California Boater Card required effective Jan 1 2018

A

Albie Back

New member
A boater card will be required and will be phased in over 8 years.
https://www.boat-ed.com/california/
http://californiaboatercard.com

January 1, 2018: Persons 20 years of age or younger
January 1, 2019: Persons 25 years of age or younger
January 1, 2020: Persons 35 years of age or younger
January 1, 2021: Persons 40 years of age or younger
January 1, 2022: Persons 45 years of age or younger
January 1, 2023: Persons 50 years of age or younger
January 1, 2024: Persons 60 years of age or younger
January 1, 2025: All persons regardless of age


From FAQ:

Q: Who is exempt from needing a Boater Card?

According to California law the following persons are not required to have a boater card to operate a motorized vessel on California waterways:

A person operating a rental vessel.
A person operating a vessel while under the direct supervision of a person 18 years of age or older who is in possession of a California Boater Card.
A person who is a resident of a state other than California who is temporarily operating a vessel in California for less than 60 days and meets the boating requirements, if any, of his/her state.
A person who is a resident of a country other than the United States who is temporarily operating a vessel in California for less than 90 days and meets the boating requirements, if any, of his/her country.
A person operating a vessel in an organized regatta or vessel race, or water ski race.
A person who is in possession of a current commercial fishing license.
A person who is in possession of a valid marine operator license, for the waters upon which the licensee is operating, issued by the US Coast Guard, or who is in possession of a valid certificate issued pursuant to the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers, 1978, as amended.
A person who has successfully completed a boating course approved by the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training.[/url]
 
Most states have this now. But there is one glaring error. That is persons who rent boats do not need a boating education card. If anyone really needs to know it is a person who has no boating experience and rents a boat. I smell corruption and a major lobby.

What is defined as a boat? SUP? dinghy? I suspect these are all spelled out. By the way, I am in favor of all Kayak, canoes. and SUP being licensed. But I gave up rights to any "say" in Calif. when I left 25 years ago.
 
The good news is I won't need one for a zillion years (dog years of course) but I did take the class free online thru boat u.s. and learned a ton of good info. Now that I passed, I am going to do it again. (without siri for the answers)

Richard
 
From an enforcement standpoint there are lots and lots of "holes" in this law. Some of those elements/violations will be impossible to enforce. "Yes, officer. I've only been boating for 30 days in California..." (wink, wink). "Yes, officer. I have a commercial license from [insert state here]. I just don't have it on me. I'm on vacation...." (wink, wink). Unenforceable. But it being CA, they will probably ticket people anyway knowing they'll just pay vs being hassled. CA needs the $$$$.

Won't matter to me, personally. I have no intention of visiting/boating in CA.
 
I agree with the principle of these things. Generally, I like fewer regulations, but I can see the need in a state full of idiots with a large population.
 
let me correct your digression, everybody should be allowed to parent, the license should be required to spawn :)

WA rolled out a similiar requirement a few years back...a simple online quiz and $10 and you're good for life. It's kind of a joke and from what I see on the water, didn't reduce the idiocracy but it is a step in the right direction. I pungled up the $10 so I don't have to pack the USCG document with me
 
As a LE member, let me input: there are new laws enacted all the time. But "they" (gobment) do not provide the required funding, manpower, tools etc to truly ENFORCE them. But it makes elected officials feel like they "did something" and garners votes. It also creates a false impression with the gullible public that "they" are actually working for the greater good of society. For instance, the call for more gun laws when all they have to do is ENFORCE the laws already on the books! But I digress....

I agree with the sentiment that "it's a good IDEA". But it truly does not make a difference on the water. Idiocy is idiocy. I make a living on it.

It reminds me of the old lyric:
"Signs, signs everywhere a sign...do this, don't to that....CAN'T YOU READ THE SIGN?"

...everybody should be allowed to parent, the license should be required to spawn...
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Oh, if I were King....
 
When Oregon implemented a similar boater's education card, some 10-15 years ago, it was staged similarly, hitting the older folks later. Law enforcement folks here informally told me it appeared to help reduce the number of injuries/incidents among the PWC crowd, largely folks in their teens or thereabouts, who were the first required to have the card.

Initially, OR required a substantial training/education program, with the de facto choice being a 30 hour mix of lectures and hands on stuff, run by the local Power Squadron corps. When I took the class, it was excellent, largely because the ramrod, Ron Collman, rode herd on it, and pulled in some USCG personnel for special stuff like Local Hazards, etc. And partly for the hands on training in navigation

The next year, an online open book type test was allowed as an alternate route, because there was a substantial population of oldsters (mainly) who felt the 30 hours was too much of a burden. I know one geezer my age, longtime fishing buddy, who could not hack the navigation segment of the hands on class, who passed the online test. He still cannot navigate worth a damn! But otherwise, he is relatively safe.

Later, the standard route to certification became a one day 8 hour lecture-based session, run by the local USCG Auxiliary, which was a faint shadow of the 30 hour version. I sat in on that when Becky took it, and she passed it. No navigation training. To get that, there is another class, optional and not needed to get the boater ed card.

My bottom line: when the standard required to get the card degraded, so was the competency of those who passed. But, the 30 hours demanded "so much" from boaters that the training needed was relaxed, owing to pressure from boaters.

I am a retired teacher ... and this scenario is no surprise to me.
 
I agree that "something like this" is a big need, but then again, you can't fix stupid.

Several years ago, I rented a PWC for an hour run. (No worries, you all were safe, there wasn't a C-Dory on the lake :roll: ) This happened up in British Columbia. Apparently they also have a required boating card, because when asked, I had a Washington State card, but not BC, so I had to do an "On paper class" which consisted of 10 Multiple choice questions, and I was handed an answer sheet to use to "correct" my own test. Yup, I passed the test, and good thing to 'cause that thing would go over 60mph on the water. :oops: Well that's what they said anyway :oops: I go up to 45 and decided that the water was looking plenty hard enough at that speed. :shock:

For WA card I did an evening class with the Power Squadron, 6 nights 3+ hours of instruction and then a test night with answers and lots of discussion. I think the total was supposed to be 20 hours total.

I have to say that for the most part, I have been very impressed with the capabilities and practices of the C-Dory owners. Somewhere WAY ABOVE the average boat at the ramp.

Harvey
SleepyC :moon

0_CD_Cover_SlpyC_with_Classics_MBSP_2009_288.thumb.jpg
 
I'm just glad that Captain's Hazelwood and Schettino had their 'boaters card'......oh wait......you can't fix stupid!

:lol:
 
...a one day 8 hour lecture-based session, run by the local USCG Auxiliary... No navigation training. To get that, there is another class, optional and not needed to get the boater ed card.
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Same here in WA. This is exactly what we took to get "our cards". The wife who was "co-teaching it" with her husband, knew less then some of the students. But she had the shirt with the epaulets, so... :roll:
 
Dont tell, but every now and then I tow my little 16 foot 40/30 hp jet john boat behind the motorhome into Washington on vacation and operate it without a boater safety card. I know that's crazy, yet somehow I lived - even on the Columbia near Handford! In stark comparison, driving around in Seattle traffic on I405 and I5 seemed a very real death wish and I constantly felt like praying for my life. Go figure.....
 
T.R. Bauer":2z8un5wp said:
...driving around in Seattle traffic on I405 and I5 seemed a very real death wish and I constantly felt like praying for my life. Go figure.....
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Not to worry. If the powers that be in Seattle/King county get their way, it will ALL be tolled and the masses, aka real folk, will be forced onto the $45 BILLION choo-choo train...
 
Y I K E S, Seattle :shock: I'm allergic. Toll roads and tunnels on the water front that go below sea level. Have we not learned anything from New Orleans :oops:

Harvey
SleepyC :moon

IMGP1872.thumb.jpg
 
I got stopped by the local water police. I did not have a boater card (had the wrong effectivity date in mind). I got a citation and had to go to the county court.

However, the LEO who stopped me said that if I completed the course and got a card that I could show the court when I appeared, the case would probably be dismissed. I did the course and had the card when I went to court and the case was dismissed.

BTW, when we got stopped, one of the officers was all about doing the inspection and writing the ticket. The other one spent the time asking me about my boat and C-Dories in general.
 
hardee":pvqlgs22 said:
Y I K E S, Seattle :shock: I'm allergic. Toll roads and tunnels on the water front that go below sea level. Have we not learned anything from New Orleans
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Harvey...you know the elitists in Seattle/King County know more than EVERYONE ELSE. Just look at all the "good" they've accomplished. Homelessness is non-existent, drug use eliminated, crime all but gone, traffic flowing smoothly, taxes lowered, unemployment is zero...why it's Utopia... :roll:

one of the officers was all about doing the inspection and writing the ticket. The other one spent the time asking me about my boat and C-Dories in general
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.


I'm the latter. But I know a cop who would give The Pope a ticket. He once cited an ambulance for speeding...I kid you not.
 
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