In NJ you need a boaters safety class to operate anything. We boat mostly in the bay or the ocean which is much different from lake boating. It's a lot easier than lake boating, IMO, unless you hit bad weather or your engine stalls and you get sucked into a bridge vortex or a tug boat ignores all the rules and stakes the law of gross-tonage...oh I digress...But to operate in the lakes in NJ, you need a full license. I didn't understand why until I took the boat out on Winnipesaukee thinking it'd be eazy-peazy, and I felt like I'd never been boating before. I don't think it's a place for newbies to just rent and go. And I do think you need some sort of advanced course. Ok, maybe I'm a big chicken and I'm overly cautious and where the hell did those witches come from, but it's not that easy.
I was never this much of a wimp until I had kids.
