Marine Patrol's new On The Ramp educational initiative a response to law change

GILFORD — Marine Patrol's new boating education initiative meets boaters where they are: at boat ramps.

The new On The Ramp education program started at the beginning of July.

On The Ramp sends certified boating instructors to public boat ramps on New Hampshire lakes to educate boaters through hands-on assistance before heading out on the water. Instructors are equipped with buoy stickers, safety handbooks, and other required boating safety equipment available to give to boaters launching from public ramps.

The initiative comes after a recent change to Granite State boating laws regarding safety certificates. The state Legislature amended the law, as of Jan. 1, allowing anyone age 18 and over to take their final boating safety exam online, and anyone age 16-18 is required to take the final exam in-person. The law previously mandated that everyone testing for a boating license was required to take the final exam in-person, with a state-issued instructor, regardless of taking a boating safety course online or in person.

“Certain folks in the Legislature felt it was more important for people to take a New Hampshire course, even though it may have been online, rather than take their course online from a state that didn't require the in-person final,” said Tim Dunleavy, program specialist and retired Marine Patrol captain.

Now that anyone over 18 can take the final exam online, Marine Patrol officers thought it was important to make boating instructors available in-person to anyone operating a motor vessel out on the water.

“The ramp program is an attempt to make our boating-ed instructors available when they're not in the classroom or proctoring exams,” Dunleavy said. “It's recognized nationally — by all the states, as well as the Coast Guard — that there are limited opportunities for boating education outside of the classroom or an online course environment. So this is an outreach for the [New Hampshire] Marine Patrol unit to spread the word about boating safety.”

Instructors will be available for the fall and spring boating seasons, as well, providing safety equipment for cold-water boating and boating at low water levels, which are common in those seasons.

“In the spring and the fall, instructors at the ramps will focus on hypothermia, or cold water immersion, and things like that to be concerned with,” Dunleavy said. “In the summer, they're talking to folks about impaired operating, the importance of wearing an engine cutoff switch, and water sports laws in our state.”

To learn more about boating safety, visit nhsp.dos.nh.gov/our-services/field-operations-bureau/marine-patrol.

Dunleavy hopes the initiative will help boaters feel prepared and stay safe on the water, and ultimately leading to those they're sharing the lake with feel safer as well.

“Anything that we can do to talk to boaters about the practical aspects of boating safety is always better for everyone.”