Boater licensing???

[Scooter]

So I'm 'on the internet' and I come across this thing called a California boaters card. There are a bunch of sites that are NOT .gov saying that it's a required thing now/soon based on age.

I'm not arguing that a boater safety course is good or bad. Everyone should take one, but I was under the impression that doing so got you a better rate on insurance and such not that it was a requirement for operation of a pleasure vessel. Driver licenses are required for operating motor vehicles on the highways but nothing is stopping you from driving a vehicle you own on your own land and most public land (last time I checked).

Is this really a thing?

[Brian N.]

Yes BoatUS has a free course for members and the insurance company I use offers a discount. Currently New York is "phasing in" the course by age group and soon it will be required for all. Not a bad thing, but I  looked at some other courses and found they had lots of focus on PWC, and power boat operation.

I'm in favor of a generalized course, and then offering supplements for PWC, power boat operation and even sail boating. 

[NickScheuer]

Illinois requires completion of a boat safety course such as US Power Squadron's (now renamed America's Boating Club) ABC course.  I don't know the age-related details because old salts like me are grandfathered in.

[Dave Scobie]

WA State requires a boater education card if the boat has above 10hp.

The class I took was mind-numbingly simplistic and really didn't cover anything that made boating safer or discouraged poor boater activities/behavior nor following rules of the road.

Insurance discount - NOPE! But I have a fancy looking state boater's card that cost me $15. 

[Krusen]

IS IT WATERPROOF PLASTIC?  Or biodegradable paper that dissolves if you fall in the water?
My senior, pay once for the rest of my life, fishing license was paper, and after 2 dunking's, is gone.

New revenue source.

The fee is the small part. Regardless if it has no expiration date, it will become regularly renewed in the future.

Fines for violation will be the big cost to the public.

On the cost side, increased wages for enforcers.

Increased courtroom time for trivial cases, less for criminals.


Locally, boat registration WAS limited to 25 feet or larger, with mechanical propulsion.

Then 22 feet, with or without a motor.

Now canoes, kayaks, and the smallest dinghies.  Pool noodles next?

Back in the 25 foot days, Florida jumped ahead with the ALL WATERCRAFT rule, and made good money citing transient dinghies and stand up  paddle boards.  B.E.E.R. cruisers learned that the hard way

Those stickers do make the boat so much safer.

On the other side of the issue, somewhere, I have a Coast Guard issued "Sixpac", that was a challenge to prepare for, and the on the water skills demonstrated were quite difficult.
I do not know if that times out, and must be renewed, but have not used it in 30 years.

[Brian N.]

A boating safety course should be just that - focus on safe practices, rules of the road. Learning the particulars of your watercraft should be a supplemental course, such as one for PWC or powerboats (and yes, even sail). Just too many idiots without a clue as to safe operation or even how to operate their vessel. BTW - in Florida, non motorized kayaks and canoes are exempt as are non motorized dinghies 16 feet or less, so lets not panic.

In my view, you need a license to operate a car, a different class of license for truck, bus, tractor-trailer and motorcycle. Why should boating be different? You may feel its government overreach, but in my view it makes sense.   

Here I am in human powered vessel - no license required
You cannot view this attachment.

[rfrance0718]

In Ohio people born after 1980 something have to complete a free online course to obtain an operator's permit for any motorized vessel.

I'm grandfathe isn't a terrible thing since there is no cost and isn't time consuming. Who know's, someone might learn that sailboats have right of way!

[Scooter]

In my view, you need a license to operate a car, a different class of license for truck, bus, tractor-trailer and motorcycle. Why should boating be different? You may feel its government overreach, but in my view it makes sense. 

That's kinda the point, you don't. You can own and operate all kinds of wheeled vehicles anywhere except public roads without a license or registration. If you buy a dirt bike off craigslist you can immediately tow it out to the desert and go bonkers on the trails and the government doesn't care.

Big question for me is what are 'they' going to do about it? Fine? Impound? Jail? And especially who is 'they'? Is the Coast Guard going to be doing random spot checks? Harbor police? And how are 'they' going to pay for the enforcement?

Again, not saying training is bad. Encroaching on rights and new bureaucracies IS bad. Can you say 'TSA'? Yeah, that worked out well.

[Brian N.]

Scooter - how many of us operate on "private" water or water outside federal, state or municipal jurisdiction? And in New York, you can't even fish on "private" water without a license. Same with hunting; you can't hunt on private land without a state license. To me, it's just practical, not more oversite. I do believe the courses should be offered free. As far as enforcement, the Coast Guard, Bay Constables and other law enforcement who are on the water or dock are the agencies now charged with enforcement, so that should not change. Appropriate fines and warnings for violations will have to be drafted. As far as "rights" you do not have the right to operate a motor vehicle, but you can prove (by licensing) that you have earned the privilege. Same should apply to boating. I understand that often government regulation (Local and other) may result in a quagmire, but free-for-all boating is mayhem and accidents just itching to happen. Hopefully, licensing and safety courses will reduce that potential. What else is to be done otherwise?

[Doug SC]

I like the way FL allows paddle craft and sailboats under 16' to be exempted. I think power boats should be registered and I am not against an operator's license.

[pgandw]

I am against licensing, because unless it involves a practical test with an experienced examiner, it's just a money maker for the state that does nothing to improve on the water safety.  An on the water test with your boat and an experienced examiner is both a learning experience and a demonstration that you are capable of the very basics.

Even an online course is often a waste of time, because too many people find a way to pass the test without ever applying what they have learned.

The same could be said for almost all activity licensing, but I'm not getting on that soapbox at this time.

Fred W
Stuart Mariner #4133  Sweet P
Yeopim Creek, Albemarle Sound, NC

[Scooter]

Oooh, serendipity.

https://www.gocomics.com/theargylesweater/2007/01/13

: )


Also, desert riding is on public land, just not the highway or a road. Hard to argue that the ocean isn't 'public'.

One more, fishing licenses. In California it costs almost $20 for a resident to get a one day fishing license. If I want to take my kids down to the lagoon and throw in a line not even expecting to catch or keep anything I have to spent 80 bucks. A day. If I get caught without one it can be a felony offense with a fine up to $1000 the first time and a blanket seizure of all associated equipment. So yeah, $10 and an online course is what it costs, for now.

[NickScheuer]

Is everyone forgetting that the idiot who doesn't think safety instruction and/or licensing is necessary is very capable of killing you or one of your loved ones with a stupid mistake on the water while he or she is exercising their freedom?  Five 150 hp outboard motors lined up on the transom can do a lot of damage, and we see the evidence every weekend.

[Scooter]

Is everyone forgetting that the idiot who doesn't think safety instruction and/or licensing is necessary ic very capable of killing you or one of your loved ones with a stupid mistake on the water while he or she is exercising their freedom?  Five 150 hp outboard motors lined up on the transom can do a lot of damage, and we see the evidence every weekend.

Softball like that, you're just fishing for the Ben Franklin quote.

Found a faq and it's on a .gov domain. Guess I don't get to feel good about taking a safety class without being forced to...

http://www.dbw.ca.gov/pages/28702/files/CBC%20FAQs%20Seamless%201.5.17.pdf

[Krusen]

So, if the state might loose some sales tax, no card needed.
Quote from the link to the regulations.

Q: Who will be exempt from needing a Boater Card?
A: According to California law the following persons will not be required to have a boater card to operate a motorized recreational vessel on California waterways when the requirements go into effect beginning in January 2018:

• A person operating a rental vessel.

Yep, rental dollars in hand makes him safe and qualified.


I have a large stack of licenses and permits, but that has not kept me from getting summonses for ridiculous things.

Shortly after I returned from involuntary military service, all far from Maryland, I was stopped by a rooky MD State trooper, for a burned out tag light.  I blew the dust off the fixture, I had just come off miles of dusty road.

I had renewed my tags as soon as I returned, so they were good.
1. My MD commercial drivers license was "Good until suspended or revoked.
2. My Georgia license was valid for another 3 years.
3. My International drivers license was good for more than 3 more years.
4. My Army license for jeeps, sedans, 2 1/2 ton trucks, and trailers, good for more than 3 years.
5. My army license for busses was valid for 4 more years.
6. My Washington DC Commercial class C license was brand new renewal, as soon as I returned.  It had aged out while I was gone.

Unfortunately, I had not sent the DMV my APO mailing address, so their notification that they were revoking all drivers licenses, and replacing them with new ones that had to be renewed every year, went to the new owners of the house that I had lived in when drafted.

The Maryland law is that if you have a Maryland address (On my tags and registration card), you must have a Maryland license.
So I was issued a ticket for driving without a license.

Unfortunately, I was far from home, and the court was far enough away that I had to take a day of vacation to go to court, and possible get reduced to court costs, about $20.00.

Add the cost of gas, and a meal, it was cheaper to oay the $25.00 fine locally.


If you have read this far, what happens if you forget that piece of paper, and meet an officer similar to the trooper I met?  And are you sure that you will have someone with you that can return your boat to your starting point?

I had to have one of my passengers, who had not learned to drive stick shift, but did have a plain Washington DC license, drive me and our friends home in my stick shift car.
The trooper would have taken me into custody if I had tried to drive after receiving the ticket.

Yes, there are officers like that, and I have met several non professionally.