Yeah, that guy was a trip.
When he ran aground he could not tell the insurance company, so he shelled out $8K for new props under the table.
The boat was brand new but never commisioned right.
Lots of fancy stuff and electronic toys, but it didn't work or was hooked up wrong.
Before we left the dock for a trip to the Keys, I went to West Marine and bought a handheld Garmin GPS and a handheld ICOM VHF so we could navigate and communicate if everything else failed.
Thread-creep, sorry.
As for the original question, when is a captain's licence required.?
As stated above, ya can drive your own boat up to 199 tons without a ticket.
That is tonnage, not displacement.
Some guys move a door or a bulk-head to decrease the tonnage and sneak below the limit.
Some of those owners/operators of big boats do an out-standing job of driving, maneuvering and managing the vessel, but many others don't.
After all, the only qualification for driving those things are a line of credit.
No common sense required and it shows occasionally here in Ft. Lauderdale and the surrounding area:
Spectacular groundings, fast driving close to slower vessels with serious wake and potential damage, shaky dockings, sloppy radio work, etc, etc.
Not a pretty picture, but the marine industry certainly benefit and they lobby hard to keep the rules the way they are.
Some countries in Europe requires a licence (albeit not commercial) for anybody operating a private boat over 40 feet.
Take a course, write an exam, demonstrate proficiency in maneuvering and so on.
Don't think we will ever see that around here, so in the meantime, the insurance companies set the rules.
Good for job-security...
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