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Boaters race to beat deadline By Mark Freeman There may be no hot toys this holiday season, but thousands of Oregon boaters have put qualifying for the state�s new boater-education requirements at the top of their Christmas lists. Many of Oregon�s 200,000 boaters are flooding the Oregon State Marine Board with boating-safety exams as they try to beat the Dec. 31 deadline to use the Marine Board�s home-study course for meeting the state�s new boater-ed requirements. Just the facts Here are some of the facts about Oregon�s new mandatory boater-education law adopted this month by the Oregon State Marine Board and set to govern powerboating in Oregon beginning in 2001. The rules were developed by the Marine Board under direction from the 1999 Oregon Legislature and begin in January, with most of the mandatory requirements getting a phase-in period over the rest of the decade. There are currently about 200,000 registered boaters in Oregon, including about 12,000 in Jackson County alone. Current law requires registration for all motorized boats as well as all sailboats over 12 feet. The new law will require a Boater Education Card to operate any boat with a motor of 10 horsepower or greater beginning in 2003. Kids 12-15 years old must get a Boater Education Card to operate any powerboat regardless of motor size, and kids under 12 are banned from powerboat operation. The law does not exempt older or experienced boaters from the education requirements, but it does allow boaters a chance to pass a test that would exempt them from taking a sanctioned boater-ed class. Challenge tests are proctored by local county sheriff�s marine deputies, and boaters must get a score of 70 percent to pass. Boaters who take the Marine Board�s Internet test must get a grade of 80 percent to pass. Beginning in May 2002, people who rent boats must pass a dockside safety check before operating a rented powerboat. In 2003, a phase-in period starts with boaters 30 years old and under needing their cards. Each year, the age requirement raises one decade until all boaters fall under the boater-ed rules by 2009. The proposal provides exemptions for out-of-state boaters, non-certified boaters operating with certified boaters on board, and owners of newly purchased boats. Violators face a $75 fine, but the law is written to use these fines less as a punishment and more as an enticement to get certified. Those who are cited for violating the rule but get certified before their scheduled court appearance will automatically get their fine waived, according to the law. Because of concerns over cheating, the Marine Board will no longer accept the popular home-study course test for the mandatory program after New Year�s Eve. Those who miss the deadline will have to take the multiple-choice test under the watchful eye of a proctor or at a home computer linked to the Internet. "We�re getting deluged," says Randy Henry, a Marine Board spokesman in Salem. "We got 900 tests in (Tuesday) and almost 700 on Monday. "A lot of people all over the state want to get it done this way," Henry says. "It�s all hands on deck right now, and it will be for another few weeks." The law, passed last summer, is considered the only program like it in the West. It includes a requirement that all boaters take a course on basic boating skills and/or pass a test to demonstrate basic boating knowledge. Upon passing a test, boaters then buy a $10 Boater Education Card, which they will then need to carry when operating a craft of more than 10 horsepower. The Marine Board will start is suing boater-education cards in January, but they will not be required for anyone to carry until 2003. The cards will be smudge-free, plastic and wallet-sized like most vehicle insurance cards, and are good for the boater�s lifetime. The intent is to ensure that boaters know the nuts and bolts of safe, legal operation of these fun yet potentially dangerous watercrafts. The easiest way to learn the boating laws and pass the test has been through the Marine Board�s home-study course, called "Boat Oregon." The course contains a study booklet and includes a 50-question, multiple-choice test that is open book. But instances of cheating led the Marine Board in October to phase out the take-home test by the end of the year, leaving the classroom courses, Internet course and proctored tests as the remaining options. Faced with the deadline, boaters are scurrying to get the Boat Oregon booklets and get their tests in on time, Henry says. "The majority of the people are saying, yeah, I know there�s other options, but this is the easiest way to do it," Henry says. About 95 percent of the tests are getting passing grades, he says. To get a home-study book, write a $4 check to the OSMB and mail it to Boat Oregon, Oregon State Marine Board, P.O. Box 14760, Salem, OR, 97309. Boaters should wait no longer than next week to mail in their checks, and the Marine Board is trying to get booklets sent out the day after the check arrives, Henry says. Meeting that deadline should give boaters a chance to study the material, take the test and get it mailed back, Henry says. Tests postmarked prior to Jan. 1 will be honored, he says. Families can order a single booklet and make copies of the test sheet to allow all the family members to take the test. But make copies of the sheet before filling in the answers, not after, Henry says. Staff writer Mark Freeman covers the outdoors for the Mail Tribune. Call him at 776-4470, or e-mail him at [email protected] ) Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2000 Mail Tribune, Inc.