This month, New York State will allow would-be boaters to complete their boating safety certification through online courses, rather than exclusively through an eight-hour classroom-based course.
This is a big deal for the 20,000 New Yorkers looking to obtain boating safety certificates each year – particularly for those born on or after May 1, 1996, for whom a certificate is required in order to operate a motorboat at all.
“Online boating education will make training available at a time and place best suited to the public, and help spread the message to even more New Yorkers,” said State Parks Commission Rose Harvey in a press release. “New York is embracing the latest technologies to enable boaters and personal watercraft operators […] to more conveniently complete their coursework.”
In 2013, Governor Andrew Cuomo signed a law requiring those born on or after May 1, 1996 to obtain a boating safety certificate if they want to operate a motorboat.
Anyone who wants to operate a personal watercraft, such as a jetski or a seadoo, needs a boating safety certificate to do so regardless of age.
Classroom-based courses are available throughout the state, but now students will be able to get certified online instead.
Starting this month, New York is offering two online alternatives: BOATERexam and Boat-ED. Both of these courses, like their classroom-based counterparts, are approved by the National Association of Boating Law Administrators and will therefore be recognized as legitimate certification in other states requiring the association’s approval.
Both courses only require students to pay when they pass the examination by 76 percent or better. Both courses also cost $29.95, and upon completion of the course, students will be certified for life.
New York State also introduced a special kind of driver’s license last year that indicates holders of boat safety certificates. These “adventure licenses” feature a small anchor icon for those who have been certified in boat safety, eliminating the need for boaters to carry their paper certificates every time they operate a motorboat.
Adventure licenses also have icons for other types of licenses, including sporting licenses and lifetime empire passports.
