Proposed Bill Prohibiting Youth Boating in Florida

[LongSail]

I received this notice from my local sailing club. This bill must be stopped.

"It has been brought to my attention that Senator Gary M. Farmer (D) of Broward County has proposed a bill prohibiting youths under the age of 16 from operating a vessel greater than 10' in length. The bill states:

A bill to be entitled "An act relating to boating in salt water; creating s. 327.396, F.S.; defining terms; prohibiting minors of a certain age from operating vessels powered by a motor of 10 horsepower or greater or certain sailboats or other rigged vessels in salt water, except under specified conditions; providing penalties for parents or guardians who knowingly permit their children or wards to violate the prohibition; providing penalties for persons under the influence who supervise certain minors operating a specified vessel; providing a effective date of October 1, 2017". The full bill can be viewed by clicking the following link https://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bil...ext/Filed/HTML

This will kill youth sailing as we know it. MANY youth sailors sail Lasers, 420's and Catamarans which are all greater than 10' in length. What does this do for our children when they outgrow an Opti?

Please go to Senator Farmer's page https://www.flsenate.gov/Senators/s34 , click on the Email The Senator link and express your dissatisfaction regarding this bill.

Also, I ask you to express your dissatisfaction to your local Senator, they can be reached here https://www.flsenate.gov/Senators/#Senators

Thank you for taking a few minutes to address this very important matter."

[Sailmonkey]

I'm not a Florida resident but I read the bill, then Sent an email politely telling the senator he was an idiot and should return to square one and research the subject he was trying to kill.

[Rocinante33]

My time is split between Colorado and South Florida and I can not imagine what problem he is trying to solve here. My youth was spent, largely unsupervised, skiing and boating and I would have rather have not been born than to give those experiences (even the scary ones where I was at risk---and especially the ones where I annoyed my betters and elders!!) up.

WAY too few kids put down the phone and venture out into the world of risks on their own and this problem is getting worse. I am in my 50's and I see a major, major problem with way too few youth in boats or on skis as compared to my own misspent youth. We need WAY more kids on and in boats, not out of and off of them.

Who is going to carry this on? There is not an unlimited supply of wealthy 50 somethings and if kids dont get out there and get grabbed by the lure of the sea, then the rest will be lost. This pertains to everything from more competition amongst vendors to basic rights of navigation and all of the other underpinnings of this noble and glorious activity!

What conceivable 'problem' is this "solution" out seeking to cure?

O Florida!! So much age.....so little wisdom!!!

[MarkJ]

Even though I hate children, I feel I must show compassion and support a safety law that only allows children on very small, inherently unsafe boats.
One must also remember that a 16 year old compared to the legal drinking age of 21. Basically 2/3rds of the age.
So in a normal country where drinking starts at 18, 2/3 is only 12.

And only a fool would say a 12 year old should command a 100 footer.

So therefore the Florida rule is justified.

[pcmm]

Is there a reason Florida hates boats and boaters so much?

[Island Time O25]

At the dock in our mooring field in MA there are often kids aged 12-16 bringing in their parents' boats while the parents are parking and lugging groceries, etc. These kids maneuver their boats better than most adults would. The foolish senator has his priorities backwards. If anything, kids that age should be ENCOURAGED to learn to operate so they become more knowledgeable and more responsible adult boaters. It is usually the "yut" yahoos who occasionally get on a boat which wreck havoc, not the kids who grew up with boats as their alternative to bicycles.

[Sailmonkey]

Originally Posted by MarkJ

Even though I hate children, I feel I must show compassion and support a safety law that only allows children on very small, inherently unsafe boats.
One must also remember that a 16 year old compared to the legal drinking age of 21. Basically 2/3rds of the age.
So in a normal country where drinking starts at 18, 2/3 is only 12.

And only a fool would say a 12 year old should command a 100 footer.

So therefore the Florida rule is justified.

I read that twice......it's funny.....you must be drinking!!!!

[wkstar]

This MUST be in response to those two boys that went fishing last year and ( fell overboard ) ( got stuck in the Gulf Stream ) something happened, They did not come home.

So to prevent that from happening again & having crying Mothers on TV. He will Ban teens from getting in a boat by themselfs & getting on ocean water

[Island Time O25]

Originally Posted by pcmm

Is there a reason Florida hates boats and boaters so much?

Yes. Too many snowflakes from up North have settled there and are now pushing their "gov't please save us from ourselves" agenda. This is exactly what happens in NH when people from MA are moving in and are trying hard to make NH more like Taxachusetts. Why would they want the place they ran away to to look like the place they just escaped from?

[thinwater]

Originally Posted by Sailmonkey

I'm not a Florida resident but I read the bill, then Sent an email politely telling the senator he was an idiot and should return to square one and research the subject he was trying to kill.

My question would be is there an accident history that provoked this action?

Personally, I do have a few thoughts:

• I don't have a problem with the 10 hp limit. The only requirement is supervision, and no small sailboat or dinghy needs an engine over 10 hp. But, I would rather see...
• A testing requirement. That is how powered vessels are managed in MD, with no minimum age. A parent has to sign-off on the permit. I think my daughter was 14 when I let her take the test. In my opinion, there is a minimum age of responsibility. I really do not believe kids younger than 14 should be on open water unsupervised. Of course...
• As a parent you ALWAYS have responsibility. I would have placed my own appropriate limitations before 16 (in fact, I did). Some parents get that, some do not.
• I would think that vessels with no engine should also be exempt, up to some reasonable size, perhaps 20 feet.
• 2b is not needed. 2a basically requires that an adult be in attendance, which seems to cover it, for me. If there is no adult, then I don't see the distinction.

But I don't see how this "kills youth sailing." It mean that a parent or adult needs to be involved. Sorry, but I'm a little uncomfortable with 12 year olds taking a jet ski out. There are reasons that cars wait until 16.


I think a better plan would be an operators permit with one set of permissions below 16, and another set above that. The 10' limit seems arbitrary, IMHO. No permit, no engine at ANY age.

[Suijin]

Dear lord. What a ridiculous law. I suppose this is a response in part to the two kids that were lost in their fishing boat off FL around a year ago.

From the age of 9 to about 13 I spent my summer mornings working solo on my family's Latham dory, collecting garbage and selling newspapers, charcoal, donuts and other stuff to cruisers in our harbor. And that was long before any of these "boaters ed" certificates that seem to be all the rage these days. Clearly I'm lucky I didn't drown.

[MarkJ]

Originally Posted by Sailmonkey

I read that twice......it's funny.....you must be drinking!!!!

Thank you I am sober but just being funny.

I also (seriously) don't have a problem with the 10HP motor limit.
An 8 ft rib with 1 15 yo kid w 10HP will do 20 knots, or very close to it.


Difficult to make laws.

A Lazer dinghy is 13ft 9 inches. A 15 year old should definitely progressed from an opti to lazer and be ready for a 470 at 15 ft.

If you want young people in the Olympics you can't have idiot rules.

[IdoraKeeper]

It's well known that adult child abusers hang out in lavish megayachts, just off shore waiting for hapless youth to happen by..children are not safe anywhere. This law should provoke civil disobedience...were would Tom Sawyer fit in if this law passes?

[JKP]

I sent emails to several state senators. I started driving my dad's Luhrs 44 sport fisher and our J sailboat at the age of fourteen once I passed the boaters safety test. That experience was priceless to teach me responsibilities and situational awareness.

[CarlF]

Florida could take a lesson from Massachuetts.

There are no size or age restrictions for children to operate a boat in Massachusetts if it doesn't have a motor. A 10 year old could take out an America's cup trimaran.

A 12 year old can operate any size motor boat without supervision if they first take a 10 hour course to get a certificate.

But you have to be 18 to operate a jetski (16 if you take the 10 hour course).

As somone who has taught close to 1000 kids to sail, I can't think of a better way to turn boys and girls into responsible men and women.

I'm pretty sure this Florida legistlator has never been at the helm of a sailboat.