Mandatory Safe Boating

General Information

The competency of Operators of Pleasure Craft Regulations require operators of pleasure craft fitted with a motor and used for recreational purposes to have proof of competency on board at all times.

Operator Competency Requirements

How this applies to operators of pleasure craft fitted with a motor and used for recreational purposes.**	Date of which proof of competency is required.
All operators born after April 1, 1983	Now
All operators of craft under 4m in length, including personal watercraft	Now
All Operators	September 15, 2009
* These requirements apply in areas outside the Northwest and Nunavut Territories at this time. **Applies to non-residents operating pleasure craft in Canadian waters after 45 consecutive days.

Age-Horsepower Restrictions

How this applies to operators of pleasure craft Power restrictions as of April 1, 1999 fitted with a motor and used for recreational purposes.

Under 12 years of age, and not directly Can operate a vessel with no more supervised.** than 10hp (7.5kW)

Between 12 years and under 16 years of Can operate a vessel with no more age, and not directly supervised.** than 40 hp (30kW)

Under 16 years of age. Not allowed to operate a personal watercraft.

16 years of age and over. No power restrictions.

Proof of competency can take 1 of 3 forms:

Proof of completion of a boating safety course prior to April 1, 1999;
A pleasure craft operator card from a Canadian Coast Guard accredited course provider following an exam;
A completed rental-boat safety checklist (for power-driven rental boats).

The operator card is good-for-life. Boaters can obtain their card after receiving a mark of at least 75% on a Canadian Coast Guard accredited exam, offered at a desiginated test center or through a classroom course. Professional mariners will see their qualification recognized.

The Test

The test that is accredited by the Canadian Coast Guard is 36 questions and is multiple choice. You must achieve a score of 27 correct answers (75%) in order to get your PCOC. The exam covers these four main areas of boating safety:

To be aware of acts, regulations, and code.
To respond to emergencies.
To act responsibly in the operation of pleasure craft.
To operate pleasure craft.

You will have a total of 45 minutes to complete the exam. Find the testing center nearest to you to take the exam. They will serve as your proctor. The exam is nonrefundable. Any additional attempt to pass the exam is an additional $30.00 CDN. You may only take one exam per calendar day.

Fail Policy

Classroom course - If you take the classroom course and fail, we will let you to take the class again for free one time including a re-test. We will schedule you into another class.

Challenge Exam - If you challenge the exam you will have to pay full price to retake the test. If you would like to take a classroom course we will offer it to you at half (1/2) price.

Payment Information

The prices listed on the different ways this course is offered includes the shipping and handling of your Pleasure Craft Operator Card. We accept VISA/MasterCard, money order, or personal cheques. Your credit card will be processed by our staff and you will receive notification of payment confirmation. We know you are concerned about security and privacy of your personal and payment information that you will need to submit on our site to obtain your PCOC. It is much safer to use your credit card on the Internet than in a restaurant or department store. We have taken every precaution to ensure the integrity of your Credit Card and personal information and we can assure you that your credit card information is 100% SECURE. Your credit card number is encrypted at the highest security currently available. When it is transmitted over a Secure Socket Layer (SSL) you can have confidence that it is a secure transmission. We are using a VeriSign Secure Server Digital ID from VeriSign that ensures integrity is maintained. Once we receve your information online, it is removed from the server so you can rest assured that the information is viewed by our staff and our staff only.

Refund Policy

Classroom courses - We will refund the full amount of the classroom course if cancelled with 14 days notice of the course date. If we have sent out the course material to you in the mail, we will refund the full amount minus $30.00 for the course book. Under 14 days notice, no refunds will be allowed. We will however schedule you into another class in your area free of charge. Basically, if you can not attend the course that you selected you can reschedule to another class for a period of one year.

Online and Correspondence - Refunds for these services will be handled on a issue by issue basis. Please call us if you have a concern.

Company Profile

Phone: (604) 313-1770

Fax: (604) 460-8646

lori@agonicmarine.com

Agonic Marine is a company incorporated in the province of British Columbia. The business is operated in the City of Pitt Meadows. The course "Mandatory Safe Boating" was developed by the President of Agonic Marine, Norm Doggett with input from other professional mariners and educational faculty. The course is accredited by the Canadian Coast Guard. Agonic Marine Inc. is involved in Safe Boating Course, Sportfishing and commercial boat moving.

The Group

Norm Doggett - President

Norm Doggett brings a life time of boating experience along with strong sense of business management and community involvement. His company, Agonic Marine Inc. is a company involved in many areas of the marine industry. Boating safety, boat hauling and sport fishing are the areas they do business in.

Norm has operated a sport fishing guiding service in the Barkley Sound area for the past 8 years. Seeing first hand the lack of boating safety training that the Canadian public posses is what motivated the development of the Mandatory Safe Boating course. "When your business is affected by the lack of knowledge some people have on the water, you want to do something" says Norm. "Many times I have witnessed close calls that should have been avoided with some education".

Lori Doggett - Operations Coordinator

Lori hails from the southern California area. Being an avid outdoors person, her love for the outdoors drove her to the Northwest. Finishing a university degree in California and coming from a family that ran a large company, Lori takes on the role of the operations coordinator. Helping in the development of the boating course and gaining valuable knowledge of the Canadian Coast Guard standard she is able to assist in all areas of the business.

Kristiina Thackray - Instructor

Growing up in northern Quebec and getting involved in lake boating as well as fishing, kayaking and canoeing as a youngster began Kristiina's interest in the water. She has been a boat owner with her husband James for 10 years. Successfully completing the Power Squadron Course in fall of 1992. She has a 28 foot power boat moored in a local Vancouver area marina. She is involved in all aspects of boating including navigating, driving, and maintenance of the boat. Spends time boating to places as far away as Pender Harbour and south to the San Juan Islands. She keeps up to date with the latest boating information and technology via magazines, books, videos, and the billion boating shows James makes her watch. Professionally Kristiina is a consultant and trainer and has been involved in the development of the classroom course.

Ian White - Instructor

Ian was born in Montreal and educated in B.C. During high school, he worked at a marina running the tender which took customers to their vessels. He had learned to handle boats while being around his cousins. After high school, he worked days driving a taxi in Vancouver while he attended night school to become a deep-sea radio operator. He was first certified as a radio operator in 1961. He went, instead into the Signal Corp (RCCS) and served 4 years. At the age of 25, he joined what was then B.C. Tel and stayed there for 30 years, 23 of which were in management. Since 1977, one of his hobbies has been boating, starting with a 16 foot and progressing to the current 32 foot cabin cruiser. He has taken the Canadian Power and Sail 'Basic Boaters Course' and 'Piloting Course'. His radio operating skills lead him to become an Industries Canada voluntary examiner for land, sea and air. He still teaches the radio course today. When the new pleasure boat operators regulations came out, he started teaching this course for CPS in the lower mainland. He has since moved to our operation and will be teaching the course on the north side of the Fraser River as well as administering the VHF radio operator's exams for the Restricted Operator's Certificate - Marine.

Len James - Instructor

Len has grown up on the water and has been fishing for most of his life. He has seen the need for proper education of boat and radio operation on the water. He is a First Nations fisherman and tug operator. He is a member of the Katzie Band. He has been teaching the Mandatory Safe Boating course for us for a few years now. He takes pride in offering the proper education for making the waterways safer to all First Nations persons. His qualifications are Radio Operator’s Certificate-Maritime Commercial (ROC-MC), Marine Emergency Duties Certificates (MED3 & 4), Fishing Master IV and Limited Master 60 tons. He travels to provide the PCOC to those who don't have it readily available in their areas.