NH Boating Education Course

Patty and I took the NH Boating Course this past Saturday at St. Joseph's Hospital in Nashua (exit 5 off of Rt. 3)

Here is the highlights:

Logisitics:

• Basement of St. Joseph's Hospital with about 40-50 other people. Get there early for best seating.
• Plenty of FREE parking
• Bring your own lunch! Only 1/2 hour and the food at St. Joseph's is not that good!

Course Overview:

• Sponsored by the US Coast Guard and the NH Marine Patrol
• Course is a SOLID 6 hours 9-12, 12x-3x with 1/2 hour for lunch
• The first hour was fluff
• The last 2.5 hours was intense (no breaks)
• The slides need updating they are the OLD transparency slides
• The instructor jumped around chapter to chapter
• The instructor was very humorous but most people in the class didn't appreciate this.

Course (six chapters):

• 1 - There are 6 chapters in the Course booklet - Know Your Boat (types of boats, personal water crafts (i.e., jet skis))
• 2 - Before You Get Underway (trailering, maximum capacity plate, float plan)
• 3 - Operating Your boat (navigation, buoys, anchoring)
• 4 - The Legal Requirements of Boating (life jackets)
• 5 - Boating Emergencies (fire extinguishers)
• 6 - Enjoy Water Sports with your Boat (towing skiiers)

Test:

• The big part was life jackets, buoys, and navigation
• A 60 Question "closed-book" multiple choice test given between 3:30 to 4:30 (corrected on site)
• There was about 5-10 things that were on the test that was not mentioned in the class (or that I didn't catch)
• Corrected on site in about 2 minutes!
• A grade of 80 is required (70 was passable in 2006)
• After you pass the course you mail in a portion of the certificate with $10 to get a real Boater's Education Safety card. The card is NOT valid in the state of Conneticut. I guess they do things differently down there! If you fail you need to take the course again.

Intertesting Notes:

• A 3 seater Jet Ski is consider a Class A boat
• You can loose your driver's license if you are caught intoxicated (.08 BAL) operating a boat
• Let the ventilation fan run 4 minutes after fueling
• Only 2 people outside the boat (while in motion)
• 150 feet is the maximum you can be from shore (unless you are at headway speed)

For those that are considering taking the course, I strongly recommend that you get a copy of the Boating Manual (we got one from Ossipee Lake Marina) if you are not familar with boating safety

And yes... Patty and I passed!