boater safety course certification

[gim]

I'm not sure if this has been posted anywhere yet but BASS is requiring all anglers to pass a boater safety course before participating in any sanctioned event starting January 1, 2025.  This rule will apply to Elite, Open, Nation, and College events.

 

Quite honestly, I'm a little surprised this has only come up now.  Bass boats are equipped with 250 hp outboards and they are dangerous watercrafts at high speeds.  I like the rule.

 

https://www.bassmaster.com/b-a-s-s-nation/news/boater-safety-courses-now-required-for-b-a-s-s-tournaments/

[Choporoz]

I'd be surprised if very many BASS boaters have NOT passed safety course.  I think most states have some sort of course requirement.  Seems like every touring tournament boater should have taken BOATUS or some other USCG recognized training

[Susky River Rat]

Honestly most of this may only affect anyone about 40 and older. The rick clunns Ike’s and guys like that would be the guys needing it. 

[Tennessee Boy]

I've never been required to have one but I've taken two courses over the years to lower my insurance rates.  It's very easy to do online and doesn't cost much. 

[TnRiver46]

1 hour ago, Choporoz said:

I'd be surprised if very many BASS boaters have NOT passed safety course.  I think most states have some sort of course requirement.  Seems like every touring tournament boater should have taken BOATUS or some other USCG recognized training

TN doesn’t, unless you are born after 1989 I believe. I’ve never taken a course but I’ve boated as much as anyone , been driving one since I was 8 or so 

[gim]

8 minutes ago, TnRiver46 said:

I’ve never taken a course but I’ve boated as much as anyone , been driving one since I was 8 or so 

 

These are not your average jon boats with a 25 hp outboard though.  The rigs these guys are driving are like ferraris on the water.  Mandatory safety training is a good idea.

[MN Fisher]

9 minutes ago, gimruis said:

Mandatory safety training is a good idea.

I'd like to see testing and licenses like for road vehicles. Back when the numbers and HP were lower it wasn't such a big deal, but given the speeds and quantity of boats out there, I think licensing the 'drivers' should be the way to go. More enforcement of the rules as well.

[gim]

4 minutes ago, MN Fisher said:

Back when the numbers and HP were lower it wasn't such a big deal, but given the speeds and quantity of boats out there

 

There's quite a difference between putzing around at 15 mph compared to hauling ass in an Elite event rig that can push 70 mph.  If you crash going those speeds, there's catastrophic results.

[J Francho]

All of NY boaters will need a cert next year. 

[Woody B]

2 hours ago, Tennessee Boy said:

It's very easy to do online and doesn't cost much. 

 

I'm old enough to not need one here in NC, but I took a course too.  It was pretty much useless.   

 

If BASS and others are concerned about safety (and costs) cut horsepower back to 100 or less.   

[TnRiver46]

4 hours ago, gimruis said:

 

These are not your average jon boats with a 25 hp outboard though.  The rigs these guys are driving are like ferraris on the water.  Mandatory safety training is a good idea.

It’s definitely a good idea, I’ve driven those too

 

but seat time and a good teacher on board beats any class 

[J Francho]

Seat time and practice running fast is key. It took me two full seasons to start to scratch the surface of high 70s in my Bullet. Fastest was 84.7 on GPS. Not something you do without some experience. 

[MN Fisher]

14 minutes ago, J Francho said:

Fastest was 84.7 on GPS.

Way more than I've ever sped - my old runabout would hit 43 on a good day per the paddlewheel speedometer it had.

 

Bass Trek tops out at 24 per gps.

[A-Jay]

Hate to sound like a cynic but

while giving boating safety classes to tournament anglers sounds like a noble endeavor,

it's a total waste of time IMO.

And I mean total. 

This entire nation of vehicle operators ALL pass a rules of the roads test,

and there's roads, and signs and even LEO presence all over the place.

Are the roads safer - No.

Face it, the lakes river & reservoirs have no roads, channels markers yes, but no one knows what they mean or even how to use them. Speed limit signs and no wake warning are completely ignored.

Just like on the road. And with far less LEO presences on the water, 

every single day is a total free for all.  

Jet Ski's, Wake Boats, Water ski towers, tube pullers, Bass fisherman, no one's exempt.

They can advertise and do whatever they want.

We would all like to believe that Classes and education is the answer or maybe it would even help a little but it will not make much of a difference at all. 

It takes real people making unselfish decisions on the water to change anything.

And that will never happen. 

At least not in my life time. 

Folks won't even wear seat belts.

It's just amazing that the carnage isn't worse, but when it happens,

I don't understand why folks act so surprised. 

🥴

A-Jay

 

 

[nso123]

1 hour ago, J Francho said:

Seat time and practice running fast is key. It took me two full seasons to start to scratch the surface of high 70s in my Bullet. Fastest was 84.7 on GPS. Not something you do without some experience. 

This. There are lots of 80+ mph boats around here and lots of tournaments to go with them. There are areas I avoid more because of the bass boats than the pleasure boats. 

[12poundbass]

I agree with @A-Jay. It doesn’t and won’t make a difference. To be honest I’d trust a professional angler over anyone else. I got my boaters certification when I was in 6th or 7th grade. What the hell does that do? Absolutely nothing! The only thing I remember from that course 30 years ago was you go counter clockwise. 
 

It’s pretty scary to think any Joe can go out and buy a twin 250 tri-toon, $300K wakeboat, or bass boat with a 300hp if you have enough money. The same can be said for vehicles.

[airshot]

A boat crash at over 70 mph will be the same whether they have a boating class or not !  We have lots of offshore racing type boats in my area.  They can exceed 100 mph, having a safe boating course makes no difference because it is just a piece of paper, no real driving test nor any test for common sense !!  Been a boater for over 60 years, my grandkids wanted to learn to operate my boat, so they took the boating classes and I went with them.  While worthwhile,  it won't do anything for making crazy people drive better !

[Big Hands]

3 hours ago, 12poundbass said:

I agree with @A-Jay. It doesn’t and won’t make a difference.

 

I'm guessing it WILL make a difference in the cost to insure an event for a promoter. It might even make a difference in how liability is assigned if or when a disaster does occur.

 

There are also some states that do not currently recognize and accept approved courses from all other states, and that will make things extra interesting for national level tournament anglers. IOW, just because you have taken a boater course in one state, you cannot assume you'll be good to go in every other state.

[Columbia Craw]

6 hours ago, A-Jay said:

Hate to sound like a cynic but

while giving boating safety classes to tournament anglers sounds like a noble endeavor,

it's a total waste of time IMO.

And I mean total. 

This entire nation of vehicle operators ALL pass a rules of the roads test,

and there's roads, and signs and even LEO presence all over the place.

Are the roads safer - No.

Face it, the lakes river & reservoirs have no roads, channels markers yes, but no one knows what they mean or even how to use them. Speed limit signs and no wake warning are completely ignored.

Just like on the road. And with far less LEO presences on the water, 

every single day is a total free for all.  

Jet Ski's, Wake Boats, Water ski towers, tube pullers, Bass fisherman, no one's exempt.

They can advertise and do whatever they want.

We would all like to believe that Classes and education is the answer or maybe it would even help a little but it will not make much of a difference at all. 

It takes real people making unselfish decisions on the water to change anything.

And that will never happen. 

At least not in my life time. 

Folks won't even wear seat belts.

It's just amazing that the carnage isn't worse, but when it happens,

I don't understand why folks act so surprised. 

🥴

A-Jay

 

 

This is the most accurate, comprehensive, common sense response I have read to date. Regulation without enforcement achieves nothing.  BASS has this one wrong. Our society and lives are so over regulated already. How do you regulate common sense?  Example: Auto companies promote reckless, unlawful driving in their television commercials every day.  So a guy cuts his fingers off with a skill saw, make everyone get an operators license to use a saw?  This is another appeasement effort.  Let’s put alcohol interlock devices on every boat that sports a motor with a key start ignition.  Cars that drive themselves?  I feel a warning point coming.

[Susky River Rat]

Life jackets, kill switches and common sense are what save lives. Accidents will always happen even to the safest.

 

I agree it will lower insurance costs to run the event. 
 

these guys are doing it for a paycheck. People do even more stupid stuff when money is on the line. 
 

I’ve hit rocks and logs in the river going 25-30mph. I couldn’t imagine doing something at 60-70mph in a boat. 

[Tennessee Boy]

Morgan & Morgan:  You allow these fast boats in your tournaments and your prize money rewards those who push the limits to get to the fish first.  Don’t you think this contributed to the death of my client’s husband?

 

BASS Executive:  Well…a … Did I mention that we REQUIRE anglers to take a boater safety course before they can participate in our tournaments.

[Susky River Rat]

@Tennessee Boy that’s about the sum of it 

[MediumMouthBass]

Forcing people to learn something never works, look at public school in modern years.

I hated school, didnt pay attention, got bad grades most of my life, did minimal effort.

Being forced to go, forced to learn, treated like a animal in a zoo instead of an actual human being.

 

I mean most of its useless knowledge that the brain will purge in a short time after anyways,

although in my last few years of high school i switched to a different school where the education was about 100 times more. Felt like i jumped to college, and then learning actually became interesting, i actually wanted to learn what was being taught. And my grades were the best ever, finished with a 3.8 GPA.

 

I was watching a video the other day from Elon Musk about education, his words were so true.

And it really spoke to me, my opinion now after hearing it is schools teach useless amounts of knowledge, most of it we will never use or even remember. And they dont tell us why we need them or how we will use them.

But if you find out why you need it, and how it will benefit you in life your mind starts working, retaining, and learning the way we are supposed to. It can be easy and fun, but you have to want to do it, learning cant be forced, because it wont work.

 

I have several different sets of skills and hobbies, bass fishing is just one of my favorites, anytime i want to do something new if i apply myself, and want to do it i can learn it within days and retain it for long periods of time.

Because most people (especially in America) for some reason mistake memorizing answers for learning. These guys would just do the course, memorize all questions and answers, and learn nothing. When they get back on the water they wont remember a single thing.... Its just a legal thing like @Tennessee Boy said.

If they cared about making it safer, they couldve done alot more that would actually make an impact.

[Susky River Rat]

3 hours ago, MediumMouthBass said:

Because most people (especially in America) for some reason mistake memorizing answers for learning

That’s because it’s exactly how we are taught. Memorize this or that. You want your surgeon to memorize how to preform surgeries and the protocol if something goes wrong. The answers are the knowledge. 
 

problem solving is knowledge and experimenting. 

[MediumMouthBass]

3 hours ago, Susky River Rat said:

That’s because it’s exactly how we are taught. Memorize this or that. You want your surgeon to memorize how to preform surgeries and the protocol if something goes wrong. The answers are the knowledge. 
 

problem solving is knowledge and experimenting. 

When something goes wrong and anxiety or fear are experienced our memory or rational thinking are almost non existent. But muscle memory and repetition do kick in.

Hence why the SOF military units practice the most basic things over and over again thousands of times (dry fire for an example). Doesnt matter how good you are, or how great your memory is. Add fear, worry, adrenaline, and your minds frozen in place.

 

Although i can understand how memorizing has its place in being useful/helpful.

But often times memorizing answers is forgotten, because its only the start and finish, not the whole formula.

 

But if i looked at a math test and just memorized the answers and then was asked to show my work, or solve it with different numbers then im toast.

Like if i had a surgery, and it went wrong, i would rather the doctor that knows what hes doing, versus the one who can recite pages 1-20 and panics because he cant remember page 21.