Entering safer waters.

Byline: MIKE STAHLBERG The Register-Guard

THE FIRST WAVE of Oregon boaters covered by a new mandatory boating education law have less than five weeks before they'll be required to carry a safety card as well as life jackets, noisemaker and other safety items.

An estimated 7,000 people still need to complete an approved boater education course to qualify for the Boater Education Card that will be required for them to operate their powerboat in 2003.

Effective Jan. 1, boaters age 30 and younger need a Boater Education Card in their possession while operating a motorboat with a 10-horsepower or larger engine or risk a $75 fine.

Youths aged 12 to 15 need a card to operate any powerboat, regardless of engine size. (Youths younger than 12 will no longer be allowed to operate a motorboat in Oregon.)

In addition, boaters age 12 to 15 must be accompanied by an adult with a safety card. That means some adults older than 30 will need cards in 2003 if they plan on allowing young boaters to operate their watercraft.

"As the deadline approaches, we want to remind people to take a course and apply for their card so they're ready to boat this spring," said Kendra Callahan, who coordinates the Mandatory Boater Education program for the Oregon State Marine Board.

The Mandatory Boater Education requirement was established by the 1999 Oregon Legislature, to be phased in over several years on the basis of operator age. The stated goal of the program is to reduce accidents, injuries and property damage on Oregon waterways.

Nationwide, statistics show people who take a boating safety course are about five times less likely to be involved in an accident than people who have not taken a course, Callahan said.

About 30 other states mandate either a boating safety course or require motorboat operators to be licensed.

Oregon lawmakers and Marine Board officials weren't prepared to go so far as to require the boating equivalent of a driver's license field test.

"That would be almost impossible to implement," Callahan said. "We just don't have the staffing."

The education requirement is "a way to make sure that people at least have some basic boating information," she said. "We hope it will lead to a significant reduction in accidents caused by people doing things wrong out of ignorance."

Marine Board officials estimate that somewhere between 250,000 and 300,000 people will need the card when the mandatory education program is fully implemented.

They tried to make the program as inexpensive as possible. There is a one-time fee of $10 to have the lifetime card issued. And there are several no- or low-cost courses that boaters can take to qualify for the card.

To date, about 47,250 people have been issued cards. Among those are about half of the under-30 boaters facing the 2003 deadline.

"We've been real pleased with the response from the boating public," said Marty Law, who heads the Marine Board's overall education program. "There's been a lot of interest, a lot of enthusiasm."

But there's also been some complaining, Law acknowledged.

"I'd say 85 percent of the people who've called in have been supportive. And the people who are not real happy tend to be the folks who've been boating for a long time, 45 to 50 years," he said.

But those grumpy old salts don't have to take a boating course if they really do know their boating regulations and rules of the road "from stem to stern."

Any experienced boater can "challenge the test" by passing a 75-question equivalency exam, Callahan said.

Only about 600 people to date have selected that option, she said, and all but about 10 passed even though the exam "is not easy."

People who have taken a boating safety course at some time in their lives can obtain their card by providing proof that they successfully completed the course. Most long-time boaters, however, have a few years to go before the education requirement applies to them.

The phase-in will continue for six years on the following schedule: age 40 and younger will need the card in 2004; age 45 and younger in 2005; 50 and younger in 2006; 60 and younger in 2007; 70 and younger in 2008; and all boaters in 2009.

The phase-in was designed to bring no more than 35,000 boaters into the system in any one year, Callahan said, because the education system couldn't handle more than that.

Approved courses are offered by several organizations and in many configurations.

"There are a lot of different options - we've tried to make it convenient for boaters to take a course," Callahan said.

The U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary, the U.S. Power Squadron, the Red Cross and Code 4 Public Safety Education Association (a non-profit educational group formed by law enforcement officers) are among those offering classes.

Coast Guard Auxiliary and Power Squadron basic boating safety courses usually involve six to 10 hours of classroom instruction. The Red Cross and Code 4 offer "accelerated" courses that include home study and four hours of classroom work.

Costs range from "free" (although the student usually has to pay for a workbook or similar course material) to about $40.

In keeping with these high-tech times, there's even a course and exam that can be taken entirely via the Internet. The on-line courses, however, set the graduation bar a little higher than the classroom courses do.

"If someone has taken a proctored exam, they only have to score 70 percent to pass," Callahan said. "Whereas if they take the exam on the Internet, we require they score 80 percent or better."

Even so, about 97 percent of those who take the exam on-line have passed what amounts to an open-book test.

"One of the Internet exams even lets you know how you're doing as you go along," she said.

About 6,700 people have obtained their cards via the Internet option.

Originally, the Marine Board also offered a "home study" course using written materials that people could order from the agency. That, however, was discontinued after it became obvious that some pirates were abusing the system.

"We were having a lot of people cheating on the test. ... We were getting multiple copies of tests with identical answers, and it was pretty obvious people were getting together and filling them out as a group," Callahan said.

The questions on the exam that seem to give people the most trouble are those that have to do with right-of-way and navigation issues, she said.

"I think the most complicated stuff has to do with the rules of the road - who has the right of way in different situations. Also, there are questions about navigating at night and trying to figure out what you are seeing (by the lights on other boats) ... that can get pretty complicated."

Andy Bechdolt, a Lane County marine patrol officer, said the course "is going to benefit just about anybody and everybody who operates a boat."

"The course delves into quite a few things that most of the general public isn't aware of," he said. "For example, what the lighting configurations mean, what different buoys mean, what sound signals mean. It also talks a lot about general boating safety, like what to do in case of a fire, what to do if somebody falls overboard."

Completing a boater safety course can have another advantage - some insurance companies offer a 10 to 15 percent discount on boat insurance premiums to boat owners who have passed the course.

BOATER EDUCATION:

HOW TO CLIMB ABOARD

Effective Jan. 1, people age 30 and younger will need a Boater Education Card to operate a motorboat with 10 horsepower or more in Oregon. Approved sources of boating safety courses include:

U.S. Power Squadron: Offers free courses (except for the cost of class materials). Sessions are scheduled for Jan. 9-30 and April 3-24 at the Cottage Grove LCC Center (call 942-5413 for pre-registration information) and April 2-23 at LCC in Eugene (call 836-7048). For details on courses in Coos Bay/Charleston, call 267-5384 or e-mail [e-mail].

Coast Guard Auxiliary: Offers two different courses that qualify graduates for the card. For details, call Ron Merrow in Eugene (465-9498), Sherron Davis in Florence (997-7495), Shirly Miles in Roseburg (459-2970), Frank Ramer in Coos Bay (269-4692), Emily Chaput in Sweet Home (928-8223) or Lorraine Erickson in Newport (928-6499).

American Red Cross: Lane County Chapter offers a four-hour class that teaches basic boating skills needed to operate safely and legally on Oregon waters. Cost is $35. Call [phone] to pre-register and obtain home study guide that must be completed before class begins.

Code 4 Public Safety Education Association: Offers four-hour "short course" that qualifies graduates for the Oregon Boater Education Card. Cost is $39. Eugene classes are scheduled for Jan. 28, March 22, April 24 and June 6. Call 800-622-9391 to pre-register and receive course materials.

On-line (Internet) courses: The Marine Board has approved two Internet courses. The BoatOregon boating course and test (www.boatoregon.com) costs $15 to take the test. Those who pass can pay an additional $10.50 to apply on-line and receive their card in the mail within two weeks.

The BOAT/U.S. on-line course (available at www.boatus.com) is free. Those who pass the exam should request a diploma as proof of completion. The diploma must be mailed to the Marine Board, along with a $10 check, when applying for the card.

Equivalency Exams: Veteran boaters who know the ropes of marine laws and regulations may obtain a card by scoring 70 percent or more on a 75-question multiple-choice test administered by a proctor. A home study book, "BoatOregon - A Course on Responsible Boating," is available for $4 from the Marine Board or local marine patrols. Call your local marine patrol for information on equivalency exam times. In addition, the Lane County Marine Patrol (682-8599) offers to schedule an exam time for anyone putting together a group of five or more individuals to take the test at the same time.

- Oregon State Marine Board, The Register-Guard

CAPTION(S):

OREGON MARINE BOARD All boaters 30 and younger will need to have a Boater Education Card to navigate on Oregon waters after Jan. 1. A test to determine a boater's knowledge of the rules is a requirement for most to get a card.