[Rhodes22-list] Connecticut outlaws sailing

[The Rhodes 22 Email List]

Alex,

With regard with how all of this affects trailer sailors (i.e. people who tailer their boats to other states), there are some interesting wrinkles in the boater education requirements.

To operate a vessel in Connecticut you need to have passed the test if A) you are a resident of CT, or B) you own property in CT, or C) the boat you are using is registered in CT.  Otherwise, the need for a certificate does not apply.  I have no idea if other states have similar rules.

In addition, they say they have reciprocity agreements with several neighboring states.  So your Massachusetts Safe Boating Card will be recognized in Connecticut.  But I can’t make much sense of this since according to the rules above, if you’re from Massachusetts you don’t need a Safe Boating Card at all in Connecticut.

You kind of get the feeling that states are still working this out.  Perhaps eventually there will be boating licenses that work a lot like drivers licenses.

Peter Nyberg
Coventry, CT
No Boat Yet

> On Feb 24, 2016, at 3:10 PM, The Rhodes 22 Email List <rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org> wrote:
> 
> Peter. 
> I am grandfathered in for Ohio and there is a 10 HP threshold anyway.   Does anybody know how state rules affect trailer sailors?   I know I'm okay for Kentucky but this might limit our destinations.   Just for fun I took the Boat US Foundation free online class.   Its accredited for my state and KY.   Much of it was pud, but I learned a few things.   Gray water from my sink is a problem in OH and KY, except on Erie.   (I was thinking of adding a T, valves, and connecting with the marine head.   Any thoughts regarding the head pump?)   I had just stuck camp soap on the shelf, but that isn't legal.  I'm not used to navigation aids, especially on rivers, so that section was very helpful for me.    
> Regarding the rules you describe....I don't recall that section in my online course.    (too much Rum?)   No way to keep the Buccaneer 18 upright in a breeze without riding on the gunnel, using the hiking strap and heaving most of my bulk overboard.   I'm imagining some idiot officer arguing with the dude bounding over his 420 in a trapeze.  I really hope the officer has a body camera so we can watch that confrontation.   There is a solid argument that there are no passengers on small sailboats.   Everybody is rail meat.    Has Connecticut decreed that crew are not allowed to perform their duty to preserve the vessel?   "Officer.  She was trying to plane and the cockpit scupper was pulling water.   I had to stick the girl on the foredeck."   Alternately: "I was on port tack, she was looking out for boats hidden by the jib.    That bikini is standard uniform for my foredeck crew.   She had to lay down to reduce windage.   Suntan lotion was recommended equipment in the safety !
> course."
> As in business, many rules are written by idiots that have neither clue nor clew.  They are either not enforced by those that do, or used by those without to annoy the remainder.   Some DNR in the midwest don't even know the mast has to come down to trailer!    Aside from checking the sticker date they have left me alone, perhaps afraid I know more then they do.   The only exception was when some do gooder called 911 on me after a turtle.   Indiana DNR showed up a couple hours later, after I swam the boat half a mile to shore, righted it, and bailed it.   They required me to accept a tow and gave me a safety inspection.    I had my flashlight (Bucc 18) and was just waiting for the wind to die at sunset.   They had to call headquarters to check on the flashlight rule. They also refused to wait for the dog to come back, I was finally able to rescue him a couple days later.  Buzzards.      
> Alex Cole 
>