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Oregon Boaters get carded By Mark Freeman Oregon boaters by the thousands took advantage of a last-chance program to qualify for registration cards with a special at-home test before the state�s pioneering Boater Education Program went into effect. The first registration cards hit Oregon mailboxes this week. As many as 70,000 of the state�s 270,000 powerboaters have qualified for their cards, even though the mandatory program is still two years away. The bulk of those boaters completed the Oregon State Marine Board�s take-home challenge test and mailed in their answer sheets prior to the Dec. 31 deadline, flooding the Marine Board�s offices in Salem this month. "We got deluged in the best sense," Marine Board spokesman Randy Henry says. "We�re looking at mounds and mounds of tests. We figure that we probably had 40,000 people take the test this year." Most boaters believe the take-home test requires far less time and trouble than taking Internet or classroom courses in 2001 and beyond. They include Keith Mix, of Medford, who sent away for the home-study course just before Christmas and returned the test answers just under the deadline. Even though a phase-in period won�t require him to have a boater-ed card on the water until 2005, Mix figured spending a little time before New Year�s Eve seemed like a better investment than more time studying in the future. Those who missed the deadline still can complete a home-study program, but the test must be taken on the Internet or under the proctorship of a sheriff�s marine deputy. Classes also are available statewide. Either option seemed like far too much effort to Mix. "Sitting at home one night taking the test is a heck of a lot easier than going down somewhere and taking a course," Mix says. "So why not deal with it when it�s easy?" The law, which was passed last summer by the Oregon State Marine Board, 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 buy a $10 Boater Education Card that they will need to carry when operating a craft of more than 10 horsepower. Boater Education Cards will not be required on the water 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 watercraft. The easiest way to learn the boating laws and pass the test had been through the Marine Board�s home-study course, called "Boat Oregon." The course contained a study booklet and included a 50-question, multiple-choice test that was open book. But instances of cheating led the Marine Board in October to phase out the take-home test on Dec. 31. Thousands of Oregonians saw the handwriting on the wall and sent in for the home-study booklets with the take-home test. About 95 percent of the tests are getting passing grades, Henry says. Mix expects to score 100 percent. "If you were smart enough to know how to read, you could get 100 percent," Mix says. "Everything pertinent to the test was right there in black and white." 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.