Boating Card

[sail sfbay]

Taking the course now...........36% completed (2 of 7 chapters). Chapter 2 had 61 pages at 24 second minimum viewing duration per page, which took 1.5 hours to complete with a 100% test passing grade. What's nice anout the BoatUS course is that you can print off a "cheet sheet" for each charpter to take notes BEFORE you take the test, if you are like me and everything is new and fresh. One side benefit of taking this course today is it is keeping me from my planned boat activity to crawl into the engine bay of my new powerboat to clean out the previous owner's debris, tools, extra engine fluids and map out the waste system.

 

[jssailem]

@sail sfbay you are on your way to getting a Gold Star

 

[jon hansen]

any pictures of the new boat?

 

[sail sfbay]

...................sail sfbay you are on your way to getting a Gold Star

I just want to get it out of way so I am legal here in California, too cheap to pay for the course/certificate, don't want to spend a day in classroom and avoid cleaning the engine bay (at least today).

 

[jssailem]

I am legal here in California

I commend you.

 

[sail sfbay]

A hint for those planning to take the free BoatUS boat course and test............if you unsure about answering a question, it can be found on the internet by typing in the question!!

 

[RussC]

For the first few years Oregon said old guys are grandfathered in. But eventually they ran out of boater money. Then they changed and the older boater is required to prove they can be safe on the water.

Fortunately it is Pass Fail. No special stars on the card if you get 100%.

Yup. I was in the "grandfathered in" status for years, but I guess they figured I was getting so old now that maybe I forgot everything I had known for years

 

[Brian D]

I thought California would have a Grandfather Clause. I thought wrong, McFly.

 

[dLj]

A hint for those planning to take the free BoatUS boat course and test............if you unsure about answering a question, it can be found on the internet by typing in the question!!

Scary thought...

dj

 

[DArcy]

Scary thought...

dj

I dunno, it could actually be a good thing. Looking up the answer at least forces the person taking the test to know the answer for a few seconds, hopefully some will sink in. That's better than not taking the test at all and going out on the water.

 

[dLj]

I dunno, it could actually be a good thing. Looking up the answer at least forces the person taking the test to know the answer for a few seconds, hopefully some will sink in. That's better than not taking the test at all and going out on the water.

Man, that's putting the bar high...

dj

 

[sail sfbay]

Received my CA Boat Card today.

 

[jssailem]

@sail sfbay remember when being legal was a thrill. A badge of accomplishment. An exciting possible night with that life long crush.

Yea, this is not the same.

 

[Head Sail]

Here in The Peoples Republic of Washington, they have a bill to require kayakers to take a safety course regarless if powered. A joke not.

 

[Michael Davis]

The test we have up here in Canada is very basic. 50 questions about safety. At least when I took myICC you had to take the boat out, reef, anchor, tie knots etc etc.. A little more practical to make sure you have some degree of competence. I wouldn’t mind that with my kayak as they are a little easier to turn over than a 40 foot sailboat.

 

[Rick Webb]

With the recent increase in popularity there has been a marked increase in the number of fatalities and rescues of kayakers and paddleboarders across the country as a whole. There has been a directed effort to target those populations in boating safety efforts. Some seaming to be well intentioned would have had unintended consequences that would have made compliance low and enforcement difficult.

There was a similar effort to require everyone on unpowered vessels to complete a boaters safety course. We were very concerned that the eight year old Opti sailors in our summer program were going to have to carry a Florida boaters safety card to be out on the water. On the surface that sounds fine but taking at least a whole day in a one week camp would cut down on the sailing time drastically or requiring the course before starting would have reduced our enrollment. We spend a great deal of time teaching boating and water safety but much of the course is spent on boating under the influence and power boat or PWC topics. Not really relevant for eight to fifteen year old kids sailing a small boat around a half dozen marks while being supervised.

To stick up for the kids I want to mention I spent several years teaching the course for the Coast Guard Auxiliary. Almost without exception the kids in the class always did better on the exam than the adults. Was never sure if it was because they are used to listening to a class and taking a test to gauge how much they learned which for many of the adults having doing so had not been something they have had to do for quite sometime or if they were more motivated because without it they were not going to be allowed out on the water.

 

[sail sfbay]

Unclear if the boating course material and tests are consistent. The BoatUS course I took had little to do with safely operarting, docking and anchoring a powerboat and sailboat. It was pretty general. It included an entire chapter on personal water craft, teak surfing, water skiing (which I was fully familiar with) and boating safety risks by hunters and anglers and kyaks. The course had 6 chapters with up of 60 multiple choice test questions at the end of each chapter followed by a final exam consisting of 60 multiple choice questions. Course takes 6 - 8 hours.

Before taking the course you must apply for a boater ID on the state's website that issues bater ID (for California Boater that website is www.CaliforniaBoaterCard.com) and provide the ID number to BoatUS. Once you sucessfully complete the final exam BoatUS immediately notifies the state that you completed the course and issues you an email with the course certificate. The state also emails you a temporary boater card. In about 1 week you receive the Boater Card.

 

[sloughsailer]

I wonder how the compliance will be in my area. Back in the late 80's or early 90's California imposed a special tax on boats. The fee was dependent on the length of the boat. When the tax was paid a sticker was issued that was to be stuck on the boats bow next to the registration sticker.

Not many sailors paid the tax. The only boats I saw with the sticker were a few power boats. After a few years the tax was dropped.. Will the boating card die the same death?

 

[Michael Davis]

Will the boating card die the same death?

Watching some of the power boaters in my area one can only hope the test gets harder and more practical.

 

[jon hansen]

Watching some of the power boaters in my area one can only hope the test gets harder and more practical.

i try and boat every day in the boating season. i see things from other boaters that i would not choose to do. there are 100 powerboats for every sailboat.
really, you have a bunch of motorboaters that are always doing "illegal" things. they are breaking the law? really? motor boaters are breaking the law all over the place?

that's hard to believe. i just have never seen such, as to make that claim, where i have boated all my years.

honestly, i have never been a fan of bashing other boaters.