Therein lies the rub....
JRC is right, comparing the motor vehicle code to the boating code can be comparing apples/oranges at times.
However, the important point is that to operate a car you must show driver proficiency, not just memorization of key portions of the applicable motor vehicle laws.
With the boating safety certificate there is no provision for operational proficiency, thereby possesion of a safety certificate by no means guarantees your ability to operate the vessel you may be in command of.
Which then brings us to the temporary certificates and problems with rental pwcs & boats!
I think the intent of the legislative sponsors in forbidding adults to operate without a certificate after a certain period was to ensure that all adults get some type of boater education. They allowed the "under 16" loophole because at some point you would become "16" and then have to have the certificate. If they allowed an uncertified adult to operate with a certificate holder on board, you could get a significant portion of the adult population (spouses, for example) that would never bother to obtain the certificate, they would just operate under occasion by utilizing the other's certificate.
In years past when waterways were much less congested and boats of much lesser capacities in size, horsepower & high speeds these questions were of little or no concern. Given today's realities, changes and greater demands will always be on the horizon for the general boating community.
Unfortunately these changes will in most cases be reactionary vice proactive...
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