New Hampshire Classroom Course for Boating Education

[Rich]

My take, and I have been often known to be wrong . . .


If the MD card shows up, and it is NASBLA approved, then NH will allow it and it will be valid.

When signing up for the course, there is no questions about 'where do you vote' or 'where is your residence', and it allowed a NH mailing address.

So far my friend has the temporary paperwork that shows he has his certification and is only waiting for the permanent card.

I have my NH Certification and actually took the one day class that ended in the proctored exam. I thought it was a good review of the material, and I always learn more when there is an instructor doing the training. But I can see how some people may prefer an alternative, so I pointed out the MD option.

[NoBozo]

This is Funny.......or maybe SAD.. Some people here are "Exploring" the idea of Some Way... How they can subvert (Get around) the system.

Why not just follow the law, attend the boating course ...and take the Proctored EXAM. NB

[Descant]

I'm embarrassed for those who would encourage or support taking some out of state exam because it isn't proctored, i.e POS taking the exam. Look at all the threads here about people who don't understand our buoys and the 150 ft rule. And you want them to take a course that doesn't even touch on these issues or any other NH situations. People on this Forum should be better than that.

[Rich]

FYI... my friend studied the NH material, passed the online portion of the NH exam, but between work and family obligations he found it very difficult to find an in person exam thst he could attend.

So instead of missing a summer of boating, he has learned the material ( from both NH and MD) and is now boating gaining experience.

Not everyone is retired nor has a lot of spare time. He found he could easily do this study during lunch and/or other spare time, so why not pass the exam online too.

Also, some people freeze up at exams and are intimidated by a formal environment, this gives them a more casual environment to pass the exam. Heck, even his wife took the class and passed too, just to show she could get a better score than him. She never would have done this if she was forced to go to a proctored exam. So now we have two boaters that know the material, instead of just one!

I only mentioned this option here to possibly help others that may be in a similar predicament.

There appears to be no laws nor polices broken here. Can you find even one printed that says this is frowned upon or not allowed? When he told me about it, I looked myself and couldn't fine one myself.

How about those of you that took the NH online exam before NH required you to attend a proctored exam? Did you run out and retake your exam because you are not playing by the current rules? I'm guessing not. I bet a lot of people actually rushed in to take the online exam before the deadline to require the in person proctored exam occurred. Do you want all those people to turn in their certificate and take the course again because they circumvented the new system? I doubt it.

[Winnisquamer]

I have said this before on this site and got grief for it. The overall class is a joke, taking the NH, MD, FL, or any other entry level class isn't going to make you a safe boater. You are going to make yourself a safe boater. The class gives you the flat out basics of what is what on the water.

So I can see why people want to circumnavigate because I was in that situation as well. I did the online course over the winter, ended up finding out I didn't have time to drive an hour from where I am during the week to sit and take the proctored exam, I waited till spring and was able to do it on a 1 day Saturday class in Gilford (the old building) and thought it was even easier than the online version. The questions again were common sense in my opinion.

Did that make me qualified to navigate Winni like a boss? Absolutely not. Did that make me the safest person on the lake? Again absolutely not.

Gave me the basic knowledge of what to and what not to do.

People here pointing fingers like the ones who get the MD course are criminals. Our instructor told us all NASBLA approved courses/ certs were accepted in NH. If that's the case and MD is NASBLA approved then why are we even discussing this still? Take the course and go enjoy your self and don't act like an idiot, summers short.

[Rich]

^ I agree 100%

These are not boating and navigation classes, but a cursory overview of some boating laws and procedures. Some say you get MORE out of the online version that you do from the in person version.

[Descant]

Rich, I applaud the extra effort your friend took. BZ.
The proctored exam requirement was instituted a few years into the progressive certificate program because Marine Patrol presented evidence that there were many people who did not personally take the exam, but had somebody "assisting" them. There were boat rental places giving out the temporary exam with the answers highlighted in yellow. The whole system was being abused and it was a difficult chore for MP to do what the legislature had asked of them. Proctored exams were part of the solution.

In other states (e.g. FL, MD) they have fewer lakes than NH and more "ocean boaters" who tend to be more serious about their boating and thus better self educated, certificates notwithstanding. MP has told me that our seacoast boaters are similarly better educated than those who are strictly inland.

[P-3 Guy]

Originally Posted by NoBozo

Why not just follow the law...

Which law isn't being followed?