In .uk at least, and probably in most of the civilised world, you
need a qualified master on anything over 23 metres long.
The manning and qualifications required increase with length and weight.

Thanks Chris, this is why I qualified my answer to only within the US.

Personally, I think the "Yachtmaster" certification program in the UK is a
great idea and a number of states are (or were) considering legislation
requiring some sort of training and testing of all yacht operators. There
was some momentum for this a number of years ago, but I haven't heard much
about it since.

But for now, we remain "uncivilized" ;-)

All the best to our friends on the other side of the "ditch".

--
Paul

=-----------------------------------=
renewontime dot com
FREE email reminder service for licensed mariners
http://www.renewontime.com
=-----------------------------------=