On Sun, 14 Mar 2004 12:10:14 -0500, Gerry Wolfe
wrote:

On Sun, 14 Mar 2004 05:56:07 GMT, "O:P\)" wrote:

I am playing with the idea of a boat. I'm new to boating. What would you
folks recommend, power or sail? Do I need extra skills for sail boats? One
more question, do I need a license? and if yes, where do I get it? I'm in
Toronto.

1. Check out the basic / intro course at a local Power Squadron.
Canadian Yachting Assoc also has certification & courses from intro
thru offshore passagemaking.
2. In Toronto, you require an "operator's permit" for any motorized
boat within the downtown area (basically from Bluffer's Park to Humber
River, within a couple miles of shore). Testing is on basic
rules-of-the-road and a short practical test (back off the dock, pick
up a life-jacket, c'mon back). Marine police check pretty regularly
within the inner harbour (if you've got a powerboat especially).
3. I think you also need a Coast Guard licence. At one time, if you
had the Toronto Port Authority "operator's permit" you could also get
the CG one without further testing; maybe even vice-versa.

Depending on vessel size and engine power, you may need a Pleasure
Craft Operator's Certificate (PCOC) - any everyone will need a PCOC by
2009, so you may as well get one now - it is included in the Power
Squadron Basic course.

4. If your boat has a VHF radio (pretty well a necessity) you need a
"base station" permit and an "operator's permit".

Dunno what a "base station" permit is - in Canada we no longer require
a station license as long as we remain in Canada or the US, but we do
require an operator's certificate (Restricted Radiotelephone
Operator's Certificate(Marine)) - this is now issued through CPS.


--
Peter Bennett, VE7CEI
peterbb (at) interchange.ubc.ca
new newsgroup users info : http://vancouver-webpages.com/nnq
GPS and NMEA info: http://vancouver-webpages.com/peter
Vancouver Power Squadron: http://vancouver.powersquadron.ca

My own opinion FWIW .... You don't necessarily need "extra" skills for
sail, versus power, as much as you need "different" skills.
For many, the skills you need for sail, are less familiar on a daily
basis than the skills you need for power, so are more easily picked up
when handling a power boat.
Many will differ with this assessment, and that's OK. because in the end
you may realize that it's going to be up to you to decides as to which
is best for you.

otn