Rental w/a driver?

[GrandmaBig6]

We are leaving for the lake on Saturday morning and I just had a thought.

I would love to show my nephew, 19, from Arizona, the lake and maybe have him tube a little bit as this is the first time up to NH, but we don't have a boat or a lic. Do the boat rental places have people who would drive the boat for us if we rented one? Would only need it for a couple of hours.

Thanks for your help, can't wait to get there.

[GWC...]

Your ticket to ride awaits...

http://www.jpboating.com/charters.htm

[webmaster]

Anchor Marine at Weirs Beach has commercially licensed drivers available with their boat rentals for only $20/hr. additional. For more information click here.

[Airwaves]

Webmaster:

When you say the drivers are "commercially" licensed, do you mean they hold a commercial license from the State of NH, which is certainly legally all they need to hold, or do they hold a USCG "6 pack" License?

There is a difference and if I were going to hire a "skipper" I'd want to know.

[WeirsBeachBoater]

But I would take a NH Lic and local knowledge over a CG 6pk and no experience on the lake.

[Airwaves]

WeirsBeachBoater wrote:

But I would take a NH Lic and local knowledge over a CG 6pk and no experience on the lake

If that were how NH awarded their commercial licenses I would agree with you, but it is not (at least according to a thread on this forum).

Anyone can apply for, and be granted, a NH commercial license after taking a test that I am told is not unlike the boating certificate test. No boating experience necessary.

With a USCG Masters license you need to PROVE the number of hours you have of prior boating experience before you can even take the test, among other differences.

Yes, local knowledge is good, but under NH rules, NOT REQUIRED!

So, do I want to trust my children, grandchilden, wife and family to someone who has been tested by NH who may not have ever stepped foot on a boat prior to my renting it, or do I want an experienced Master?

BTW, from what I read on another thread of this forum, NH requires even folks with USGC Master's licenses (6 pack and above) to pass their commercial test.

So, do you want a kid whose first time on a boat is with your family, or do you want an experienced skipper? Maybe it's just me, but experience is the way I'd go!

[webmaster]

Originally Posted by Airwaves

Webmaster:

When you say the drivers are "commercially" licensed, do you mean they hold a commercial license from the State of NH, which is certainly legally all they need to hold, or do they hold a USCG "6 pack" License?

There is a difference and if I were going to hire a "skipper" I'd want to know.

I should have put quotes around "commercially licensed drivers" since I took that term directly from the Anchor Marine web site.

If you contact Bob Andrews at Anchor Marine I'm sure he'd be glad to give you more details about the qualifications of his drivers.

What I do know from my relationship with them is that the service has been very popular this year.

[Airwaves]

I only want to point out the difference between what is accepted in NH as a "Commercially Licenced Driver" and a US Coast Guard licensed "Master".

Why am I harping on this?

Just for laughs I decided to look at whether I was "qualified" to apply for a USGC Master's license or not.

I have owned a boat for more than 20 years, as some of you know I am a member of the USGC Auxiliary and I have been a qualified member of the USCGAux for 18 years.

Based on the requirements of the USCG, I would be hard pressed to be able to PROVE that I have the boating experience needed to take the test for a Masters license! Not to pass the test, just to take it!

In NH, no experience on the water is required,

So when a firm that rents/leases/charters boats on Winni says they have commercially licensed personell, I want to know if they are really experienced and licensed by the US Coast Guard, or do they just have a NH license that does not require any experience.

[WeirsBeachBoater]

However I take exception, because you seem to catergorize everyone without a CG license as inexperienced. That doesn''t sit well with me.

[jrc]

A USCG license requires at least 90 days of coastwise or ocean operation (salt water!). So it is very possible to be a lifelong Winni boater with no hope of obtaining a USCG license.

[Airwaves]

Actually I don't mean to categorize all folks with only NH Commercial licenses as inexperienced.

My issue is with the fact that an inexperienced boater, or someone who has never set foot on a boat, can obtain a commercial boating license in NH. Because of that flaw in the NH licensing process I am suspect of a NH commercial boating license holder's knowledge and ability.

If NH tightened its requirements to exclude folks with little or no experience then I'd be a lot more comfortable with the process.

I remember some charters on Winni (Patrick's comes to mind when they did this) advertized the fact that their captains were USCG licensed. Back then (pre-forum days) I just assumed it was a marketing gimmic.

[GrandmaBig6]

Thanks for all your helpful posts. I'll give these places a jingle and hope they are available at this last date.

See you soon.

Mary

[Skip]

It is interesting that it is believed that an individual with a USCG (OUPV) license is somehow more experienced than an operator holding a NH issued commercial license.

You can obtain the OUPV license by shelling out about a thousand dollars and a week of your time to a variety of private entities and a number of local community colleges. You enroll in their OUPV course and receive your license upon successful completion of their course, no test before the CG is necessary.

And the log you need submit to the CG (along with completion of the necessary first aid course, three letters of recommendation and the fee) to obtain your license, along with your diploma? That log is filled out by you!

So it is just as possible that an individual can take the CG approved course, create his own log (no verification is required or done by the CG) and get his license without ever stepping foot in a boat, as it is likely that someone would do so in obtaining the NH license!

In reality, the Marina in question is a reputable business. When they employ an individual to act as a captain on thier behalf, do we really believe that they have employed an individual with absolutely no experience, given their level of liability exposure in such a business venture?

I don't think so.....

By the way, if anyone does not believe it is that easy to obtain an OUPV license, e-mail me off-line. I will be happy to relate to you the sad story of a weekend "captain" on the seacoast that did indeed do so, and quickly went out of business in part due to the constant damage he inflicted to his tour boat by running it aground on inland coastal waters he claimed to have logged his hours in.

I won't embarass him by posting the tale publicly, but I was shocked at how easy it was for him & his partner to secure the CG approved OUPV certification!

Skip

[GWC...]

Originally Posted by Airwaves

I remember some charters on Winni (Patrick's comes to mind when they did this) advertized the fact that their captains were USCG licensed. Back then (pre-forum days) I just assumed it was a marketing gimmic.

Four birds with one stone...

Capt Powell is both USCG certified and local knowledgeable. Her rates are reasonable and her vessel adequate for a memorable Lake experience.

http://www.jpboating.com/about.htm

http://www.jpboating.com/charters.htm

[Airwaves]

Skip
You raise some very valid points. However the CG does require experience, if an applicant decided to "embelish" his/her experience in order to meet the minimum experience requirment that would be called fraud.

Again, my point is NO MINIMUM REQUIREMENT is needed in NH. Want a commercial license? Bring your $2 and take the test.

To get what is commonly still called a "6 Pack" license requires experience. Yes you keep the log yourself. In NH, No Experience Required! You said yourself in your example, the person who "embelished" his/her record of experience soon went out of business.

As an example, on this very forum there was the following question posted elsewhere under the heading Commercial boater's licence

Hey guys, I was wondering where I could get education and obtain a commercial boater's licence. I would like to have it soon. Any information would be great! Thanks,

then after a few responses...

thanks everybody. My boss runs a rental boat company and he was looking into having me get a commercial license so that if people wanted someone else to drive or take them water skiing I could do it. Thanks for the info.!

The second part of his response is certainly telling! So how confident would you be in trusting your kids to the "rental boat company" that the poster is referring to? It certainly appears this "rental boat company" isn't hiring experienced or licensed boat drivers.

It's just amazing to me that some folks are defending a system that allows people with no experience on the ocean, no experience on Winnipesaukee, no experience in the bathtub with a toy boat, no experience on water of any type to get a commercial boating license and take passengers for hire out on the water. If the state were to to change the regulation and require experience on the water then I wouldn't have any problem with the NH Commercial Boating License.

[Will]

I think you folks are mistaken. There is a big difference between captains licenses. For instance, there is 25ton, 50 ton, 100 ton, 500ton, etc etc. A traditional masters license is 100 and up. When I took my test it was 360 Ocean hours, a week of sea school, and a 1400 question test. Not to mention the Towing End. and the transatlantic end. Believe me, you can not fudge your records because the Coast Guard now requires that your sea hours be signed off by a captain. They will call and check, they did it to me. Luckily all my hours were legit so no problem, but it is a crime to b.s. the hours. Also we were drug tested and are also tested every 6 months. If you get an OUI on land your license is also stripped from you. You have to understand that the test of 1400 questions alone, is enough to be that much more intense then the marine patrol test. I'm not looking for an argument here but, take any person that has taken the marine patrol test and have them take the captains exam. See how many of them pass. I know that I had to go through chapmans piloting about 7 times front to back. For the marine patrol exam you read a brochure. Its not the same by any means.

Cheers,
Will

[Skip]

Originally Posted by Will

...I think you folks are mistaken. There is a big difference between captains licenses. For instance, there is 25ton, 50 ton, 100 ton, 500ton, etc etc...

Will,

We were discussing the Coast Guard approved OUPV (six-pack) license and comparing it to the NH commercial license, not the 25 ton and above CG licenses you are referencing. There are no comparisons between the tonnage licenses you reference and the two licenses under discussion in this particular thread.

Skip

[Will]

Thats what I was trying to say except everyone kept referring to masters licenses which are 25 and up. a six pack is still quite a bit more involved then the marine patrol license but it is not anywhere near a 100 ton.

[Outlaw]

Originally Posted by GWC...

Four birds with one stone...

Capt Powell is both USCG certified and local knowledgeable. Her rates are reasonable and her vessel adequate for a memorable Lake experience.

http://www.jpboating.com/about.htm

http://www.jpboating.com/charters.htm

I echo GWC 150%, plus if you have anyone who wants to be married she is also a Justice of the Peace (Capt JP is a JP ). She has first hand knowledge of the lake and the local area and as GWC said, she is a USCG certified Captain. She can tailor your tour for you - just let her know what you would like to accomplish and she will help you set your plan into motion.