Looks like they want to require training. Don’t know if they considered any tourism impact. Here’s what they sent me: Thank you for your recent inquiry regarding the registration of non-motorized vessels.
The Boating Advisory Council’s Non-motorized Vessel Subcommittee met on September
14, 2006 and voted to recommend not requiring registration of non-motorized vessels.
Considering the explosive sales of some non-motorized vessels and the fact that
14.3% of Florida’s reported boating fatalities in 2005 resulted from the use of
non-motorized vessels, members of the Non-motorized Vessel Subcommittee expressed
concern over this public safety issue. They discussed the need to reduce risk to
the operators and passengers of these vessels, as well as improved education of
non-motorized vessel users was considered to be a potential solution. The Subcommittee
voted to recommend that non-motorized vessel operators be included in Florida’s
boating safety education requirements and that state approved education courses
strengthen their educational component for non-motorized vessels.
The Subcommittee’s recommendations will be presented to the Florida Boating Advisory
Council (BAC) during their meeting in December, and the Council will review the
two recommendations and decide if a formal proposal to the Florida Fish and Wildlife
Conservation Commission (FWC) for future legislative action is appropriate.
Hmmmmm - - Still money
You know danged well that they will charge money for the class. Pay for sticker or pay for class - - what to do, what to do??
Has anyone looked at the statistics to see what kinds of accidents?? Causes?? Was it small boater error or a power boat running over them?
Just my initial thoughts
More Hmmmm…
Very interesting, since as of last year ( if I remember the article correctly ) there were zero fatals with kayaks here in Florida, and I think the number of fatals with canoes could be counted with two hands…
Alaskan Experience with Registration
Alaska was the last state to wrest control of boat registration from the Coast Guard, and did so in 2000 or 2001. At that time the bill introducing the legislation included non motorized water craft over 16ft. I lobbied strongly against that oportion of the bill – which had been introduced by a representative from my community. Initially, I received the same tripe as mentioned in the letter you posted, lots of non-motorized watercraft involved in accidents and deaths. We got the ACA involved, but to no avail. The bill passed. two years later the legislature revised its law and now we no longer have to put silly stickers on our boats. I never did, since I realized there was no enforcement money included in the bill. I’d suggest you get the ACA involved.
YEAH RIGHT…
When a monkey with a credit card can rent a jet ski…
They’ll have to pry my cold dead hands off my paddle to give me a ticket.
We’re Grandfathered in…
…same deal as the motor-heads.
What about visitors?
I occasionally load up my yak and head down to Florida to do some paddling with my brother who lives on Florida’s west coast. If a class is required, what do I do? Extend my trip and time it so that I sign up for and complete a class before going paddling?
Don’t worry about it, just come with me.
the enforcement cops won’t find us in the places I paddle.
There are two many other good paddling places in other states to paddle to worry about some bureaucratic jackasses trying to dictate to paddlers that we have to take a safety course.
Cheers,
Jack
makes me wanta
dress in black and paddle the lowest profile SOF boat I can to avoid detection.
And no more public access spots for me. That’s where they’ll catch you. No, from now on it’s strictly at a full sprint, through back yards.
I’m debated
Yes, this requirement would be a major pita for a lot of people but I honestly can’t find anything wrong with demanding that all users of waterways know the basic rules and have the minimum skills for handling their crafts next to the “big boys”.
Don’t riders of scooters have to know the traffic rules and show they are able to handle the vehicle?
I heard kayakers bitching about powerboaters and they don’t even know which side of a boat they are looking at when they see the red light.
On the other hand how can we enforce something like this without killing the rental-business?
Not to worry…
I think at best it will be included in the voluntary boating courses.
Bicyclist dont need training
Bicyclists dont need training to ride on public roads. My arguement about training and registration always goes back to this point. Whats the difference between using a human powered vehicle on public roads or using it on public waterways?
A kayak or canoe is a piece of plastic (or wood, or fiberglass). thats it, no more, who are these idiots in state legislature that feel the need to regulate and charge people for floating on a piece of wood. It amazes me how so called educated people can take the simplest thing and make it complicated. Where do they stop, surf boards, Boogie boards.
If they pass this, you floridians had better make a strong point that there had better be a bunch of surfers standing in class right next to you.
Rental Business…
here in Bama, the requirement for trining does not apply to boats operated under a rental agreement, the renter must show he has briefed you and you must sign saying you understand the rules for safe operation…
basicly, it’s an out.
bet if you check the rental rules for power boats it’s the same in Florida…and so it would apply to non-powered boats as well.
$$$$
I live in Ohio, and if it floats you have to rejister it (and just forget about biulding a boat). And having worked for the ODNR (whos main goal seems to be protecting their budget), I think I can translate the above letter--"man there sure are alot of thouse guys in the funny boats with sticks...dude, we could be making a ton of money off those guys"
john
Hey, guy’s, non-motorized includes
air mattresses:
http://myfwc.com/whatsnew/06/statewide/vesselregis.html
Gotta love those stats. Absolutely nothing about why/how the deaths occurred. Could it be that they don’t want to admit the problem is drunks in boats without pfd’s? Educate all you want, but if they drink and don’t wear the pfd, what does it matter?
So
"Of Florida’s 70 reported fatal boating accidents in 2005, 10 involved non-motorized vessels, which resulted in 12 of the 81 boating fatalities."
12 people in the whole state of Florida die last year and that calls for special training?
Someone please take initiative and stone your law makers to death when they walk out of the capital building.
Retards!
It’s not that - its worse
Well, it is that - because they are retards when int comes to paddling issues, but…
The REAL issues is they want the federal dollars that are granted based on number of registered boats. The registration fees themselves are just icing on the cake.
Short of sneaking that by, they went for the training thing to cover their tracks and maintain the appearances of actual concern over a “real” issue.
Later they will be able to use the increase in people taking the training to reinforce their other lame arguments - eventually getting the registration law through.
Politics are about strategy, not tactics.
action movie
On the street, the police have some pretty powerful cars. On snow (Canada) the RCMP have some quick snowmobiles. What sort of kayak do you think they will use in the “high speed pursuit” after the “non-motorized craft”? I am guessing either some sort of hover-bike.
They will need to issue a lot of tickets to pay for the hover-bike, and the training of the operator.
Good luck, Floridians.
I’m OK with the intent here
My 14 year old son recently had to take the florida boaters safety course and pass the test to get his Florida boater operators license. The class is online easy to take the test is online and the cost was about $20 I think. It is so much lower than the cost and hassle of all his other boating and sailing training I think it is a minimum but I’m glad that in the future all Florida power boat operators will have some basic boat saftey training.
I also have seen paddlers and sailors do some pretty dumb things on the water like iterfere with ships that have restricted manuverability in a narrow channel. When my son was 8 he told me he though sailboats always have the right of way. He learned this gem from a full grown adult who obviously had never had any formal safety training. I’m angainst registration but I’m all for required education.
That safe boater training for young
boaters seems to do diddly squat when they are out on the water unsupervised by a RESPONSIBLE adult. Just like with driver’s training, once out with friends, having a good time, maybe a few drinks, it all goes out the door. The same with having paddlers take those kind of courses, it doesn’t work if the boater doesn’t pay attention and do what he/she is taught.