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Boater ed goes before public By Mark Freeman A minimum age for driving a powerboat, proven knowledge of basic boating rules and a phase-in period based on age highlight the proposed requirements for Oregon�s new boater-education program now up for public scrutiny. As part of the state�s new efforts to make Oregon�s increasingly crowded waterways a safer place to play, the Oregon State Marine Board has drafted specific proposals for Oregon�s new boater-education program set to begin in January. The Marine Board will start issuing boater-education cards in January, but they will not be required for anyone to carry until 2003. The Marine Board is taking comments on the draft rules this month, and the agency will hold a public meeting Tuesday night in White City to present its proposals and gather feedback. The program 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 will apply for a Boater Education Card, which they will be required to carry when operating a craft of more than 10 horsepower. "All this law asks is that motorboat operators have a basic understanding of Oregon�s laws, rules of the road and safe operating practices," says Marty Law, the Marine Board�s education coordinator. There�s a serious lack of basic boating safety, even among those who consider themselves smart, safe and savvy boat-handlers, says Wally Ramsay, a marine deputy patrolling southwest Oregon waters for the Jackson County Sheriff�s Department. "The absolute minimum you need to know about boating is the law," Ramsay says, "and we write 300-360 tickets a year in Jackson County. "If every boater had the mentality of saying, �I need to know as much as I can about boating,� then I�d be out of a job." Similar programs exist in 27 states and in Canada, yet Oregon has relied on boaters to teach each other the rules of the waterways and the tricks of the trade. Willie Illingworth, whose Willie Boats is one of several Medford-area boat-building companies that can�t make powerboats fast enough for a speed-hungry public, says his staff tries to personally take everyone who buys a boat from his Central Point factory on a guided test run. But such practice runs are mostly about how to operate these high-octane boats in shallow water, not about all the nuances of boating life � and that�s a responsibility that shouldn�t fall on the boat-builders� shoulders, he says. "They just don�t go sell somebody a car and say, go drive it," Illingworth says. "We try to explain as much as we can, but there isn�t anybody out there who couldn�t stand more education." The first step in that education process locally occurs at 7 p.m. Tuesday, when the Marine Board comes to White City and holds the last of its four public meetings on the proposal. The meeting is at the Jackson County Public Works Auditorium, 200 Antelope Road. The current draft proposals are the Marine Board�s response to a 1999 boater-education law passed by the Oregon Legislature. The proposals call for boaters to obtain boater-education cards that cost a one-time fee of $10. The cards will be necessary for people over 16 years old to operate powerboats with motors larger than 10 horsepower, and anyone 12-15 years old operating any kind of powerboat. To get a boater-ed card, boaters must take an approved boater-education course and pass a written test. The new rules don�t assume that seasoned boaters intuitively know how to be safe. 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. The proposal also has provisions for out-of-state boaters, non-certified boaters operating with certified boaters on board and owners of newly purchased boats. 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 goal of the program, according to Law, is to reduce accidents, injuries, fatalities and property damage on Oregon's increasingly crowded waterways. "All this law asks," says Law, "is that motorboat operators have a basic understanding of Oregon's laws, and rules of the road." Test yourself with this pop quiz So, you think you know enough about boating? There�s a lot to know about the rules of safe boat operation in Oregon, and they don�t come automatically to you once you�ve run a powerboat for 10 years. Here are some of the questions to the Internet test Oregon boaters must pass to obtain their boater-education card without taking a certified course. Current proposals call for an 80 percent grade to pass. Here are five samples from the 74-question test. The answers are available below. 1. A PWC towing a skier must have _____. a. A person onboard, in addition to the operator, continuously observing the skier b. A rearview mirror for the driver to observe the skier c. A person onshore observing the skier at all times d. Either a. or b. 2. You are out boating and see a white buoy with an orange square. It will give you information like distances or where to find supplies. a. True b. False 3. When two boats meet, the give-way boat is the boat or PWC which is required to take early and substantial action to avoid collision by stopping, slowing down or changing course. a. True b. False 4. Which of the following is true regarding navigation sidelights? a. A red navigation sidelight is on the starboard (right) side of the boat b. A green navigation sidelight is on the starboard (right) side of the boat c. A green navigation sidelight is on the port (left) side of the boat d. Both a. and c. 5. When a powerboat and a sailboat under sail are approaching each other in a crossing situation, the sailboat must give way if it is on the left. a. True b. False Answers: 1.a; 2.a; 3.a; 4.b; 5.b. Staff writer Mark Freeman covers the outdoors for the Mail Tribune. 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