Who Captains the Ship?

efollis · **Posted:** Thu Jul 23, 2015 8:44 am

A recent post about the boat not starting because it was not in neutral got me to thinking about who operates the boat and often has knowledge about the vessel.
In Ontario, there are Operator Card requirements for boaters, but beyond this legal requirement, it is practical to have all regulars of a certain age on the boat know how to operate it in case of an emergency.

Just wondering who operates your boat and how they learned?

weather · **Posted:** Thu Jul 23, 2015 10:04 am

I'm the only operator on our boat, but I've taught my wife how to start and drive the boat back to the marina, and also how to use the VHF to call for help. She has no interest in attempting docking, but I figure if she can at least get us back to the marina, someone can come on board to help. I've been trying to get her to at least take her PCOC test, but no luck yet.

Toddely · **Posted:** Thu Jul 23, 2015 10:12 am

Great Question, I operate our boat 99% of the time, My wife will take it off the trailer and load it back on , other then that she loves to just sit back and relax. As for me , my family always had a boat so I learned by watching and slowly trying this and that , with my father standing over me. The boat i have now is actually my very first boat that I personally owned. Pretty simple set up and rather easy to load and unload and dock. I made all of our kids take the boater safety course online. Therefore I got to sit down with each one and go over the videos, we also take them out and show them on open water. Its also amazing how often they change things so I would recommend reviewing the course every couple of years. Just a little insight on how I learned and sharing it with my children.

GottWhat · **Posted:** Thu Jul 23, 2015 10:24 am

I captain 90% of the time. Especially with the more difficult stuff like docking, heavy traffic, choppy conditions, etc. However, I do like when my wife takes the wheel as I get to hang out in the bow of the boat with my little dudes (7 & almost 4).

Here is my 7 year old, Bobby, getting his hair blasted going ~30 MPH.

acguy · **Posted:** Thu Jul 23, 2015 9:13 pm

I operated the boat most of the time but on Cassio. My wife will take the helm. She has docked the boat but never stern in. I have also let my 8yr old daughter take the helm with navigating the 10mph area as long as there is no boat traffic and always stay at the helm. I think it's important to start them young and have them gain some confidence and learn how to properly operate a vessel. I have not let my 6yr old so take the helm yet, he worries me but he does ok with the tender.

CaptainADK · **Posted:** Tue Jul 28, 2015 8:02 pm

That thread about starting in neutral was mine. We have the entire family driving the boat. Two boys, 13 and 12, plus my wife. We all took (and passed) the eight-hour USCG Aux boating course so the kids can now legally drive in New York State (minimum age is 10, but requires someone 18 or over in the boat).

We're all new at operating a motor boat so we all learn from each other's mistakes and triumphs. Not starting in neutral was my contribution to the mistake column.

www.iFourWinns.com

Who Captains the Ship?

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