Pat's Boating in Canada

HELPING BOATERS SINCE 1996

Welcome to one of the oldest, largest boating sites in Canada. Each year, an estimated 12 million Canadians (population 35 million!) take to the water in 4 million boats. Nearly 80% of us live less than an hour from navigable water. No matter where you want to go on the water – or just a place in your mind – you can get there by boat.

If you have lost your heart to a boat, you need to know about Regulations, Navigation, & Safety before you get underway. Learning about boating never stops! We also have Cruising information and Fun Stuff too.

Finding things is easy:
You may browse by subject below or use the alphabetic index on the left. The search tool (see top-left) will find your search word on any of our hundreds of web pages. We also provide a Government Directory of Canadian, provincial and U.S. departments that deal with boating regulations. To provide you with Canadian boating news we also maintain a Google+ page, and a Blog and Twitter feeds.



Sponsors & affiliates:


Keep us afloat:  

Twitter  
Google+  
News Blog   Youtube videos
Welcome Back!
Streetglo.net Boat Name Lettering
 
  Canadian Boating News
 
@BoatinginCanada
 
 

KEYWORD
INDEX


1000 Islands
1000 Is. cruising
1000 Is. diary
1000 Is. fees
1000 Is. Ramps
1000 Is. photos
1000 Is. history
About This Site
accidents
acts
advertising
aloha 32
alcohol
apps
batteries
beaufort
biodiesel
birds
black rat snake
blog news
blog help
boat costs
boater card
boater exam
boat games
boat licences
boat names 1
boat names 2
boat shows
Boat shows 2002
boat shows 2003
boat show contacts
boat sex
boat sex survey
Boating Index
boating rules
buy a boat
buy in Canada
buy in USA
can.rec.boating
Canadian boaters
canal/Rideau
canal/Trent
canal cruise
canal fees
canal rules
canoe Museum
canoe trip
kayak trip
CANPASS
carbon monoxide
cartoons
chart list
chart list
chart plotting
checklist
christening
e-charts
Christmas
Christmas poem
circle cruise 1
circle cruise 2
classified ad
cleaning boats
clubs
common cold
compass
computer
Pat's Converter
convert length
convert speed
convert celsius
convert $U.S. gas
convert $Cdn gas
coordinates
costs, boat
CPR
cruising 1
cruising 2
Customs, Canada
Customs, U.S.
distance tables
DGPS
drinking water 1
drinking water 2
e-charts
electric
email
environment
equipment
events
extinguisher
feedback form
fees/canals
fees/1000 Is.
fees/taxes
fire, galley
fire extinguisher
fishing
flares
float plan
float plan form
flotsam
saving fuel
gasoline
gas chart
Government Index
GPS
GPS news
great lakes
How-to
hypothermia
I68
ICW
insurance
invasive species
Jack Nye
joke 1
joke 2
joke 3
joke 4
joke 5
joke 6
kayak cruise
knots
knot/slip
kudos!
lat/long
laws
letters
licence/boat
licence numbers
licence/operator
licence archive
licence/OSA
lighthouses
loading table
locking
logos
loons
Loran C
MAFOR
metric table
moon phase
mosquitoes
multimedia
navigation
news / blog
news feed
news subscribe
news U.S. customs
newsgroups
newsgroups 2
OBF
Olympic flame
operator card
online games
Ottawa boating
PCOC
PCOC archive
pets
pet quotes
phonetic
photography
photos
poetry
PWCs
quiz 1
.. answers
quiz 2
.. answers
radio, marine
radio, other
regulations
canal/Rideau
Rideau videos
Rideau diary
Rideau-Trent log
Rideau data
rss feed
rules, boating
rules, canal
rumpot
sail plan
seasickness
seasick talk
security
sell boats
SETI
shipping
shows
signals
site map
speed
speed table
spring check
statistics
St. Lawrence
St. Lawrence canoeing
St. Lawrence kayaking
St. Lawrence charts
St. Lawrence cruise
St. Lawrence level
St. Lawrence comment
1000 Is. cruising
1000 Is. Customs
1000 Is. diary
1000 Is. fees
1000 Is. Ramps
1000 Is. photos
1000 Is. history
scavenger hunt
small circle cruise
small circle cruise2
sun shield
Sun/Sky
survey
south cruise
taxes/fees
Thousand Is.
time
tourists
toxins
Trent Canal
Trent-Rideau log
Trent letter
U.S. cruise
U.S. customs
U.S. ports
U.S. video checkin
U.S. visitors
VHF
VHF call
VHF channels
VHF channels Pacific
VHF DSC
VHF mayday
VHF phone
VHF monitoring
VHF (U.S.)
WAAS
water, drinking
water gauges
water quality
water levels
water levels/99
wakes
weather
weather online
winterizing
world heritage site
weather/VHF
West Nile virus
wind speed
yacht clubs
zebra mussels


 

1. RULES & REGULATIONS

 
Get your
Card online
Get your Pleasure Craft Operator Card

Avoid the fine!
Pleasure Craft Operators Card (PCOC)
(mandatory education, operator licence) began in April 1999. A Pleasure Craft Operator Card is now required for operating any powered boat. Foreign visitors and renters follow special rules. Get your training and operator card from BoaterExam.com - all online.
Boat Licences, Registration, and Markings
For boats, before you wet Her bottom. Licensing is the norm -- you get new federal licence numbers from the province, such as ON123456 in Ontario.
Minimum equipment required
For your boat in Canada depends on Her length.
Boating Laws
Including the Contraventions Act with on-the-water tickets for a number of infractions.
Government Index
Find details about government regulations affecting boating. Includes U.S. and provincial governments.
Rules of the Road
What you need to know to avoid a collision with all the boats out there! Repeat after me: "There is no right of way"!
Entering the U.S.A. by Boat
Crossing the border, Customs decals, I-68 forms, video terminals, NEXUS, cruising permits, CANPASS. Security procedures change regularly!
Entering Canada by Boat
Foreign boaters need information on immigration, customs, tax rebates, marine radio, environmental laws, boat and operator licensing requirements, and which ports to report to.
Buying a boat
It's not easy but so much fun! To avoid all the mistakes most boat buyers make, read " Buy a Boat with Confidence" written by boater Doug Dawson before you shop. Don't buy a lemon!
Why you should buy a boat in Canada
Especially for boaters who think deals are better in the U.S.A.
Buying a Boat in the USA (Importing a boat and trailer)
Our collection of boaters' experiences will help you do it right.
Survey a Boat (Yourself)
A checklist to keep your head working when you've lost your heart to a boat! THEN hire a surveyor before you make an offer.
"The Name Game"
Favorite Boat Names
Christening and De-naming ceremonies
Removing an old vinyl decal
StreetGlo boat name decals and their boat name suggestion tool
VHF marine radio
In Canada boaters need licences to use a VHF radio: an optional licence for the radio and a mandatory licence for the operator. Print out the "short" VHF channel list and emergency "Mayday" sheet for your crew.
Alcohol & Boats
Governed by federal and provincial laws. A discussion from the Canadian boating group about drinking and boating is included.
Buy a Boat: Must Have
Top

2. NAVIGATION & SAFETY

PowerBoating Canada
Small boat navigation
Using a compass for chart plotting to electronic navigation using echarts. WAAS navigation is the newest and most accurate electronic system. Older systems in common use are: GPS, DGPS. Loran-C (archive) was retired in 2010.
Cruise Checklist
For those important checks before you head out. Handy enough to print out.
Fuelling gasoline
Safety at the gas dock (or "How I hate flying through the air!") and Fire extinguishers includes a story about a real-life galley fire.
How to Save Fuel in your Boat
Float Plan
For you to fill out and give to a friend or the Coast Guard -- just in case.
Marine Weather
Forecasts to avoid bad experiences!
MAFOR Code, Beaufort Scale
Distress signals
To use when you are in trouble -- from flares to Mayday. Waving your arms and screaming works too!
Marina security
On everyone's minds these days. Learn how to protect your pride and joy.
Hypothermia
It can kill you. Here are the symptoms and treatment as well as how to prevent it.
CPR and Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation
Refresher for those who have taken a course.
Seasickness
How to recognize and prevent it.
Carbon Monoxide poisoning
Can be caused by any fuel burning engine, generator, or cabin appliance. Prevent this silent killer with a few precautions.
How-to & Help
Helpful information, winterizing, batteries and more.
Top Insurance claims
The most common accidents that can happen on the water.
Pat's Converter
Unit converter for distance, speed, weight, volume, temperature, pressure, area, dollars. It now includes the "gas price converter" between U.S. dollars per gallon and Canadian dollars per litre - we pay more! Boaters should have a copy on the laptop to use offline! (Now in the PDQ Library)
Boating Statistics
This is our collection of statistics about boating accidents, drownings, and the boat industry.
First Mate Must Have
Top

3. CRUISING CANADA

The Rideau Waterway
UNESCO World Heritage Site from Ottawa, Ontario (Canada's capital) to Kingston on Lake Ontario - the best cruising, fishing, history and scenery. Read Pat's "Rideau Canal Cruising Guide". Don't miss our
videos.
The Trent-Severn Waterway
386 km. of canals, rivers, and 45 locks from Trenton on Lake Ontario to Lake Huron - another gem for power cruising and touring.
Canadian Canoe Museum, Peterborough Locks
The Great Lakes
Hundreds of great boating areas. Includes St. Lawrence Islands National Park information - also known as the Thousand Islands [sigh]. Don't miss my Photo Album.
St. Lawrence to Lake Champlain by Kayak
Kayak cruise from Lake Ontario, St. Lawrence River, Richelieu River, to Lake Champlain
Small Circle Cruise Planning
Cruise canals, lakes & rivers of New York, Ontario, Quebec, Vermont
Small Circle Cruise Diary
Canadian Yacht Clubs & Boating Associations
Useful reference for boating groups across Canada.
Flotsam
Knots, flags, and other stuff that doesn't fit elsewhere.
Cruising South
Cruising south to the ICW, Florida and Bahamas. Even how to make a rum pot. For you daring voyagers, read about Jack Nye's 18th Atlantic Voyage - at 86!
Cruising with Pets
Should you do it? How to survive it!
Basic Boating hints
Batteries and How-to for Boating.
Loons
Those wonderful birds whose mournful call is heard across Canada's fresh water lakes in the summer.
Fishing in Ontario
Provinces regulate fishing, so this is general.
Aquatic Environment, Water Quality
Invasive species, virus and chemicals in fish, holding tanks, Clean Marine, sewage into snow, solar boats Cleaning a boat, Biodiesel, Great Lakes toxins, Drinking water, parasites
Zebra mussels & Invasive Species
Invasion of the Great Lakes by Invasive Species. I'm going to have a Zebra mussel appetizer - with garlic!
Mosquitoes
Protecting your crew from mosquitoes
Diseases they spread - including West Nile Virus
Taxes and fees
Boaters pay many fees (Hey, we aren't all rich so lay off!)
HST adds extra costs to boating
Canadian Boating Index
Links to other boating information
Top

4. FUN STUFF!

BOATEREXAM.COM
Boat Shows & Events
Boat shows, poker runs, tall ships
Poetry for Sailors
Includes the The Irish Blessing.
Cartoons
Includes all my favorites
Boating and Sex
Article republished with permission.
Sex lives of Canadian boaters
Survey of boater "habits" from 2008
Boating Humour collection:
Celsius & Maple Leafs  :  Pirate Joke  :  Sailing Story
Teaching Sailing  :  Sailor Math  :  Boat Shoes
The Perfect Storm: The Condensed Script
For those who haven't time to see the movie!
How to Identify a Canadian Boater!
Just a little northern humour.
The "Laws" of Boating
Laugh, so you don't cry!
Canadian Boating Quiz
Sail your brain! Can you identify all Canada'a provinces and territories?
Online Boating Games
Links to other sites for kids (large and small) on a rainy day
Canadian Boating Scavenger Hunt
A fun list for your boating social for the kids to have fun (or adults?)
Apps for Sailors
Software for Android and iPad/iPhone/iTouch - navigation, information resources, weather, charts, tides
Media stuff
Animated photos, calendar, music, loon calls ...
Boating photography
How to make those memorable photos while bouncing around.
Boating newsgroups
Post in can.rec.boating to ask boat questions or chat about boating anywhere in Canada!
Canadian Boating News Blog
Read important Canadian boating news. Subscribe to our feed or read the archives. Follow us on @BoatinginCanada on Twitter for other news.
Collected Flotsam
Knots, Bowline video, flags, music, geography, ...
Time and Clocks
Current Moon Phase and information about the Sun and Sky.
Join the SETI Project
Analyze radio telescope data to find extraterrestrial life!
Creative Commons License
Valid HTML 4.01
Valid CSS

Bookmark this Page



Get your Pleasure Craft Operator Card

Creative Commons License
This work by Pat's Boating in Canada is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.

TOP back