NH Boaters Need Certificate

By Shannon Mullen on Monday, June 23, 2003.

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If you want to drive a boat in New Hampshire, and you're between the ages of 16 to 26, you'll need a certificate.

That's been the law for 2 years. But this is the first season the state will give you a ticket for breaking it.

As New Hampshire Public Radio's Shannon Mullen has more.

In 2001, New Hampshire became the 33rd state to enact mandatory boater certification laws on its 1300 lakes, rivers and ponds.

The law phases in new age groups each year.

By this year, if you?re under 26 you need to have a license.

But all registered boaters have to comply within the next 5 years.

The state exempts boaters with commercial, coast guard or Power Squadron Licenses? or if a boater is certified by one of the other 32 states.

So, how?s the new law holding up?

Not quite as well as marine officials had hoped.

The law is now in its second season and only 10% of New Hampshire's estimated 250-thousand boaters are certified.

Tony Cardoza coordinates the boating education program for the state marine patrol.

He admits the numbers are still low but he says people are starting to catch on.

CARDOZA: It's amazing the number of calls we're starting to get now and a lot of them are from parents saying what do you mean my kid needs a certification. So I think the light bulb is coming on. We've done everything we can do that we can think of to get the word out.

Marine Patrol officers understand the law is new and lots of people don't know about it yet.

So they spent last summer issuing warnings.

But this season they're handing out 50 dollar fines for noncompliance.

That's more than it costs to get certified.

For 20 dollars, you can take a course online, in a classroom, or by mail.

If you're confident you know the laws of the waters, you can walk in to any state sanctioned location and take the test cold.

That last option suits experienced boaters.

But for the rest of us, the state offers certification courses.

Rob Freese is a former Marine Patrol Officer. He?s teachES boating education course at the Squam Lakes Association in Holderness.

He certifies about 20 boaters of all ages after each session.

FREESE: Without question, nobody has ever said, ?Jeez I think this course has absolutely no value.? Everybody picks something up from the course.

How do his students this week feel about becoming more enlightened boaters?

McIlvain: Having driven a boat for so long and getting slapped with this is kind of a pain, but, I can?t fight it.

Russ McIlvain is 24 and he?s been driving boats on Squam Lake for about 10 years. He?s here because he got a ticket for going too fast, too close to a barge.

McIlvain: I?m not going to shun the class at all, I think it?s important. It?s part of being on the lake. It?s a gorgeous lake and if people treat it recklessly they?re going to get nailed for it. So, I?m not going to sit here and fight it but at the same time I would rather be somewhere else right now for sure.

Alex Thurston has to get his certification so he can administer the state test to people who want to rent boats from his family?s marina.

THURSTON: It?s the people that come up, the tourists, that have to take the test at the rental desk. They just get upset, it takes their time, they have to read through the book, take the test. If they fail, they can?t take it again for another day.

Out-of-staters can get a one-time, temporary permit that?s good for 2 weeks. After that, they have to get certifed.

And the course takes time. 7 hours over 2 nights. That bugs some boaters who say it cuts in on their leisure time.

Instructor Freese.

FREESE: This is the live free or die state, and I certainly don?t enjoy people telling ME how to enjoy my free time. So I?m the first one to fall into that category. I?m also the one that?s been out there and has seen a lot of the things people do to get in trouble. They didn?t mean to go out and have accidents.

Some critics argue the course doesn?t make experts out of amateurs.

CAPTAIN: I don?t think a piece of paper makes a captain.

At Fay?s Boat Yard in Gilford, one captain who has his Coast Guard Master License, says there?s more to boats than can be learned from books.

CAPTAIN: People are not going to change their ways just by going 4 hours to a class.

But the state says they will. Program coordinator Cardoza.

CARDOZA: They?re going to understand the laws and rules in the state of NH. They?re going to understand that a lot of boating is common sense. And the third thing they need to understand is that they need to do some planning when they go out on the water.

Cardoza knows about the grumblers, and he says sooner or later they?ll have to face the facts, or they?ll face the fines.

For NHPR News, I?m Shannon Mullen.