Yes but I think this only applies if you're drunk or stupid.

I just checked.....i was wrong. Oh well.....

CERTIFICATION / LICENSE REQUIREMENTS FOR ALABAMA RESIDENTS:
*Must be 12 years old or older to be eligible for a vessel operator's license, but cannot operate alone until the age of 14.
*Operators 12 or 13 years old, after obtaining the vessel operator's license, can only operate if there is someone 21 years old or older on board, who also has a vessel operator's license in possession, and is seated in a position to take immediate control of the vessel if necessary.
*Operators 14 years old or older, after obtaining the vessel operator's license, may legally operate without supervision.

You are required to have a vessel license whenever you are using any mechanical means of propulsion. Trolling motor, or gasoline powered motor.

Dang, in Florida anything less than 10hp doesn't require the boaters education course. What damage can someone cause with a trolling motor?

you could gently bump into someone else, causing them to spill their beer coke

Only thing I can think of

Even better, the boating license test has a bunch of BS oceanic/big water stuff in it that don't make a hill-of-beans difference to a fresh water brim fisherman. I mean, ya, I *REALLY* need to know what all those flags & buoys mean if I'm going out on Binion Creek -- whoa nelly! Never know when I might get lost & dump out into the Gulf accidentally.

that stuff isn't "ocean and bigwater" it's all very comon around marshes and bays, rivers, etc... down here. If you are in sure enough "big water" there ain't no more buoys and flags. It stops 10 miles offshore. It's hard to set buoy pilings in 1k'+ of water.

I guess you think the state should come up with a test specific for the body of water that you're going to use rather than having a test that covers all the water in the state? I thought we were for more streamlined, efficient government around here.

sorry for hijacking your thread but this brings up a question I have on this topic. I completed the boaters safety test and have the printed certification, but haven't gone to get it put on my DL. Anybody have an idea if it would be illegal to operate a boat with just the printed certification?

You need the vessel endorsement on your license, if you have your certificate just go to your courthouse or license office and show it to them and they will print you a new license with the vessel endorsement on it.

Yall think the state boating test is hard? Try getting a 100ton liscense. You get to learn about navigating with stars...

Any mechanily propelled vessel requires a license I've been there and done that

Who said it was hard? I flipped through the booklet for about 5 minutes and didn't miss a question. I'm guessing most people probably do the same.

Did you go to Capt.Willie's Sea School?

TC is right, there aren't to many road signs offshore.

A friend of mine has the 100 ton license. The law in Alabama came up where you have to pay $5 and take the test for a boating license. He complained, saying the Coast Guard gave him the right to operate a boat in navigable waterways in the US. He complained several times. Finally, the License Commissioner at the time ruled on it and said he didn't have to take the test. He still had to pay $5 dollars. On principle, he called his state representative. His state representative wasn't in office when this law took effect, so he said he'd check into it. A week later, he called my friend and told him he'd checked into it. The reps that were in office at the time saw a statistic of how many boaters there were in Alabama. They reasoned if every boater in Alabama payed a small fee, $5 for example, how many hundreds of thousands extra there would be in state coffers with little to no fuss. They made it happen. His rep told him although it was sold as a safety issue, it was really about revenue. Think about this next time a state official wants to raise a license fee.

Reckon you could write a song about brilliance?? cause you eat up with it...