Comanche3Six

Let Fiore stick to what he knows, building fast, beautiful boats.
He's not Thomas Jefferson.

h2owarrior

I get a 15% discount for having passed a USCG approved Power Squadron course. We (the wife and I) took the course when we bought our first boat. It was great and has proved to be invaluable in our 20 years of boating.

h2owarrior

Be careful with that high performance boat arrogance. I know plenty of high perf. boaters that I simply stay away from cause of their reckless behavior behind the wheel. But I do agree with your general comment and Lake Lice are the worst.

We were within 10' of taking out a middle aged guy and his daughter on a SeaDoo a couple of years ago. We were cruising about 40mph and he came up on my right and cut directly in front of me. If anything had gone wrong with his turn, they would have been in serious trouble. I did not even have time to react

HyperBaja

They get nicer insurance rates too

And take the course, might learn something, and most insurers give a small discount for it.

LostinBoston

There are fishing boats that run 100 mph? I want one of them.
Some states require that individuals buy a fishing lincense. of course no test is needed. There will never be a requirement for only a certain make boat. maybe for over a certain MPH, but enforcing it will be nearly impossible on the open ocean. and the big expensive boats can always be registered off shore, like most of the yachts i see in ft. lauderdale. I took the coast guard safety course when i was 9 and passed. i dont think that makes me qualified to run a 150 mph boat. only seat time can do that. captains liscenses are too time consuming so most people dont get them. I say make every boat do 150 and let darwinism figure out the rest.

nolimits

Far as I am concerned there are far to many boaters out there who have zero idea of what they are doing. I live and boat on Long Island's Great South Bay and I can assure you that there are more fools in ALL kinds of boats who are a danger to themselves and all around them. These people buy usually the wrong boat for what they want to do and with only the instructions from the sales guy are on thier way. No wake zones mean nothing, right of way is who is bigger, watching weather is an unknown etc. There are soooooo many boats here, especialy week enders and just the number of them can be scary. As I said, I live on the water. I can sit out on my deck and see stuff that boggles the mind. I see Boat US and SeaTow bringing grounded boats, damaged boates etc in all the time.

My kids, wife and I took the Power Squadron course. My boys were 10 at the time, and studied like no bodies bussiness, helped the wife even. I have been boating for 20 years and learned a lot. Out of 60 people in the class, more than half the class got in the 70's or less. THe instructor asked us (we were done first and got 100's) to help the other adults so they could pass. These people could not even take the time to read the book let alone study. It was a rubber stamp and a joke to them.

We don't want the government to regulate us, but there are real problems out there. Maybe not on your lake, but on the bays and ocean here. We need forced training, and the only way to force it is to not allow you out there unless you get it. The only way to prove you got it is a license. The only argument is what kind of training. Lastly, for all the bone head boaters out there, if you blow it, you should lose it. Maybe then, we can still be able to go as fast as we want. The effort for this should come from us. But it won't. We will still be arguing about it when the decission is made for us. Too bad.....

hugetime1

lostinboston: yes many fishing boats run 100 or close to it, allison is a good example.

hugetime1

while we are at it why don't we suggest a gas guzzler tax on boats.

Comanche3Six

I'll mention it to Reggie at the next board meeting.

Lenny R

It is nice to hear so many of you interested in the safety issue and understand that insurance is getting to be an issue. As someone who has been pushing the safety issues from inside an insurance company I wonder if everyone is willing to pay the price. Bob's comments are excellent, however very costly to the end boater and will not be picked up by an insurance company. Hopefully the manufacturers will help some, but it will likely be the end user who picks up most of the cost. The issue with performance boats is not necessarily the number of accidents, it is the severity of the accidents that do occur. Severity scares the %*&@ our of an insurance company and is what has killed several of the insurance programs out there. In the world of insurance, performance boating is the tip of an eyelash, and as we have seen, easily disposed of by high level execs who do not have the "love" of the sport. Normally what happens from an insurance company perspective, this market would be seen as "ripe" for a new market to enter, however because of the severity and yet several more accidents, including at poker runs I am willing to bet at least 1 more market exits before the year is over. Training is a must, as is your own common sense.
For reference I have spent the last 13 years inside 2 insurance companies at high levels, the last as director of marine insurance for Markel.
thanks for listening
Lenny