California Boating Card

Starting in 2018, California is requiring all boaters to pass an online safety course and have their boating card with them if boarded. Although I am not required to get one for a few years (it's being phased in by your age over several years), I decided to go for it, mostly out of curiosity.

It's all online. Course is $29. The course is very long and you are not allowed to skip it and go directly to the test. Each page is timed, so you have to either actually read it, or sit for a while before going to the next page. Whole thing took me a few hours over several days. It is quite complete, covering rules of the road, safety, legal issues, navigation fundamentals, lights and sound signals, basic operation and safety of small motorboats, personal watercraft (these are emphasized a lot, of obvious reasons), sailboats, even kayaks and canoes. There are several sample quizzes along the way. All in all, I have to say it is pretty well done and very complete. The test turned out to be shorter and easier than I expected, and I passed on the first try, having missed a few questions on the size, color, and/or shape of some obscure marker buoys. They send you an electronic certificate which you then submit (with another $10) to get the actual card.

Eventually, hopefully, making every boater get this card may reduce or minimize the worst mistakes by idiots that we have all seen out on the water. At least I hope so....

So, Cal boaters, go for it and try to enjoy the experience!

Fair Winds,
Oldersalt

"Everything on your boat is broken. You just don't know it yet."

Took the online boat safety course from Boat US, FREE for members.

Looks very similar to what we have up here.

L

That great news, and great progress towards a more educated boating community in CA.

I'm glad to see CA join the many states that now require a boater safety card. Taking the class (online or in person) and having the card won't stop all boating accidents and boating injuries/fatalities, but it's a big help.


USCG stats show that the vast majority of boaters who are involved in accidents do not have a boater safety card.

if you sit for a proctored test and the course is NASBLA approved, it usually is. accepted in any state requiring certification.

doesnt sound like this one will... but maybe the rules changes since I stopped teaching....

Yeah, and as the accident rates drop (?) so will our insurance rates.:lol:

Agree, this is a great first step to increase boater skills and prevent acccidents. I plan on taking it soon.

I took the Boat US course awhile back and it was good, but fairly basic. Sounds like this CA test is more comprehensive.

If not already, every state will have the boater card. Some let you challenge the test. While it's a good start, most the small boaters seem to forget everything presented as soon as they get their card. Like no wake zones, when children are required to have on life jackets, etc.

Fletcher500 said:

Agree, this is a great first step to increase boater skills and prevent acccidents. I plan on taking it soon.

I took the Boat US course awhile back and it was good, but fairly basic. Sounds like this CA test is more comprehensive.

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I agree. Very similar to the WA state boater education law but it sounds as if the course is more comprehensive. I read the WA boater handbook, and then took the online test. It was pretty basic. It sounds as if the CA course is more comprehensive which sounds like a good idea to me.

I am sure we will see complaints from those that say it won't do enough to improve boating safety. ie if it ain't perfect, don't bother.

What do you do if you are an Oregonian and want to boat in the Columbia River, since its the border between Washington and Oregon ? Do you have to stay in the OR half of the river, or are you excempted from the WA requirement since you're not a resident ??

Benthic2 said:

What do you do if you are an Oregonian and want to boat in the Columbia River, since its the border between Washington and Oregon ? Do you have to stay in the OR half of the river, or are you excempted from the WA requirement since you're not a resident ??

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I can't vouch for this particular case, but in general states recognizes and accept whatever your state of residency requires, including when nothing is required.

ancora said:

Yeah, and as the accident rates drop (?) so will our insurance rates.:lol:

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Hopefully that's not the only thing that matters to you.

CT will not accept an online course for its boating card. You must take a live course and a proctored exam.

I also took the Washington State course thru Boat US, free of charge. In Washington you do not need to have the card if you were born before 1955 so I was exempt, but took the course any way. It was a good refresher.

By the way, in Canada they have this same safety course requirement for their citizens and visiting boaters. They will accept your state certificate, but if you don't have one, you are probably breaking their law. On my last trip north I was boarded twice by the RCMP to check my customs clearance. They could have just as easily asked to see my boaters safety card, but did not.

milt said:

Took the online boat safety course from Boat US, FREE for members.

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I took the Boat US test back in 2010 & was told that California accepted it.
Can anyone confirm that?

hmason said:

CT will not accept an online course for its boating card. You must take a live course and a proctored exam.

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is that if you are a CT resident, or a transient from another state?

Benthic2 said:

What do you do if you are an Oregonian and want to boat in the Columbia River, since its the border between Washington and Oregon ? Do you have to stay in the OR half of the river, or are you excempted from the WA requirement since you're not a resident ??

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I have been wondering same thing. A little Google-fu found this report.

https://www.slideshare.net/mobile/IBWSS/state-reciprocity-for-boating-safety-education

Page 15, slide is a graphic showing reciprocity, data date 2014, but I doubt much has changed. And this is a survey, so it's factual basis needs some more R & D.

I've done a couple of the on line courses, I think it's a good start.

Most of the "violations" I see are dingy drivers and jet skis, with a heaping helping of iPodding/ear-budded SUP operators who have no clue about water-borne space-time.

I am glad to see safety courses being required but I don't agree with the phase in plan. This leaves a lot of boaters who will never have to take the class and pass the test. I would rather see a deadline for all boaters to have a safe boating card.

I would also like to see the boating laws unified from state to state, much like most auto laws. For example, in one state it's an automatic no wake zone within 50' of a dock and in the next state it's within 150' of a dock. Boats travel from state to state just like cars and trucks.

My wife and I took the Power Squadron one day course and have our cards. I assume they are valid in every state.

Russell Clifton said:

By the way, in Canada they have this same safety course requirement for their citizens and visiting boaters. They will accept your state certificate, but if you don't have one, you are probably breaking their law. On my last trip north I was boarded twice by the RCMP to check my customs clearance. They could have just as easily asked to see my boaters safety card, but did not.

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The one irony here in Canada is that if you rent a boat, no matter how big, you are not required to have a Boater Safety Card and only need to take an "instructional session" with the renter. Believe me with all the 40ft rental houseboats along the Trent, it is real entertainment at the locks to watch the renters bang into everything and everybody. The card is a good first step though.

aboatman said:

I would also like to see the boating laws unified from state to state, much like most auto laws. For example, in one state it's an automatic no wake zone within 50' of a dock and in the next state it's within 150' of a dock. Boats travel from state to state just like cars and trucks.

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I think the driving and boating rules are about equally normalized across the country. All the basic navigation rules are the International Rules, or minor variations for the Inland Rules. Then lots of state and local rules for both means of transport for more minor issues.

twistedtree said:

I think the driving and boating rules are about equally normalized across the country. All the basic navigation rules are the International Rules, or minor variations for the Inland Rules. Then lots of state and local rules for both means of transport for more minor issues.

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I know the rule I quoted is true and the rules on PFDs (especially for children) are all over the place.

In some states, passing through a bridge opening is an automatic no-wake zone while in other states it's only a no-wake zone if it's marked.

And of course, in some states you have to have a safe boating certificate and in others, you do not. And not all certificates are recognized by all states.

aboatman said:

I know the rule I quoted is true and the rules on PFDs (especially for children) are all over the place.

In some states, passing through a bridge opening is an automatic no-wake zone while in other states it's only a no-wake zone if it's marked.

And of course, in some states you have to have a safe boating certificate and in others, you do not. And not all certificates are recognized by all states.

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I don't disagree with the difference, and am just pointing out that there is a lot of variation from state to state in driving regs too. Other than the very basics, it's hardly uniform from state to state. Seat belt laws vary. Some are mandatory for all occupant, and some are only for kids under a certain age. Some might not even require them. Vehicle inspection requirements vary from none at all to very thorough inspections. Default speed limits for un-posted roads vary from state to state, and vary for different types of roads. License plate display laws very too, with some states requiring front and back, and others only requiring front plates. Any some don't seem to care how much you vanity frame obstructs vital info on the plate, like the state of issue, expiration dates, etc. And of course DUI laws vary from state to state, along with right on red laws, etc, etc.

milt said:

Took the online boat safety course from Boat US, FREE for members.

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Are you saying the BoatUS course meets the new CA requirement?

-Chris

Individual certifications for each state would make something like doing the Loop pretty complicated.

Also...does anyone know if you had a Captain's License, would that excepmt you from the need for a state certification ?

GFC said:

USCG stats show that the vast majority of boaters who are involved in accidents do not have a boater safety card.

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Of course, that is a meaningless statistic. CA is phasing in its requirement, but once fully phased in, then the opposite will be true: the vast majority of CA boaters who are involved in accidents WILL have a boater safety card.

Benthic2 said:

Individual certifications for each state would make something like doing the Loop pretty complicated.

Also...does anyone know if you had a Captain's License, would that excepmt you from the need for a state certification ?

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NJ which is one of the strictest does, but you have to have it on you even in the dingy or jet ski.

ranger42c said:

Are you saying the BoatUS course meets the new CA requirement?

-Chris

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Yep, the Boat US course is customized for each state. Most of the info is universal, but where a state has different regs, its covered. I took the course a few weeks and now have my MS card.

From the California Boater Card web site:

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.

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I also noticed that they're only grandfathering in prior education certificates for a limited time, and only since 2015:

DBW will accept proof of passing a National Association of State Boating Law Administration (NASBLA) and California Division of Boating and Waterways approved-boater education course taken between Jan. 1, 2015 and Dec. 31, 2017. Persons who have passed an approved examination during this timeframe will have until Dec. 31, 2018 to apply for their California Boater Card to receive the “grandfathering” exemption regardless of their age. Older courses may not include recent state or national changes to navigation law.

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Benthic2 said:

Also...does anyone know if you had a Captain's License, would that excepmt you from the need for a state certification ?

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Wifey B: Yes, it does. We've played around with some of those courses and tests and really impressed and glad states are adding them. No, it doesn't make everyone a good boater, but at least people are exposed to things that in the past they'd quickly say they'd never heard of or didn't know that.