America's Boating Course - ABC 3   Dates have changed!

Date: Tuesdays, April 12 to May 10, 2022. 4 sessions plus the test.

Time: 6:45pm to 9:00pm

Where: On ZOOM, login information provided after registration.

Materials: ABC Boating Course Book

Cost: $10.00 for Non Members and Members - Free

Instructors: 1st/Lt Patrick McGeehan, P and Stf/C Michael Maszczenski, N

Register for this course:  Register Here

Everyone born after July 1972 needs the Boating Safety Course card to legally operate a recreation vessel in Maryland waters. Great family course! After passing the test with an 80% or higher, you are awarded the card verifying that you have passed the course and can legally operate a recreational vessel in Maryland.

Course Description: The basic boating knowledge topics include:

• Introduction to Boating: types of boats - power, sail, outboards, paddle boats, and houseboats. Also, different uses of boats, various power boating engines, jet drives, and family boating basics.
  

• Boating Law: boat registration, boating regulation, hull identification number, required boat safety equipment, operating safely and reporting accident, protecting the marine environment, Federal boat law, state boating law, personal watercraft requirements.
  

• Boat Safety Equipment: personal flotation devices (life jackets), fire extinguishers, sound-producing devices, visual distress signals, dock lines and rope, first aid kit, anchors and anchor lines, and other boating safety equipment.
  

• Safe Boating: bow riding, alcohol and drug abuse, entering, loading, and trimming a boat, fueling portable and permanent tanks, steering with a tiller and a wheel, docking, undocking and mooring, knots, filing a float plan, checking equipment, fuel, weather and tides, using charts, choosing and using an anchor, safe PWC handling, and general water safety.
  

• Navigation: the U.S. Aids to Navigation system - types of buoys and beacons, navigation rules (sometimes referred to as right-of-way rules), avoiding collisions, sound signals, PWC "tunnel vision."
  

• Boating Problems: hypothermia, boating accidents and rescues, man overboard recovery, capsizing, running aground, river hazards, strainers: emergency radio calls, engine problems, equipment failures, carbon monoxide (CO), other boating and PWC problems.
  

• Trailering, Storing and Protecting Your Boat: types of trailers, trailer brakes, lights, hitches, tires, and bearings, loading, balancing, and towing (and backing) a trailer, boat launching and retrieving, boat storage and theft protection, launching, retrieving and storing a PWC.
  

• Hunting and Fishing, Water-Skiing and River Boating: carrying hunting gear and weapons in a boat, fishing from a boat, water-skiing safety guidelines and hand signals, water-skiing with a PWC, navigating rivers, and other boating tips.
  

Date: Tuesdays, January 25 to March 8, 2022. Seven sessions.

Cancelled