Maybe I'm off topic but (and IMO):
- you can backup your course using menu Administration-Backup... During creating backup you can choose what parts of course to include (eg ypu would include everything except logs). Your backup will be created in your course files as a ZIP file
- if you want to restore your backup (ie template course in your case) into new course you must have at least CourseCreator (or Admin) privileges set by your Moodle admin