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RUN2RIVER
03-14-2002, 11:39 PM
Does anyone else feel that liscenses should be mandated on all bodies of water? I feel that a boater should know how to work their machine and that at minimum they should pass a written test if not a water test. I think that this would eliminate a lot of the idiots on the lake. Ie. rental boat users, jetskis, etc...

rivercrazy
03-15-2002, 09:00 AM
I couldn't disagree with you more. We Don't need more governmental involvement in our daily lives. We are losing more of our precious freedom's everyday. Just my .02cents

pleasantcat
03-15-2002, 09:25 AM
by all means..... YES. i do agree with the other guy not wanting to give up freedom, but what about the idiots out there whom have no clue as to how to run on the water. lake tics ( jet skis) i feel are the worse. you get rental people out there who dont know crap on a 55 mph missle. i personaly watched to bimbos jumping my wake. they ended up hitting head on and we ended up saving both of them.. thats why i feel the way i do but im not the lawmaker so......

spectras only
03-15-2002, 10:26 AM
It's in the works already ,like it or not! There was a thread about this issue way back,don't remember the date.

RUN2RIVER
03-15-2002, 11:40 AM
The reason why I feel that there should be mandatory liscensing is because idiot boaters endanger the lives of everyone else. I get so angry when an idiot is right on my tail or if have a skiier and they fall down, the idiot barely misses them. It is not just jet skis or rental boats. It is that a lot of manufacturers are turning out boats to people who could barely control a Bayliner much less a 100mph machine. Plus if a liscense is issued, there can be something to take away. THE FREEDOM TO USE THE WATER. Be an idiot and you don't get to play anymore. Go to time out! I am also a firm believer that drinking/driving of boats do not mix at all. I would fully support decisions to revoke boating liscenses even the first time you get caught with a DUI on the water.
[This message has been edited by RUN2RIVER (edited March 15, 2002).]

grog
03-15-2002, 12:01 PM
Drivers licenses don't keep idiots off the road... or from killing themselves or others. I don't think it's a license issue as much as an idiot problem.
Damn idiots!
My .02.

Blown Sleek
03-15-2002, 12:08 PM
I am with Grog I have lost my license more times than I need to express! I have never hurt anyone or anything! I also never quit driving! If we got rid of all the idiots and people who have no boat driving tallent I am sure I could set up a slolom course and eaven a ski jump in the Channel and no one would get in my way. Sorry to many years of watching stupid people do stupid things. Money seems to buy ignorance these days.Would be cool if Dave of D.C.B. simply gave a little driving lesson with those Bad ass boats. Really.

RUN2RIVER
03-15-2002, 12:15 PM
I think that social responsibility goes a long way. I do believe that everyone with a boat should be taken to the lake with a person who KNOWS how to drive the particular boat they are buying. I mean if you kick down 30-400k on a boat there is enough profit there to pay someone to go to the lake for at least one 8 hour day. Maybe if boat builders did that instead of saying ok here is how you shift and here is your gas, the idiots would turn more into incompetants for a while instead of complete and total idiots. Eventually they will learn, but they will at least be pointed in the right direction. Ok go play, have fun!

MrHavasuCat
03-15-2002, 12:33 PM
When I took delivery of all 3 DCB'S I have owned they went over trim settings, throttling ect.. while on the water driving the boat. so they do kind of give a lesson when you take delivery. I am sure if you were newer to performance boats most manufacterers would spend more time on the the water test with the customer.

pleasantcat
03-15-2002, 01:32 PM
bill over at the boat brokers was very to the point on telling as well as showing me how to drive my boat. but then again i wasnt a slughead either. i told him that it was my first cat and wasnt all that behind the wheel. so bill made sure to show me some do's & donts... my other purchase went very much the same.. so it boils down to idiots will be idiots...

rivercrazy
03-15-2002, 01:55 PM
There are as many idiots with licences than without. Licencing aint going to change anything except introducing a new tax on us. ALL BS to me.

Donnie
03-15-2002, 04:24 PM
Hey Pleasantcat I did'nt realize that you got your boat from Bill,I talked to him right after he took you out in it.
As far as licensing boat operators goes..they can't keep the shit heads off asphalt what makes you think that a license will keep them off the lake.
Education not Legistration
Donnie

ratso
03-15-2002, 04:50 PM
If we have more legislation against boats, soon only criminals will have boats...or was that just a gun issue? They can take away my right to boat when they pry my cold dead fingers from the nitrous button!

Jrocket
03-15-2002, 09:02 PM
Originally posted by grog:
Drivers licenses don't keep idiots off the road... or from killing themselves or others. I don't think it's a license issue as much as an idiot problem.
Damn idiots!
My .02.
So true....So true..I drive on the average of 350 to 500 miles a DAY.I see more than enough people on the road that dont need to be behind the wheel of a vehicle.And I bet alot of them operate boats now and then.These people are usually the funniest too watch at the launch ramp.HEHEHEHE....JR

Cole
03-15-2002, 09:20 PM
Hows a license going to make someone responsible????

RUN2RIVER
03-16-2002, 09:24 AM
Ever been to Havasu or Parker on a big weekend? If you have you probably would have noticed gangbangers and thugs in rental boats cruising up and down the lake. THEY HAVE NO PLACE THERE!!! All that they want to do is to get drunk and party. I was in the jumping cove just up from the dam on Havasu last 4th. A boatload of gangbangers came in in a rented boat. They were hammered and obviously had no idea what they were doing. To navigate through the crowd (NO JOKE) they had two guys on the front of the boat pushing off other people's boats with gardening rakes. They went to push off of mine while trying to get to the back, I blew a gasket. Their comment was "ehh maan. dont bee so serious." Yeah right. When you have over 120k invested in a boat and it is your baby, you take care of it. If liscenses were mandatory and fairly (not extremely) difficult to get, the one time a year boaters/drunk partiers would not get one or if they applied then they would not pass. I just want to keep the idiots off of the water and get back to a good old boy sport. No more kids with daddy's boat out on the water. If they are, they better know how to drive. If you know how to drive and the rules of the water, you should be up for this. No problem passing and it will keep the idiots of of the lake. WOO HOO more space for me! What we need to do is to liscense drivers of the boats and atleast once they have their liscensce they will have some basic knowledge of what is the rules of the water. Next we should give the cops the power to enforce it. 6 month grace period for boaters to drive without one, once the 6 months is up, if you get caught driving without a liscense, impound your boat! To keep the idiots off of the water it will have to have some teeth which it can bite. Your comments are true, how will liscenses keep idiots off the water? They won't. The consequences for driving without a liscense is what will keep people off of the water!

riodog
03-17-2002, 03:44 AM
Run2river, Have you been in hibernation for about the last twenty years or so? As it's been pointed out, we've got laws against everything from walking your dog without a leash to gun control to using controlled substances to driving without a license or insurance.
It's this type of 'mindset' that's behind the loss of most of the rights and freedoms that we once had. For every law that's passed to protect us from all of the dangers that are all around us, it just adds to the "BIG GOVERNMENT" bullshit! Just remember,
more laws=more governmental controls=less freedoms=more inforcers=more administrators=more taxes=less individual income retained, etc.
We don't need governmental control, we do need selfcontrol!
Riodog

RUN2RIVER
03-17-2002, 07:54 AM
Well if that is the case then, we need to level the playing field. And no I have not been in hibernation for the past 20 years. I just choose to avoid the a-holes and idiots that are typical of Havasu and Parker. I am not saying that everyone there is an a-hole or idiot, but I would say that the majority are. For the most part I go to Mojave. Play at Cottonwood Cove area. Go for miles without seeing another boat. It is nice because if you want to party go down to Katherine's, but if you want to get away head towards the dam. I am a person who has a very low tolerance for stupid people. That is why I only go to Havasu 1-2 times a year and those are usually for regattas. I feel that if thugs and bangers are at Havasu, protection needs to be had. I fired my flare gun at a boat load of bangers about 3 years ago. They were trying to shoot me with their place diverter while running to the sand bar through the gorge. For no reason. I was just comming up on them and going to pass, then they try to roost me and not let me by. C'mon! That b.s. needs to stop! If you want to talk about freedoms, let me cary my .45 in the boat. Lets think about this, we let (well not let but not stop) the banger boats from carrying guns, but law abiding citizens aren't able to keep them in their boats. One of those little bangers pisses me off. I have 15 friends that can run much faster than they can. It is sad that it has to come to that. But unfortunately IT IS THERE!!!
[This message has been edited by RUN2RIVER (edited March 17, 2002).]

Thunderbutt
03-17-2002, 11:50 AM
I'm with Run2river. Stay away from the shitheads. When I used to go to the river in the 70's and 80's there were a lot of fast boats. Most of these boats were built by the guys that were driving them,(the motors) and they knew how, and they weren't 30 ft.long. Now the high dollar guys have these 100 mph boats built by the boat manufacturers. The boat manufacturers don't know it, but They're going to screw it up for the rest of us. Wait until one of these boats goes haywire and the right person gets killed, and the family sues the builder and everybody else connected to the boat. Remember the 3-wheel Honda. After the HTM incident, do you think the water patrol won't enforce the 35 MPH at Castaic and every other body of water in CA? I would say that the survivors of the guys in the HTM boat will even sue the State of CA for letting them go that fast on a 35 MPH lake, not checking the safety equipment. Every time I've been to Castaic they looked at the boat. You talk about Goverment control - you haven't seen anything yet.

ratso
03-17-2002, 12:52 PM
About 75% of the people I used to boat with have stopped going or sold out. Why? The bullshit that this thread is about. Our group now bands together and if someone is being an idiot we confront them. Been a few fights, but we don't go crying to the law which will in turn come back to bite us in the ass. Most those pervert law-boys are only interested in checking out the chicks on your boat anyways.

RiverLife
03-17-2002, 04:09 PM
RUN2RIVER,
I Also go to the Cottonwood Cove area, I own one of the trailers in the "Trailer Village". I love that place for the same reasons because it seems to be a different kind of place where common sense and courtesy still exists. I am only 25 years old, but have been boating every bit of it. Let me know when your planning on heading out there, we go almost every weekend.
Also, about licensing, I think it is a good idea. I do think the government regulates a bit too much on certain things, but not enough on others (boating being one of them). It is a hell of a lot harder to drive a boat than it is a car, more variables. Like someone said a few posts ago, the water ways need to watched. If the lake speed limit is only 35, it is probably that for a reason. If you want to go faster go somewhere else. Just obey the law and quit whining.
I love going to Havasu, lots of eye candy, but if I was like ratso, I would have to fight damn near everyone there. The asshole: intelligence ratio is overwhelming there. I am not one who has to run to mommy every time I stub my toe, but fighting someone because there head is up there ass isn't going to solve shit either.

KingCole
03-17-2002, 05:19 PM
I agree that something needs to be done, but I don't think licensing is it. Here's a thought, how about having the boat manufactures or DMV make sure a new owner has passed some sort of on the water training with their first boat before letting them register it. If your new boat is on the water with no CF or AZ numbers, that would get the attention of a sheriff, I would think. I know this wouldn't stop all the knuckleheads, but it may help. I have seen too many 1st time boaters with 28', 5000 lbs. boats, that haul ass, with no brakes, and no clue on how to operate them. Like someone in Hot Boat said, "it use to be that guys had no money and knew everything about their boats, know it seems to be the other way around."
KC

RiverLife
03-17-2002, 07:48 PM
That's pretty much all I am saying too. A license is just proof that you have taken a class and know the BASIC rules of the road. A similar class needs to be MANDATORY for boats.

RUN2RIVER
03-17-2002, 08:31 PM
RIVERLIFE & KING COLE I am right there with you. I dont think that licensing should be mandatory, but it has come to the point that it is almost a necessity to keep the idiots off of the lake. I agree that all manufacturers should be mandated to atleast check a person out on a boat, but what is left are the people who are buying a boat used and the people on rental boats. Both of these classes make up atleast 50% of the people out there. I also think that insurance should be mandatory. I know people who have a "not so nice" boat. They have the attitude that if I hit something no big deal. Tough for the other guy. And trust me if that guy hits a nice boat, do you really think that they can afford to fix it? If they could, they probably wouldn't be driving around that P.O.S. The issue isn't about liscensing people, but keeping the people off of the water who shouldn't be on it. If there were ways to keep them off then fine don't liscense people, but since I don't see anything that could be done, I think that liscenses should be mandated!
Riverlife I am sure that I probably have seen you up there at Cottonwood. What type of a boat do you have and what # is your trailer?

ratso
03-17-2002, 08:33 PM
That's true RiverLife. Still, same as with cars, you still have to deal with the assholes, license or not. With a safety course they can at least be a more responsible asshole.

RiverLife
03-17-2002, 10:24 PM
Exactly!
RUN2RIVER, I have a 1982 Schiada 22' open bow with red, orange, yellow, and blue stripes, and it's pretty loud! (my project boat). I am at #297, at the top, in the middle. I'm sure I have seen you there also. We need to hook up next time and take a run to Katherine or Willow! http://free.***boat.net/ubb/smile.gif
What are you runnin'? Do you have a trailer also?
[This message has been edited by RiverLife (edited March 17, 2002).]

Thunderbutt
03-19-2002, 03:34 PM
Kingcole, You have a good idea. Start a business that teaches people how to drive a boat. Have about 5-boats, a tunnel, a v-bottom, a flatbottom and a v-drive. Then go to Sacramento and lobby the state to make it mandatory that everyone takes your boating course or no sticker. Just remember partner, we split 50---50

RUN2RIVER
03-20-2002, 08:53 PM
RIVERLIFE I do not have a trailer at Cottonwood YET. I am about #3 or #4 on the list right now, but I am waiting for a blank lot to open up. Realistically I am not looking to get one for the next year or two. I have friends with places in the trailer village and stay there. If they are not up there I stay in Laughlin and drive in. I hate dealing with the idiots at Katherines. I have a blown open bow cat. Chances are you have probably seen it. It is the loudest boat up there! Luckily I am on a first name basis with the rangers or I would be in trouble. We should get together sometime up there. Last year I spent 62 days at the river and atleast 50 of them were at Cottonwood. Awesome place!

RiverDave2
03-20-2002, 09:12 PM
Originally posted by ratso:
About 75% of the people I used to boat with have stopped going or sold out. Why? The bullshit that this thread is about. Our group now bands together and if someone is being an idiot we confront them. Been a few fights, but we don't go crying to the law which will in turn come back to bite us in the ass. Most those pervert law-boys are only interested in checking out the chicks on your boat anyways.
Now I'm not one for Violence.. But Dam skippy Ratso that's the way to do it.. http://free.***boat.net/ubb/smile.gif
Granted I've been drinking a few here and there tonight, but Run2River you can take your license etc... and shove it right in your ass.
RD

ratso
03-20-2002, 09:18 PM
I'll drink to that!

RiverDave2
03-20-2002, 09:31 PM
I am drinking to that... http://free.***boat.net/ubb/biggrin.gif
RD

RUN2RIVER
03-20-2002, 09:50 PM
RiverDave you are probably one of the guys who liscensing would be good for. Maybe it would keep you from getting trashed and causing problems. Just wait until some rental boat or some jetskier runs into the side of your boat. IF I AM THERE I WILL LAUGH MY ASS OFF AT YOU! I will say "see if there had been liscensing you might not have this big hole in the side of your boat! Then blow on by!!! Normally I would never wish this on another person, but for you, I will make an exception!

LOWRIVER2
03-21-2002, 07:26 AM
R2R,
You write on this thread you want the freedom to carry your gun in your boat and take care of business (which in turn by using/WILL cause all KINDS of legal crap for you/even with witnesses and if you were justified) yet you're so apt on your overseas thread to throw out how a mfg. is LIABLE for any "undue harm" that comes to its customer. Are you going to take responsibility for your actions in a civil suit filed by the idiot's (target) family or will you blame it on the gun co. and say that it was an unsafe product and "elements" caused you to pull the trigger? LOL
Regulations like these (licensing) are made from the same people who do not think you (general public) are mature,safe enough to have a concealed carry weapons permit. Think about it.
LowRiver

RiverDave
03-21-2002, 08:48 AM
Originally posted by RUN2RIVER:
RiverDave you are probably one of the guys who liscensing would be good for. Maybe it would keep you from getting trashed and causing problems. Just wait until some rental boat or some jetskier runs into the side of your boat. IF I AM THERE I WILL LAUGH MY ASS OFF AT YOU! I will say "see if there had been liscensing you might not have this big hole in the side of your boat! Then blow on by!!! Normally I would never wish this on another person, but for you, I will make an exception!
Hey bud I get trashed all the time and never cause any problems.. Ya see I'm kinda of the opinion that if you get into a boating accident (by that I mean collision with another boat) your a Moron whom shouldn't be driving a boat anyways. (speaking of daytime boating) I mean my god man were not exactly driving on 12' lanes with boats 3' off of either side. If you can't see that guy coming 1/4 mile away do you think you should really be driving a boat?
Just so ya know there JACKASS, I boat in Parker which is generally considered the most Crazy place to boat in the US, and I HAVE NEVER been involved in a boating accident.. You make boat collisions sound so common it's almost scary to think that it is your actual mentallity! I guess all of our standards for driving vary a little bit. Ya see If you take the mentallity that you can't even put a scratch in the boat, then the thought of a COLLISION seems kinda outlandish, but that's just me.
RD <--- Fryin up some catfish
[This message has been edited by RiverDave (edited March 21, 2002).]

cigarette1
03-21-2002, 03:36 PM
Run2River,
G
[This message has been edited by cigarette1 (edited March 21, 2002).]

RUN2RIVER
03-21-2002, 11:23 PM
LowRiver, like I said I am in agreement that if you assume the risk, answer for your actions. I have just said that due care was not established on the boat which resulted in bodily injury. If you read my posts on other pages, you will notice that I have said that everyone makes mistakes and all that I ask is that you learn from them.
In response to your target shooting comment, no I wouldn't sue the gun manufacturer for producing a falty product if I pulled the trigger. The design purpose of a gun is to dislarge a projectile (bullet) when the trigger is depressed. They have exercised due care by providing a safety. It a situation like you described did happen, I assumed the risk, I KNEW WHAT WOULD HAPPEN, and after considering the risks, I was the one that pulled the trigger. I am responsible for my own actions, but not the actions of those that jeopardize my safety or the safety of another.

LOWRIVER2
03-22-2002, 12:20 AM
Well,
you will assume responsibility but you don't address why you can't legally carry a firearm in your boat. Do you think politicians that are acting in "your best safety interests" really see the difference between licensing boaters to "keep ner do wells off the water or "increase safety" and the right for you to defend yourself? They, unfortunately, do not. But hey, it's your right, go write your congressman and make more regulations, just remember once those laws, requirements are made, they are rarely recinded.
Hell, I just have to memorize them each January as new laws to enforce. I just seem to see more laws passed for knee jerk reactions than common sense these days. I remember when just excercising common sense to living took care of most everything. Somehow society started needing rules on paper to tell them what to do and how to do it.

CV-23
03-22-2002, 05:51 AM
I took the Boaters course in PA with my son so he could run our jet ski at 12 years of age. He can also run our 23ft Glastron/Carlson with that license. Is he ready?.....Not yet but now I'm licensed for $15 also. Its good for life and I did pick up some good pointers in addition to my 20 years of boating. Jet ski licenses are required in PA for "all" operators. Accidents and fatalities have dropped. Jet skis were 90% of all accidents here....Mike.

LOWRIVER2
03-22-2002, 12:20 PM
Good point CV-23,
My concern for mandatory licensing is just what you surmised: You learned a few things but your experience from being around boats has kept you safe for many years without a license. While I think it's great personal watercraft folks take a safety course, I still prefer the "option" of someone out in Ca. to take the course. Learning to operate a boat has not reached the level jumping in a car green and entering the freeway (yet). I'm simply against putting a bunch of new regulations for boat operators. While there are over 30 million cars in Ca. and a majority of those So. Cal. that do operate on a daily basis, The ratio of boats owned as to boats actually on the water on any kind of pattern (including holiday weekends) is much less. I suppose I am on the side of less regulation. I'm sure there is a middle ground between myself and those who want mandatory licensing. I just don't see it yet.
I think the best thing for personal watercraft operators to understand is that they are operating a boat, not a motorcycle, that one recognition would reduce close calls and accidents out here greatly.

rivercrazy
03-22-2002, 02:08 PM
Licensing is not going to change a damn thing. Except emptying more $$$ out of my pocket. Pretty soon, you will need a license to walk down the street or take a crap. Frick that. Keep the government outta my rear end please.... http://free.***boat.net/ubb/biggrin.gif

24RODjr
03-26-2002, 08:34 PM
I'm with river crazy....hate the idiots...but idiots still get licenses, and own jet skis....

Catatonic
03-28-2002, 09:56 AM
Piggbacking on the topic of idiot boaters, I just received my California Boating Safety Course test in the mail. It's about 100 pages of info and a 50 question test. Send the test in and if you pass, you get certified which will give you a discount on your insurance. I am pretty surprised at how informative the course booklet has been. I got it from www.boatsmarter.com (http://www.boatsmarter.com)

propless
03-28-2002, 07:14 PM
Folks - These same bastards are the ones who can't figure out how to use the blinkers of their autos. These same bastads are the same yo yo's who do 55 in a 65. Wake up!!! These idiots are more than likely you if you think about it.
Be polite, and point out these pain in ass issues when you encineter them - otherwise, you are are no better than these idiots. We do not need more regulations, we need more people with balls to speak up.
Come on wimps - speak up!!!
The rest of use WHO DO SPEAK, keep it up!
Propless!

ratso
03-28-2002, 07:16 PM
HELL YEAH PROPLESS!!!

24RODjr
03-29-2002, 09:22 AM
Originally posted by propless:
Folks - These same bastards are the ones who can't figure out how to use the blinkers of their autos. These same bastads are the same yo yo's who do 55 in a 65. Wake up!!! These idiots are more than likely you if you think about it.
Be polite, and point out these pain in ass issues when you encineter them - otherwise, you are are no better than these idiots. We do not need more regulations, we need more people with balls to speak up.
Come on wimps - speak up!!!
The rest of use WHO DO SPEAK, keep it up!
Propless!
You forgot one other type of idiot...the kind who takes up all three lanes at Site 6 to launch his 12' inflatable and his 2 jet ski's!

pleasantcat
03-30-2002, 12:41 PM
i used to be one of the "wake police" but after loosing a great gal and ruining a kick but time in the cove for speaking up. i've found my self being silent again. im also very picky about who ties up and anchors around me. ive found that does help some... as for idiots.... well, they will always be here and there and we just have to deal with them the best we can.

Blown Sleek
03-31-2002, 08:53 PM
You catatonic! I am very glad you got the safety class, certificate and cheap ins!
Did the book tell you how to keep from running into gas docks? How to put the ol vessel on and off the trailer without causing a tsunami in the whole bay and blowing all the other boaters away in the current? Well just keep trying to learn the ropes etc. but experience is going to be the best teacher. I hope you get plenty of it but if you are relying on the law and licenses to save the day? Wishfull thinking!
Government gives no birthday presents. They just take and take and take!

Catatonic
04-02-2002, 03:42 PM
No! Captain Cynical (Blown Sleek) I am not relying on licenses to save the day. I am simply improving my knowledge of boating which is something that I feel that everyone should do. If you can't get rid of the idiots that are out there, you might as well be smarter than they are. Don't assume that I am a beginner boater either, I have owned tunnel boats for years and raced Factory 1 Offshore two years ago. I now have kids and the info that I have picked up on life vest class and weight requirements has already proven valuable.

Blown Sleek
04-02-2002, 09:16 PM
Coming from mr Cynical! I also think a little safety with the children! Ever seen a 5 year old in a blown tunnel jet? Driving? He will be the one wearing the full face helmet and life preserver with the little kneck support and floatie in the rear to keep the head above water! (he just thinks its the cool thing. By the way his Hydroplane (third generation) is in the rebuild stages and he will operate it as the two generations did before him. On the same body of water! Safety safety safety!! I just wanna let yall know! You make licensing mandatory and the idiot driving without will probibly kill a few inocent family people like us while he is fleeing the authoraties cause he has no license! Ever watch cops? If ya treat them like a criminol they will act like a...... Someone mention legality of carying a gun in the boat? Arizona resign the law I thought they had? As long as it is in plain view!! I think the criminal is less likely to (rob) the guy with the gun don't you? Think of it as population controle. Give the idiots a day. Anything goes!They will take care of the problem they created.

Lifeguard
04-08-2002, 11:58 PM
Licensing vessel operators wont happen anytime soon. The writers of our state's constitution had the good sense to include the operation of vessels on all navigable waterways as something that we all have a right to do.
Rather than licensing I would rather see the courts use the existing laws. The court already can order an operator convicted of violating any subsection of section 655 of the Harbors and Navigation Code to attend a Boating Safety class. There arent many options for the classes and none are short, one day events and they should not be. Boats are dangerous in the hands of inexperienced boaters that dont have a clue about the rules of the road. If nothing else being required to take a class would force a little education on some of problem boaters out there.

Thunderbutt
04-09-2002, 12:42 PM
Lifeguard, You should live here at Lake of the Ozarks, these people are nuts, it's no holds barred on week-ends, they go against the flow of traffic, they follow in your wake. Now get this, they fly there red flag while the skier is up. If the state of Missouri had a drivers test no one would pass. I would be the only one on the lake. "Whoopie" QUOTE]Originally posted by Lifeguard:
Licensing vessel operators wont happen anytime soon. The writers of our state's constitution had the good sense to include the operation of vessels on all navigable waterways as something that we all have a right to do.
Rather than licensing I would rather see the courts use the existing laws. The court already can order an operator convicted of violating any subsection of section 655 of the Harbors and Navigation Code to attend a Boating Safety class. There arent many options for the classes and none are short, one day events and they should not be. Boats are dangerous in the hands of inexperienced boaters that dont have a clue about the rules of the road. If nothing else being required to take a class would force a little education on some of problem boaters out there. [/QUOTE]