For those of you out there who have ever gone boating, you know first hand that it can be quite dangerous. A motorboat or speedboat is a motor driven water vehicle that is capable of many things. Almost every summer my dad and stepmom save up so we are able to rent a boat for a few days on a lake up north. It has always been fun and I enjoy it very much. The past two summers my brother has always gotten his temporary boater’s license so my dad has one other person on the boat who can drive, as well. This year my brother is off at college, so my dad wants me to get my temporary boating license.
In New Hampshire, you can take a short test to get a temporary boating license that lasts 14 days. It is a very easy test to take; you are given a manual to study from before you take the test, and then the test is the manual phrased into questions. The first year my brother took it he skimmed through the manual on the hour-long ride up there and then went on to take the test and get a 100 on it.
I myself have taken the test before and I know very minimal amounts on boats. I did the same thing as my brother and got a 95 on the license. The test is far too easy to qualify you to have a license to drive a boat. Granted it is a temporary one, and the test or your permanent license is a bit harder, but it is still a license. I only got my temporary license this year because my dad wanted to have another person on the boat with him that had a license and was able to drive if something were to happen, but many people who get their temporary license are the only person on the boat with any form of a boating license.
In my opinion, the test to get a boating license should be much more difficult and actually test whether or not you are competent to drive a boat. There are many buoys out in the water that are place markers for sand bars, and shallow water, plus sharp rocks that can rip open your boat. Someone can easily memorize what each buoy resembles and then regurgitate it during their test, just to forget everything the second they finish.
If the person taking the test for their license will be the only person there with a boating license they should have to get their permanent license, which is much more difficult to take. If the person only wants to get heir temporary license, as it is a much easier test to pass, there should be at least one other person on the boat with a permanent license who knows what they are doing.