Canadian Operators Card - Just Another Money Grab

[Force 10]

Whats your Opinion.
Does it really improves anything, where did you get yours, do you feel any more safer/competent ?

[GordMay]

I doubt that there's much/any money in it (for Gov't), so assume it's an attempt to improve cometency and safety.
I'm not longer qualified to operate a boat, as I have no card.

[camtep]

I don't have a big problem with it. Ensures that everybody is exposed to basic boating safety awareness,rules of the road,aids to navigation,etc. Pretty basic stuff to most experienced boaters but there are a lot of idiots out there with apparently little knowledge. Not necessarily going to make boaters safer but ensures that everybody has passed a basic boating safety course. Shouldn't be a big deal for experienced boaters. I challenged and passed the test at a boat show in 1999.

[Zednotzee]

I don't have any real problem with the PCOC.

We were actually kind of lucky. The whole thing came about because of quite a few high profile accidents, where druken 20-somethings & kids hit & killed swimmers with sea-doos. The government was actually ready to implement a full license system, which would've required more extensive tests, plus regular renewals. The boating & sailing associations fought back on our behalf & had the whole thing reduced to a basic competency exam, good for life with a one-time cost.

[spinwing]

Good idea, poorly executed. Doesn't really do much since the testing mills almost give away the cards to novices. Should not be a big deal for most experienced boaters to pass. IMHO the current setup does little enhance overall boating safety.

[Liam Wald]

Great idea. Should be done everywhere.
There is a reason why most insurance companies give a discount for having completed safe boating classes.

[Solitude]

I don't have a problem with it and it raises some awareness for junior boaters. I don't think to many experienced boaters will have any problem obtaining it.

[Brent Swain]

It's a total scam and bureaucratic empire building effort.
Talk show hosts have said "Operating a boat is exactly like driving a car." ********. Show me a highway on which one can go from Victoria to Prince Rupert 10 months a year and never come within half a mile of another vehicle and rarely encounter a vehicle which is doing over 20K.It's like a license to operate a horse and buggy. I could see it for boats that are capable of doing over 15 knots. There is no comparison between that and doing 80K down a highway , barely missing another vehicle doing the same speed in the opposite direction, every minute or two. In over 35 years of cruising 11 months a year on the BC coast, I have seen no justification for the license.
When you see a long line of suckers lined up at a boat show, to pay a scammer $65 to take the test, stand at the front of the line and announce. "St Johns Ambulance does it for $25 ( freecourse.ca) I'd much rather pay St Johns Ambulance than a private scammer.Red cross did it for free until last January
Licensing hasn't eliminated stupidity on the roads. Serious boating accidents caused by stupidity, as a percentage of time spent on the water are rare, compared to highways.
When you do a search on the operators card, post after post is "Bob Izumi, Bob Izumi , Bob Izumi, etc etc. Is this scammer trying to coinvince us he is the only show in town? With that kind of scamming, I wouldn't do buisines with him if he were.

[camtep]

I

Originally Posted by Brent Swain

It's a total scam and bureaucratic empire building effort.
Talk show hosts have said "Operating a boat is exactly like driving a car." ********. Show me a highway on which one can go from Victoria to Prince Rupert 10 months a year and never come within half a mile of another vehicle and rarely encounter a vehicle which is doing over 20K.It's like a license to operate a horse and buggy. I could see it for boats that are capable of doing over 15 knots. There is no comparison between that and doing 80K down a highway , barely missing another vehicle doing the same speed in the opposite direction, every minute or two. In over 35 years of cruising 11 months a year on the BC coast, I have seen no justification for the license.
When you see a long line of suckers lined up at a boat show, to pay a scammer $65 to take the test, stand at the front of the line and announce. "St Johns Ambulance does it for $25 ( freecourse.ca) I'd much rather pay St Johns Ambulance than a private scammer.Red cross did it for free until last January
Licensing hasn't eliminated stupidity on the roads. Serious boating accidents caused by stupidity, as a percentage of time spent on the water are rare, compared to highways.
When you do a search on the operators card, post after post is "Bob Izumi, Bob Izumi , Bob Izumi, etc etc. Is this scammer trying to coinvince us he is the only show in town? With that kind of scamming, I wouldn't do buisines with him if he were.

I think it is $40 to challenge through Can Power and Sail Squadron. Better than getting fined the $250.
A PCO Card is NOT a "boat driver's licence" or "permit" but rather simply one form of "proof of competency", meaning minimal knowledge level that, similar to a high school (or secondary school) graduation diploma (or leaving certificate), cannot ordinarily be revoked, rescinded, cancelled or suspended. (If the card was issued not in accordance with the COPC Regulations, for example fraudulently, then the card can be invalidated.) However, in order to operate a powered pleasure craft, an operator must hold some form of proof of competency such as a PCO Card, just as an automobile driver must hold a valid driver's license or permit (which can be suspended or revoked, thus curtailing the operators driving privileges.)
Not all boaters are on open coastlines. Some are on rivers and lakes with narrow channels. Some boaters navigate through these at very high speeds.

[sck5]

Go cruise around the Chesapeake and you will see that there are quite a few people who dont know even the no-brainer stuff in the Canadian exam. I wish everyone would have to know at least that much.

[Liam Wald]

Brent,
I think you are confusing stupidity and ignorance.
Most boating accidents are caused by ignorance of the rules and laws. That could be rectified with training required by licensing. That is different than stupidity. Most people who get to a point in life that they can afford to buy a pleasure boat don't get there because they are "stupid".

A boat accident at 5 knots that involves a vessel sinking reduces your odds of survival dramatically. My guess equall to or less than a motor vehicle accident. My guess is that the percentage of auto drivers who are involved in an accident and survive is greater than the percentage of boaters invoved in a collision at sea who survive.

Governments that are actively and conciously involved in "Empire Building" do a little bit more than require "drivers license" registration!!!
In fact, governments who are in the state of "Empire Building" do very little to promote public safety.

I reject your government control conspiricy theory.

Best regards, Liam.

[Brent Swain]

I'm told they consider having sat down and answered a few questions on a test, without ever having set foot on a boat, as greater proof of competency than having crossed 50,000 miles of ocean, or having got here via cape horn singlelhanded.
Like the Ham Radio test or your high school tests , most who don't cruise full time will have forgoten 90% of what they took in the course in the first month.
$25 at St johns ambulance sounds a lot chepaer than $40 at the power squadron.

[sck5]

yes, 90% is forgotten. but that remaining 10% is more than a lot of people out there seem to know

[dana-tenacity]

The bureaucracy here in NZ have looked at it on and off over the years and have always concluded it isn't worth the effort. There is no statistical evidence that places with licensing/registration are "safer" than those without. End of argument.

[bangkaboat]

It is a pretty ridiculous set-up. Someone who has never operated a boat before can go to Sewell's marina, in Horseshoe Bay, write a quick test - that no one has failed - & rent a boat. Many renters have been tourists from Japan, Korea, etc, & speak/read minimal/no english. Meanwhile, a veteran boater may spend a few hundred to take a course & write the test. I framed a copy of my transcript from the coast guard college - vessel traffic services - and am going to test the patience of any inspectors by offering that up. I think competency tests are good, but these tests don't show competency.
Mike