cheapest place/way to get boat operators licence?

[mikebossy]

Need to get operators baloney licence, want to pay least possible, any suggestions, discount codes???

thanx

Mike

[tonypower]

I did the course on sunday. The book came with a coupon for ten bucks off. Its yours if you want it.

[TROLLER]

Originally Posted by mikebossy

Need to get operators baloney licence, want to pay least possible, any suggestions, discount codes???

thanx

Mike

It's not a baloney or otherwise license. It is a license that enables you to drive a watercraft and know the safety rules that apply.

Did you try and pay least possible for your drivers license, or PAL if you have one?

Me thinks not. you can get the manual for free at any license issuer and take the test on line or at bass pro they always have someone set up there.

[Guitarplayingfish]

It is government regulated.. Expect to pay the same price everyone else does (unless a friend gives you a coupon which they occasionally hand out)... Just like fishing licenses, they are the same price through-out the entire province..

[Whiteysonly]

Originally Posted by TROLLER

It's not a baloney or otherwise license. It is a license that enables you to drive a watercraft and know the safety rules that apply.

Did you try and pay least possible for your drivers license, or PAL if you have one?

Me thinks not. you can get the manual for free at any license issuer and take the test on line or at bass pro they always have someone set up there.

Actually it's 12$ at the registry. And it is a bull**** course cash grab, anyone can do the test if you think a little bit pick the "safest" answer

[mikebossy]

Troller, you believe in the National Gun Registry as well???
give me a break, they came up with this cash grab only after a bunch of drunk/and/or/stupid jetski operators ran into each other playing chicken

[Alberta_bassman]

just another way 4 gov to make money ...

[Gus]

Originally Posted by TROLLER

It's not a baloney or otherwise license. It is a license that enables you to drive a watercraft and know the safety rules that apply.

Did you try and pay least possible for your drivers license, or PAL if you have one?

Me thinks not. you can get the manual for free at any license issuer and take the test on line or at bass pro they always have someone set up there.

It is baloney. When you get a license to drive your car someone actually watches to see if you can drive a car. The boating license is nothing like that and having your license does not mean you actually have any competence on the water. Most of my exam was about ocean signage and marine signals, nothing that me and my little 12' tin boat will ever see in Alberta. I'm all for people being educated and competent to operate their boat... but the boat safety license is not the answer to that.

I googled boat smart discount code and found a discount code for 40% off. That was a few years ago though.

Does anyone know of anyone that has been charged in Alberta for not having their license? I have never been checked for mine and I spend a lot of time on the water.

[Bush]

I learned some things that I never thought were standard rules of the water.

I think the course is a real bennifit for all waters!!

Horn signals, right of ways, proper anchoring. I'm not saying I would be lost without the knowledge but it sure makes fishing more relaxing to know that the other people sharing the body of water are all following the same rules and not just hand me down knowledge or no idea at all.

[Clgy_Dave2.0]

Originally Posted by TROLLER

It's not a baloney or otherwise license. It is a license that enables you to drive a watercraft and know the safety rules that apply.

Did you try and pay least possible for your drivers license, or PAL if you have one?

Me thinks not. you can get the manual for free at any license issuer and take the test on line or at bass pro they always have someone set up there.

Sorry..have to disagree with you there. I would much rather have to pass an actual boaters test, both written and practical, (like a drivers license) and get an actual "license", and pay a decent amount, than the current "baloney" system.

Why? Here's why:

I can get a huge fine if I float back up to the dock in my 11' inflatable boat and electric trolling motor in a lake less than 100 feet wide, without my "boaters card". Meanwhile an 18 year old kid can rent a speedboat and fly around Shuswap lake at over 60 miles an hour with no more experience than three minutes answering 20 questions from a boat rental place.

Pulease.....biggest joke out there.

[Gus]

Originally Posted by Calgary Dave

Sorry..have to disagree with you there. I would much rather have to pass an actual boaters test, both written and practical, (like a drivers license) and get an actual "license", and pay a decent amount, than the current "baloney" system.

Why? Here's why:

I can get a huge fine if I float back up to the dock in my 11' inflatable boat and electric trolling motor in a lake less than 100 feet wide, without my "boaters card". Meanwhile an 18 year old kid can rent a speedboat and fly around Shuswap lake at over 60 miles an hour with no more experience than three minutes answering 20 questions from a boat rental place.

Pulease.....biggest joke out there.

Exactly! the system makes no sense. Could you imagine renting a car with out a licence, only the rental guy giving you a five minute lecture on how a car works and the rules of the road? Its absurd.

[Lefty-Canuck]

I got my card many years ago....I was just at BPS the other day walked by the tent with the young cute gals....heard them say to a couple guys walking by, "Come take your boaters test! Pay once and take the test as many times as you want till you pass"....

That says it all.....its a bloody joke....

LC

[Tsimms]

It is a big joke .. But none the less we have to do it .. Go to boaterexam.com and use the following coupon codes .. 15% off ENG85EK. Or 10% off EMSP8 try em out .. You can use the code before you actually pay to see if it works .. If they dont work let me know I can get you more codes to try. Now if only we could pay more taxes life would be even better

[TROLLER]

Originally Posted by mikebossy

Troller, you believe in the National Gun Registry as well???
give me a break, they came up with this cash grab only after a bunch of drunk/and/or/stupid jetski operators ran into each other playing chicken

They came up with this in the late 90's I got mine in the early 2000's when you had to go to registry to take the exam.

and no I did not believe in the gun registry but I do believe in boat safety and if some of you young guys don't like it than tough **** grow up and deal with it.

[Lefty-Canuck]

I believe in boat safety too....but do you think being allowed to pay the money ONCE and take the test as many times as you have to to pass it is a good idea??

LC

[Gus]

Originally Posted by TROLLER

They came up with this in the late 90's I got mine in the early 2000's when you had to go to registry to take the exam.

and no I did not believe in the gun registry but I do believe in boat safety and if some of you young guys don't like it than tough **** grow up and deal with it.

This has nothing to do with age. Im glad you believe in boater safety as im sure so do 99% or more of the people on this forum do as well. The arguement is whether or not the boat licence does much to promote that. Most here seem to agree that it does not.

[Yéil]

Just got my operator's...did it online and it cost 49.00.

I did 20 plus years in the Navy and can drive everything from a Zodiac to an AOR. I had all my bridge and command quals, nav quals as well as weapons, engines, RASing and NATO and Non-NATO mooring quals. I've done SAR, diving and recovery as well. I've also sailed in the J and Maxi Class and have done 2 Whitbread (now Volvo Ocean Race), 3America's, 2 Rolex and 5 Fastnet races plus a zillion smaller races.

I still had to write the test... if you don't want to pay for the exam or write it, then learn to row a boat or get yourself a paddle pontoon. If you want to get underway with power, then suck it up, pay the cost of the exam and write the damn test. All this conspiracy theory about money grabs is just your sense of self entitlement coming though... The money grab is actually private industry and not the govt. Transport Canada doesn't get a dime from the course.

Deaths from boating accidents have been on the decline since the competency card was required. We've gone from over 800 deaths in 1991 down to 550 by 2005. Most of those death are attributed to not wearing a PFD/drowning.

[Lefty-Canuck]

My issue isn't the money, its not having to have the card, its not buying into the money grab arguement......my thing is the effectiveness of the education.....or lack of education.

Sure you have to take a test to get the card....but you don't have to know or retain diddly when it comes to safety or watercraft navigation.

The idea of paying once to take the test as many times till you pass sends the wrong message.

It trivializes the "education" aspect.....lots of guys who have boaters cards have no "education" or retention of information" when it comes to safety practices and navigation....

LC

[Yéil]

Originally Posted by Lefty-Canuck

My issue isn't the money, its not having to have the card, its not buying into the money grab arguement......my thing is the effectiveness of the education.....or lack of education.

Sure you have to take a test to get the card....but you don't have to know or retain diddly when it comes to safety or watercraft navigation.

The idea of paying once to take the test as many times till you pass sends the wrong message.

It trivializes the "education" aspect.....lots of guys who have boaters cards have no "education" or retention of information" when it comes to safety practices and navigation....

LC

And if you don't or can't be bothered to retain anything, then when you are pulled over or inspected and fail and ticketed because you forgot to do something, then there will be the lesson learned. You are afterall, responsible to at least be familiar with the Canada Shipping Act, ignorance of the law is still not an excuse even in a watercraft.

The test doesn't tell you which questions you got wrong, so if you fail you have to figure out which ones you got wrong to try and get right. You can only resit the test every 24 hours. After a second fail, you have to go back through the course material (3 hours) and try again.

There are folks out there that have failed the written portion of their driver's licence... they have the opportunity to rewrite the test after certain conditions are met... usually go home and study and pay again. I kind of like the idea that you only have to pay once for the boater's. At least by the time a dullard has finally passed, they may have actually learned something - if they had to pay again, they might fore go the card and just head out without one.

[Lefty-Canuck]

You are talking about the online test.....I am talking about the one you can take outside of BPS in the little white tents (with the young cute girls working them ) you could take the test repeatedly all day if you wanted to paying only once till you pass....I think you are missing my point.

I am all about the card and the education aspect.....getting the card just to have the card is what I think is a joke. Some of the testing booths are promoting that....NOT promoting the education and safety.

LC

[Yéil]

Originally Posted by Lefty-Canuck

You are talking about the online test.....I am talking about the one you can take outside of BPS in the little white tents (with the young cute girls working them ) you could take the test repeatedly all day if you wanted to paying only once till you pass....I think you are missing my point.

I am all about the card and the education aspect.....getting the card just to have the card is what I think is a joke. Some of the testing booths are promoting that....NOT promoting the education and safety.

LC

Then why don't you write to Transport Canada with your concerns about the on-site courses?

However, to get the card even at the on-site testing requires a pass of 38/50 questions. Which to me, means that the person getting even the bare minimum now has 38 pieces of information they may not have had before. If it takes the dullard 20 tries to get that amount of info... then so be it.. Most folks manage to get it in one or two tries.

[B-rett]

I have mixed feelings about this. I feel a boat should be the same as a quad. Don't need a license for quads, yet they can rip pretty fast, and if you take a spill on a quad at a decent speed you're gonna get hurt. So wear a helmet and dot be stupid. Yeah the information along with the boaters license test is good, but you're getting it to take to a lake for fishing it's pretty straight forward. Wear a life jacket, don't be stupid. Then again a lot of people are stupid now a days. But none of us complaining is gonna do anything, so I'll shut up!

[waterninja]

just talked to the boat exam people in ottawa ( ph#1-866-688-2628). no real cheaper way to get your lic except a 10.00 cupon(if you want to spend 3 hours class time).the simplest way is to buy (or borrow) the manual for 20.00 then walk in and challenge the test for 60.00. you can do this any day of the week in calgary at bass pro but nowhere in edmonton(except at the boat show). this info. is for computer illiterates like myself as it might be different online.
anyone out there willing to let me borrow their manual so i can study then challenge the next timei'm in calgary? i love a challenge that involves cute girls. thanks.

[maverick]

I wouldn't bother to much with studying for the challenge test. I did it at BPS without ever cracking a book and scored 100%. I get what guys are saying and of course boat safety is important but make the requirements for the card more substantial and force the average person to actually learn some boat safety and maybe our more congested lakes would be a safer place to boat.

[El Pescador]

I agree with having a license. Back in the early/mid nineties some friends and I were doing some underwater mapping for our divemaster course. We were in no more than 20' of water and had multiple buoys with dive flags and "DIVER BELOW" signs and our buoys were being used as a slalom course for yahoos on jet skis.

Some might say "so what? just swim to shore under water..." or similar but tell me what we "should have" done if one of us had a stuck inflater valve, burst hose, or other situation requiring emergency ascent only to be run down by uneducated idiot on a jet ski... At least with mandatory licensing they have to know what a dive flag looks like even if they can't read "DIVER BELOW" in English.

Thankfully our shore support had a video camera and the RCMP laid charges and issued tickets.

[Clgy_Dave2.0]

Troller and Yéil...respectfully, I still don't think you understand what our complaint is about regading the whole boater safety thing. You keep saying "tough, deal with it....if you want to boat you should have one.." etc, etc.

What most are complaining about (including myself) is that it's NOT STRINGENT ENOUGH!! It's not really teaching anyone to be safe, responsible boaters.
When a kid can just sit there and answer 20 questions in under 3 minutes, and be then "certified" to blast around a huge lake with a 240 HP 20 foot ski boat...HOW is that system promoting safe boating?? He doesn't even need to take or pass the test. Just answer the questions from the rental shop. He's now a "certified boater"!
When I can walk into Bass Pro and just keep writing it until I pass...how does that teach me to be a responsible boater?! That is supposed to now enable me to buy some huge 60 foot yacht and I can run around Sylvan Lake on a long weekend and I will somehow know what I'm doing?!!

If the gov't really wants to promote safe boating...make it mandatory to have a boating license exactly like a vehicle. Age 16 and up. Pass a written test. Then you still can't be a sole driver until you pass a practical test! I would be all for that kind of system.
But when the gov't just wants $50 from every person on a inflatable dinghy with a $99 trolling motor, and the only requirement is a joke of a test...Then that, my friend, is an example of just a "tax grab".

Also....do we really need to have a boating license for THIS?:

[mulie4x4]

If you take the online course at boaterexam.com does this include the test needed to get the license or do you still have to go to some registry place and write the test to get the license?

[mulie4x4]

Originally Posted by mikebossy

Need to get operators baloney licence, want to pay least possible, any suggestions, discount codes???

thanx

Mike

Just registered at boatsmartexam.com and used promo code TIBS 439 and got 15 dollars off ended up paying 36.70 with tax and this includes the final exam for the license.

[Smokey]

Originally Posted by Calgary Dave

Sorry..have to disagree with you there. I would much rather have to pass an actual boaters test, both written and practical, (like a drivers license) and get an actual "license", and pay a decent amount, than the current "baloney" system.

Why? Here's why:

I can get a huge fine if I float back up to the dock in my 11' inflatable boat and electric trolling motor in a lake less than 100 feet wide, without my "boaters card". Meanwhile an 18 year old kid can rent a speedboat and fly around Shuswap lake at over 60 miles an hour with no more experience than three minutes answering 20 questions from a boat rental place.

Pulease.....biggest joke out there.

I think you make a fair point. Tests a joke. Passed without studying. Took a the Ed Outdoorsman show. Its a tax grab, however I hope it stops punks from renting watercraft I hope. Just write the test online. Any test online is open book.

[pike_king780]

Originally Posted by mulie4x4

If you take the online course at boaterexam.com does this include the test needed to get the license or do you still have to go to some registry place and write the test to get the license?

boaterexam.com will get you the proper license required to operate watercraft ... so no you dont need to go to a regisry. your card will be mailed out to you in a few weeks after comleting the course online