Boatnerd Discussion Forum

Also, don't shine lights at the pilot house in the middle of the night. There is nothing more annoying that having someone shine a spot light into the house trying to say "hi" I guess? Please just stop we are doing our job and it's just annoying.

An American pleasure craft is considered to be licensed "by rule" and does not require an individual Ship Radio Station License, unless that vessel communicates with foreign shore stations of travels to a foreign port. In this case the vessel would need an FCC issued Ship Radio Station License and the operator would need, at least, a Restricted Radiotelephone Operator Permit. If the vessel is over twenty meters (sixty-five feet) in length, It would fall under the requirements of the Great Lakes Agreement. In this case it would have to have an FCC issued Ship Radio Station License and the operator or one person on board would have to hold a Marine Radio Operator Permit, even if the vessel did not make international voyages. Whether intentional, or not, the rules do not exempt non-commercial vessels from compliance with the Great Lakes Agreement. I conduct the required annual GLA radio inspections on a hundred or more vessels each year. A few of these are non-commercial (pleasure) craft.
There are many other pleasure craft of twenty meters length and up running around without FCC licenses that would come under the Great Lakes Agreement. Their owners either don't know any better or they don't care. The odds of being caught are small unless there is some sort of incident that ends up being investigated. The bottom line is, if you go to a Canadian port or communicate with a Canadian shore station, you need an FCC Ship Radio Station License. If you do not go to Canada or communicate with Canadian shore stations you don't need a license unless your boat is over twenty meters in length.

Ohio Bob wrote:Interesting comment on the requirement for a Canadian license for pleasure craft to use VHF radios. I (American) have called Canadian docks or locks using my VHF numerous times in the past. Would that actually require a license?

Best to check the CFR’s for your self. If you can answer yes to the questions the you require a license.

Interesting comment on the requirement for a Canadian license for pleasure craft to use VHF radios. I (American) have called Canadian docks or locks using my VHF numerous times in the past. Would that actually require a license?

hugh3 wrote:And then when you are running in the fog and it becomes clear - they quite blowing - you wake up and say "what was that"?

LOL, yea the noise of silence!!

And then when you are running in the fog and it becomes clear - they quite blowing - you wake up and say "what was that"?

jeeze.....anyone and everyone wanting a salute from a ship. kinda makes it less special..... makes it to be like a big rig driver. just sayin.

Guest wrote:There is a massive difference between calling us out on the lake for a legitimate navigation reason, and calling us while we are going through a river to see who the captain is, or to ask where we are going. As a mate i'm here to do my job, my job is to navigate the vessel safely from point A to B. Not to field calls from random people on the shore.

As a retired mate I give this mate 3 long and 2 short salute. After awhile it gets very annoying while navigating the rivers with every Tom, Dick and Harry that whats a salute from us and or call us. We have crew on board that may be sleeping anytime of the day. I can’t tell you how many times I was woke up by the horn during my career because someone on shore wanted a salute.

There is a massive difference between calling us out on the lake for a legitimate navigation reason, and calling us while we are going through a river to see who the captain is, or to ask where we are going. As a mate i'm here to do my job, my job is to navigate the vessel safely from point A to B. Not to field calls from random people on the shore.

I'm a recreational cruising sailor and have not hesitated to contact lakers on VHF to clarify navigational intent in close situations. The ships have always been courteous and appreciative - especially when I hail them by name (I have AIS) and keep it short.

As far as I know you still require a Restricted Operator's Certificate - Marine (ROC-M) to operate a marine radio in Canada, on a pleasure craft. You do not require a station licence now unless you are traveling outside of Canadian waters. Each person who operates the marine radio must have a ROC-M. As an examiner, I have not been sent any notification that the radio licence is no longer required.
With the increase of DSC (Digital Selective Calling) equipped vessels, the chatter non 16 should decrease significantly. Channel 70 is the DSC channel.
In Canada, marinas are permitted to have a marine radio but they are restricted to a single channel.This is channel 68 in southern Ontario.
I agree that marine radios are not toys but a safety feature.
In the past there have been some amateurs who had a station on a great lakes freighter or ocean vessel. I have chatted with the Canadoc, Algosteel and the J. A. W Iglehart. However, I do not believe there are any amateurs operating on the lakes now. I still get the odd marine mobile HF contact with ocean vessels.

Pleasure boats that do not travel to Canada are not required to have a ship radio station license. However, any handheld radio on shore or any on shore "base" station must have an FCC radio station license. Many marinas and charter fishing boat operators have marine radios in their homes or offices. A disturbingly large number of these are unlicensed. The owners and operators of these stations are running a huge risk of incurring large fines and possible jail time. I know of a couple of marinas that have been busted and the operator of one unlicensed shore station in Cleveland was caught red handed by the FCC interfering with the rowing teams operating on the Cuyahoga River. The FCC came out from Chicago to investigate this case, so obviously they take it very seriously. Marine radios are not playthings.

Pleasure boaters no long require a radio license or a station license for VHF marine radios. Unless, you are going to be transmitting to a foreign station or going into foreign country ( Canada ).

Yes you are required to have a Fed license to transmit on a navigation channel.

CB radio operates ar 27mhz, while the Great Lakes stations such as WMI-Lorain and WLC-Rogers City operated on 2, 4, 6, 8mhz, though WMI also operated on 13mhz due to them handling traffic for the Amoco Oil supertankers and their offices in Chicago.

Generally if I know someone on a boat well enough I have their cell number or email.

Thank you all very much! I thought it was illegal, or not smiled upon, but was confused. I was solely curious, after hearing people doing it, how, I don't know. And I do have a scanner, actually, but can't transmit, just again, wanted to know.

Just purchase a scanner and listen, lots of them out there, no need to talk.

On night while unloading at Ashtabula I tried calling the dock boss on the marine radio. I need him to move a semi before we filled it up with pellets. When he didn’t answer, I called him with my CB Walkie Talkie on the truck channel for the dock. He answered right away. He got down to the truck and woke up the driver before we had to stop unloading. We were in a race for the loading dock in Toledo.

“ Having said that, I have never seen a CB on a ship.” This is because you are very young. CB’s used before cellphones by off watch crew.l to talk to family.