Paul Szmal: FLX Morning continues at 8.16. Happens to be National Safe Boating Week this week, and that means that Ira Goldman is in the house with us to talk about safe boating and some changes that have happened in the course of the past year. Ira, good morning. Good to have you back, sir.
Ira Goldman: Good morning, Paul. Good to see you. You're right. It is National Safe Boating Week. There's a number of events that are happening supported by the Coast Guard, the National Safe Boating Council, America's Boating Club, and a number of others. And one of the things that's finally in full effect this year is something called Brianna's Law that means all motorboat operators in New York State must have a safe boating certificate that says they have passed a safe boating course. And this course is pretty common around the country. It's authorized by an organization called the National Association of Boating Law Administrators. So if you've passed it in one state, it's good in New York. But if you're operating a motorboat this year, you must have that certificate.
There's a number of ways you can get it. The America's Boating Club, which I'm the education officer for in this area, offers that course, as does the Coast Guard Auxiliary. The New York State has its own course, which the sheriffs and a number of organizations offer. So the way you find those is you can go to the AmericasBoatingCourse.com. And you'll see in this listening area in Auburn, Ithaca, and Watkins Glen are chapters that put on courses. A little further away in Rochester and Syracuse, there are courses in May and June. And as I say, you can find all those on AmericasBoatingCourse.com. So if you go to the New York State Parks and Recreation website and look for boating education, you'll see you can put in your zip code and you can find a list of all of the courses being offered by people that teach it and where it is.
We do know that in this area, the Finger Lakes Boating Museum in Hammonsport and the Saunders Finger Lakes Museum in Grantport have courses just about every month. And this is one of those things that the boat patrols are going to be checking on.
Paul Szmal: That's correct. They will be checking, probably a spot check, which they do on the water and at boat ramps for required safety information. If you don't have it, there's a $250 fine. The assumption is that you'll just get a warning now, but you might be prevented from launching your boat. The good news is one of the options that you can find on the New York State Parks and Recreation website is online courses. And those can be completed in as little as three hours. So there's really no reason not to have it. I would certainly recommend that you take an in-person course like the America's Boating Course because it covers other things like knots and piloting and things that might be more important. But you can meet the requirements with an online course. It just has to be one of those approved by New York State.
We're talking about safe boating with Ira Goldman here this morning on FLX Morning. I am amazed when I am out on the water, and this is even up at my in-laws' camp up in Clear Lake in Canada, I'm amazed at the number of people that are operating boats without life jackets on, which is not how I was brought up. Well, certainly not how, you know, we have been teaching our kids and other things.
Ira Goldman: In 2024, New York State, nine people drowned by drowning in connection with boating accidents. Six of those people were not wearing a life jacket. So particularly with the advent of inflatable life jackets, which were approved for anyone who's 12 years old or older, there's really no reason not to wear some type of a life jacket. And the requirements, the law says you must have a life jacket on board for every person on board. If you're under 12, it has to be a regular life jacket, not an inflatable. Inflatables count, but in order for them to count, you must wear them. So if you get stopped for an inspection and you say, yeah, I got three inflatables sitting in the bin here, that doesn't count. If it's a regular life jacket in the bin, it does count, but once again, much smarter to wear it. And as I said, anyone under 12 must wear a life jacket when they're on a small boat.
Paul Szmal: We're getting to the point now, Ira, where people are starting to get the boats in the water. Of course, Memorial Day weekend is kind of the unofficial starting of summer for a lot of people. That means the start of boating season. And one thing that you always encourage is to brush up on your basics, especially from a safety standpoint.
Ira Goldman: Well, that's correct. And one of the most important things is to be aware of the safety rules for a gasoline-operated boat. You know, we've gotten very complacent with self-service gas pumps for cars and things, so we don't realize the danger. Gasoline is heavier than air, and a boat doesn't have a hole in the bottom like a car does where the fumes can just spread out. So if you have a gas leak on a boat, it gathers in the bilge, and as soon as it finds a spark, the boat blows up. So the rule is, if a boat was built since about 1970, it must have a bilge blower on it that ventilates the engine compartment if it's an inboard boat. You must run that for four or five minutes. And then what we always recommend is put your nose next to that vent, or if you have a smaller boat, open the engine compartment and smell before you turn that key. Your nose is a very powerful detector.
Paul Szmal: Most definitely. Most definitely. It's certainly important. Also, too, one of the things that people may miss the mark on when they're getting ready for the season is actually starting up the boat after it's been in winter storage.
Ira Goldman: Well, that's correct, and it's always good to look. You never know when a varmint has gotten in there and chewed on hoses, wires, things like that. If it was stored outside, the possibility of water got where it shouldn't, and ice has created a problem. Of course, the traditional reminder, if you have a trailerable boat with a drain plug, put the plug in before you put the boat in the water.
Paul Szmal: Oh, definitely. Definitely. Some of those basics. And then the last thing to keep in mind as you get started is, while it is not illegal to have an open container of beer or alcohol on a boat, it is illegal to operate under the influence. So we certainly recommend that you have a designated operator or wait to have your beer until you get back ashore. Now that we have to deal with the fact that marijuana is legal, too, that's another thing.
Ira Goldman: Absolutely. You can't be driving a boat after you've had that kind of an intake.
Paul Szmal: That's correct. And one of the other things, too, I think is always a good reminder at the start of a boating season is to check the safety equipment that you have on your boat to make sure that stuff hasn't expired.
Ira Goldman: That's correct. And one of the things that changed in the last couple of years is there's now an expiration date on fire extinguishers. And on the bottom of a fire extinguisher, there should be a date code. If that date is 12 years or more than 12 years ago, you need to replace the fire extinguisher. If there is no date on it, by definition, it's more than 12 years old. Now this applies to non-serviceable fire extinguishers. If you have a system which can be recharged and checked by a service station, that rule doesn't apply. This is for the one-time use fire extinguishers.
The other thing is distress signals. If you're out at night, you must have either flares, traditionally, or now, there are LED signal lights that are approved by the Coast Guard. Not every light is, but if you have one that's approved, certainly in a small boat, that is a much safer thing to have than to use an incendiary flare.
Paul Szmal: Well, if you have some sort of emergency on board, the last thing you need is a burning flare in your hand.
Ira Goldman: Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. And finally, the Coast Guard Auxiliary and the America's Boating Club both do complimentary vessel safety checks that go through all of this equipment. You can go to the americasboatingclub.org website, look for, find a vessel safety check. It'll take you to the Coast Guard Auxiliary site. You put in your zip code, and then it'll be sent out to a number of people in the area that do those checks, and they can be done with the boat in the water or on land. It doesn't have to be in the water to do that check.
Paul Szmal: All right. Well, Ira, thank you for the information, as always, sir. Much appreciated to have you here, and we'll talk to you again a little bit before July and talk about boating courtesy on the water.
Ira Goldman: Thank you, Paul. All right. That's Ira Goldman joining us here on FLX Morning. It is 826.
