Dave wrote:

On the contrary. I told anyone who was interested what a waste it was to
spend 8 hours listening to somebody tell me some small portion of what I'd
learned about boating over the last 40 years. I have better things to spend
my time on. The only reason for sitting through the course was that I didn't
want to take a day off to drive to the one place in CT where one had to go
to test out of the requirement. And I don't recall hearing a single thing in
the course that I didn't already know.

You're missing the point entirely. Licensing has little to do with
safety and everything to do with a chain of "accountability" in the
event of an accident. It isn't about "corrupt politicians" out to get
your money...good god what drivel -I know- you didn't write that. It's
about the insurance companies! Who has to pay when someone gets
injured/killed/sued. No license=No insurance=personal liability