fact, before becoming a father, Ned used to fly up and down the East Coast to deliver his unique and effective boating instruction.

Ned’s various qualifications including: 

Boat License – 1997

Open water Coxswain – 1997

Certificate of Competency – Master 5 – 2003

Marine Engine Driver grade 3 (MED3) Certificate – 2003

Local Knowledge Certificates LK18 & 19 – 2003

Local Knowledge Certificates LK16 – 2021

Australian Maritime College (a bunch of additional courses)

 

He started High Tide Boating in 2007 and since then has helped over a 1000 people to enjoy boating through boating instruction as well as pre-purchase inspections, skippering and project/vessel maintenance.

In addition to Ned’s formal education he has always been hands on with all aspects of the vessels he has worked on. He has found himself in some sticky situations and had to troubleshoot and resolve issues while on the water to “keep the show on the road”. All of his experience has given him the tools needed to keep marine engines, as well as vessel systems, going to keep you out of troubled waters.

Jump onboard to find out more about our various boating services including:

Say ahoy to Melbourne’s favourite boating service company; get in touch with High Tide Boating today!

Call us or email to see how we can help you.

Client's Review

Dear Ned,

As you are aware my boys Drew and David are now the owners of a power boat. The boat was purchased so that their families would enjoy the outdoors and bond-ing as they grew up together.

Buying the boat was die easy part. The boys and I at best would be called abso-lute rank beginners when it came to any sort of craft.

Your company Was highly recommended to help us preps at least to learn the ba-sics of power boats.

The best money ever spent.

The fully comprehensive explanations given to us in plain old layman’s terms made us all feel comfortable to begin with. The way you educated us about the boat itself was an added extra “We all thought this was a driving exercise only”.

The boys and myself not only walked away feeling very confident about handling the craft, we also learnt all the aspects that beginners need to know about safety and preparation before usage. I know for a fact that the craft does not leave the marina without all the checks being done 1st from the motor being ready through to the safety equipment.

This makes mess a father feel good and able to sleep. Your training was nothing short of professional and appreciated by all. To finish I would like to add this.

Our 1st day out coming back into the marina, the wind blowing, Drew reversed the craft into its pen 1st go to the amazement of the broker and onlookers, must have had a good teacher.

Kind Regards Dale

Dale Sayner Director Tasman Logistics Services Pty Ltd

Google Reviews

Leah L
Leah L
2023-01-19
I considered buying a yacht in Melbourne and Ned at High Tide boating was very helpful going over the survey and all other documents with me, giving his very professional opinion about the condition of the boat and its value I would highly recommend using Ned's services. He is very friendly and very knowledgeable. Thank you!
Colin Sutton
Colin Sutton
2022-11-16
Very friendly and extremely helpful with a great knowledge of all aspects of boats and boating. I would highly recommend these guys
Geoff Quinton
Geoff Quinton
2022-11-14
There are few companies that meet expectations, and even fewer who exceed your expectations every time, but Hightide consistently deliver quality support and training. Greta and Ned communicate reliably with customers, are cost effective, and provide a quality service that we desperately need in this part of the world. Can’t recommend them highly enough.
Sefton McGraw
Sefton McGraw
2022-11-07
I used Ned from High Tide Boating to tutor me with berthing my new Caribbean 40ft Game Boat and handling the boat around the marina. Stepping up from a 25ft boat was a big step for me and after a few sessions with Ned I was back to where I needed my confidence to be handling the boat in winds and tight marina berthing and situations. Ned is a great guy and importantly great and calm tutor and I recommend him at the highest level, together with Greta they make a great team.
Nicholas Leask
Nicholas Leask
2022-11-03
I engaged Ned late December to help me and my partner learn how to drive and trailer our boat, and to get an initial orientation of PPB. Ned was very experienced, knowledgeable and personable. Everything we learned in our half-day together have served us so well in managing our boat. There is so much to learn to become a proficient captain, but Ned will help you get there quickly. Totally worth the investment. Thanks Ned.
Glen Jones
Glen Jones
2022-10-28
absolutely amazing took the time to talk to me and go over everything like it was his own boat. highly recommend 👌
John Wu
John Wu
2022-10-27
We bought a second hand power boat recently, as a beginner we are lucky to hired Ned to be our instructor, he is very experienced and passionate about boating. During 3 informative lessons we learned from safety check to docking, refueling and anchoring, it’s really helpful for beginners to be able to quickly understand and engage in boating and enjoy the boating lifestyle. Thanks Ned and Greta for your help, highly recommended!
Troy Gibson
Troy Gibson
2022-08-02
I recently consulted Ned from hightide to review a vessel I am looking to purchase. The boat is a RIB Cat with a hydrofoil and duel motors for which Ned immediately identified potential problem areas and provided exceptional advise in a simple to understand manner. I found Ned to be extremally knowledgeable and honest and best of all he has saved me money and my investment in him was completely justified. Ned was fantastic in referring other mechanical marine specialists even when this may have taken away from his business. Ned has come up in numerous conversations to family and friends since I with engaged him for advice with the emphases on my positive experience. Ned is knowledgeable, professional and just someone you don't come across normally in daily life. I had no prior relationship with Hightide and reached out from google.. I suggest you do the same! Thanks a million Hightide Boating.. Troy
Iain Cummings
Iain Cummings
2022-07-24
I asked High Tide Boating to review a yacht I particularly liked even though I knew it had some work to do with re-rigging, repainting, new sails and covers etc. after having not received the regular maintenance it needed. (I'm an engineer and have renovated a Seawind 24 and 2x small catamarans so I do have some knowledge & experience.) Ned was fantastic. He pointed out a few more issues with it, confirmed my concerns, advised on what it was approximately worth and what it would probably cost to rectify. A yacht auctioneer gave me a similar valuation. The value was less than what the owner wanted and I pulled out of buying an exercise that was likely to be more expensive than it was really worth. Thanks Ned.
Neil - BaileyWater
Neil - BaileyWater
2022-06-24
We approached Ned to do a pre-purchase inspection on a 30ft trailer sailer. Due to a fickle and indecisive seller we ended up reviewing three boats. At each one Ned was patient and very thorough with his inspections, fully explaining what he was looking for and consequences of each issue uncovered. As a result we purchased a great boat with full confidence. Would absolutely recommend Ned and High Tide Boating any time

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