Boater Safety Class Required for ALL NY State Operators regardless of age. Class being offered.

[Bait Bucket]

  On 1/10/2025 at 2:03 PM, Morgan-E said:

Out of state residents are not required to have the boater safety class in order to operate a vessel on NYS waters 

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Where did you find this? Do you have the link, I can't seem to locate that. Thanks.

[UNREEL]

https://parks.ny.gov/boating/frequently-asked-questions.aspx

 

[chinook35]

  On 2/25/2025 at 1:02 PM, Bait Bucket said:

Where did you find this? Do you have the link, I can't seem to locate that. Thanks.

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I believe you need a course from your home state I took the following from the parks website 

I'm visiting New York. Will my safety certificate from my home state be sufficient?Yes, provided it was issued from your current state of residence, and the course was approved by the National Association of Boating Law Administrators. Look for the NASBLA logo on your certificate.

[chinook35]

  On 1/10/2025 at 2:56 PM, Morgan-E said:

It was not meant to "irk" or bend the feelings of anyone,  just clarifying that those coming from out of state do not need to take it. so that they do not panic over the NYS law.   Some people who looked at the law and the discussions have noted in conversations that the state is not requiring out of state residents to have a safety course to protect tourism and $ for the state (again, not a debate that this thread was meant to start).

 

Phil

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The rules are a little obscure  BUT an out of state boater operating in NY waterways WILL require a boater safety certificate issued by their home state. They don’t have to have the NY certificate but they still need one from home. No certificate = ticket and fine 

[Bait Bucket]

  On 2/25/2025 at 4:32 PM, chinook35 said:

The rules are a little obscure  BUT an out of state boater operating in NY waterways WILL require a boater safety certificate issued by their home state. They don’t have to have the NY certificate but they still need one from home. No certificate = ticket and fine 

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That's what it sounds like. Thanks. 

[Sundaze]

  On 2/25/2025 at 5:07 PM, Bait Bucket said:

That's what it sounds like. Thanks. 

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I spoke to the coast guard axillary at the NYS sportsman's show in Syracuse.  They said if you are from  out of state you need a boating certificate from your state.

[Bait Bucket]

  On 2/25/2025 at 7:05 PM, Sundaze said:

I spoke to the coast guard axillary at the NYS sportsman's show in Syracuse.  They said if you are from  out of state you need a boating certificate from your state.

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Thank you. 

[HB2]

Kathy will certainly make a lot of money from this in tickets and fines. 

 

I am sure she will use that money well . 

[rolmops]

  On 2/25/2025 at 11:13 PM, HB2 said:

Kathy will certainly make a lot of money from this in tickets and fines. 

 

I am sure she will use that money well . 

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The New York State 2025 budget is $237 billion. Even if the fines will reach one million dollars, it will be very small change and your friend Kathy really does not need it. I suspect that the fines income will go to the local authorities whose sheriff departments will hand out the fines.

Anyway, this is not about fines. It is an effort to make the water a bit safer for all of us.

I'll give you an example.

You are fishing happily in a cove and not moving your boat. A few jet fleas come racing through again and again real close to you. You pick up a registration number and phone it to your local friendly sheriff's department. They send a cop out who waits for the jet fleas at the ramp and asks for their boating license. Oops they don't have one. Now the local cop can fine them. Previously it was a he said, she said situation.

 

Edited February 26 by rolmops

[muskiedreams]

But no matter what, NYS slaps on a surcharge for every ticket written.

[Pete Collin]

I got boat checked this week.  The DEC officer met me at the dock.  I was actually glad to see him because it was windy, I was alone,  and he grabbed my bowline for me.  We ran through the checklist of things I was supposed to have on board.  He asked if I had a horn.  I said "Sure!", and pressed the middle of the steering wheel.   Nothing, there was no horn button there.  I realized that I never needed to hit the horn before, so never looked for it.  I looked and felt around.  "Geez, on my last boat the button was here!"  I've got a fairly nice Lund, felt like there should have been a horn.  But not knowing where it is is just as bad as not having one.  I had to concede.  Then he asked me for flares.  I was sure I had them, but unsure of which of the many compartments they were stashed.  Warden says, "Are they expired?"  I said, "They expire?"  The packet of 4 was factory sealed.  I had to rip it open to read the expiration date on one of the flares.  2016.  Whoops. I asked if I could light one to see if it worked, and if it did, would I be off the hook?   He said he wouldn't ticket me, just buy some new flares.  Fair enough.  When asked if I took the safety course, I said yes, fumbled though my phone for the email of certification, and he just said, "I believe you."  Fair enough.  When asked for a license, I told him I bought it on my phone, how would I show that to him?  I looked for the email from the DEC from last year.  But I do a lot of dealings with the DEC, there were just too many to sort through!  I asked if I could just give him my name, he looked it up, and found my license that way.  So in the end I was fine but had to shop for flares, plus some kind of horn or whistle.  In my garage, I played with the console a bit.  Discovered that a tiny red button that looked like a circuit breaker triggered the horn.  Son of a gun.  Why wouldn't Lund put that in the middle of the steering wheel like god intended?

Anyway, I found the officer to be professional and fair.  He could have cited me if he wanted to be a stickler, but didn't.  I never go in for bashing the DEC.  They're just people trying to do their jobs like everyone else.

[Smat64]

Great post. Always good double check, also helps getting to everything quick when You need it!

 

Got one of these electronic flairs for Christmas. Haven't used it but maybe you don't have to buy flairs every couple of years. Anyone know if it meets all the rules?
 

the old flares have always worked too. Nice to teach people how to ignite and hold.  Maybe start a fire. 

[chinook35]

  On 4/19/2025 at 12:32 PM, Pete Collin said:

I got boat checked this week.  The DEC officer met me at the dock.  I was actually glad to see him because it was windy, I was alone,  and he grabbed my bowline for me.  We ran through the checklist of things I was supposed to have on board.  He asked if I had a horn.  I said "Sure!", and pressed the middle of the steering wheel.   Nothing, there was no horn button there.  I realized that I never needed to hit the horn before, so never looked for it.  I looked and felt around.  "Geez, on my last boat the button was here!"  I've got a fairly nice Lund, felt like there should have been a horn.  But not knowing where it is is just as bad as not having one.  I had to concede.  Then he asked me for flares.  I was sure I had them, but unsure of which of the many compartments they were stashed.  Warden says, "Are they expired?"  I said, "They expire?"  The packet of 4 was factory sealed.  I had to rip it open to read the expiration date on one of the flares.  2016.  Whoops. I asked if I could light one to see if it worked, and if it did, would I be off the hook?   He said he wouldn't ticket me, just buy some new flares.  Fair enough.  When asked if I took the safety course, I said yes, fumbled though my phone for the email of certification, and he just said, "I believe you."  Fair enough.  When asked for a license, I told him I bought it on my phone, how would I show that to him?  I looked for the email from the DEC from last year.  But I do a lot of dealings with the DEC, there were just too many to sort through!  I asked if I could just give him my name, he looked it up, and found my license that way.  So in the end I was fine but had to shop for flares, plus some kind of horn or whistle.  In my garage, I played with the console a bit.  Discovered that a tiny red button that looked like a circuit breaker triggered the horn.  Son of a gun.  Why wouldn't Lund put that in the middle of the steering wheel like god intended?

Anyway, I found the officer to be professional and fair.  He could have cited me if he wanted to be a stickler, but didn't.  I never go in for bashing the DEC.  They're just people trying to do their jobs like everyone else.

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That’s one of the reasons for the certificate. Way too many people on the water that don’t know the safety requirements and the rules of the road. It’s hard to comply with the rules if you don’t know them