America's Boating Course - 3rd Edition

America's Boating Course - 3rd Edition is our primary civic effort toward public instruction in the fundamentals of safe boating.  Both short (8-hour) and long (12-hour) formats are designed to familiarize the student with the fundamentals of safe boating and qualify for certification in most states that require boating education before operating a watercraft.

The short (8-hour) version covers the basics needed to operate a boat safely, and is a replacement for previous short USPS courses such as Boat Smart and the 8-hour version of The Squadron Boating Course.

The long (12-hour) course covers all that's included in the 8-hour course and adds basic information on both paper and digital charts and basic piloting techniques, equivalent to the full version of The Squadron Boating Course.

Topics

News

• Reporting Boating Classes.

  Reports of students completing the ABC3 eight (8) or twelve (12) hour courses are submitted to National using either the HQ800 or Boating Course Assistant (BCA) software. The 8-hour course leading to certification of meeting NASBLA Standards is set forth in chapters 1 through 4. The 12-hour course includes chapters 1 through 4 to meet NASBLA Standards and optional Chapter 5, Introduction to Navigation. Those students who complete the optional Chapter 5 and satisfactorily pass the associated assessment are recognized by clicking on the “12 hour version” box in the course completion report. The diploma and wallet card will then be appropriately endorsed.

  Questions should be directed to the Chairman of the Basic Public Education Committee. (30 Sep 11)

• Squadron and District Guide for America’s Boating Course – 3rd Edition. A new ABC3 guide for use by squadrons and districts to manage ABC3 students is available in the Downloadable Material section of this web page. (22 May 11)

• Rose Point Navigation Systems Coastal Explorer Reference Manual. An electronic copy (1248KB, PDF) of the Coast Explorer Reference Manual is available for download. (24 Jul 10)

• ABC 3 PowerPoint Slide Correction. Please replace slide 22 in Section 3 with this corrected slide (231KB, PPT). Thanks to Bill Cass for picking up the error and correcting the spelling of Cowl. (11 May 10)

• 2010 Printing of ABC3

  The 2010 reprinting of ABC3 is the current and only public boating course being shipped. It is easily identified by the new NASBLA logo on the first inside page. (The older addition did not have the NASBLA logo on this page.) A PDF file for Instructors (342KB) lists all the changes made in this addition and is available only by downloading. The use of The Coastal Explorer Viewer DVD has replaced the Maptech Digital Charting CD. The Coastal Explorer Viewer DVD includes the charts of the entire United States and is upgradeable to Coastal Explorer Express for a nominal charge. The instructions for the upgrade are on the DVD. (22 Jul 11).

• Review Answer Sheet and PowerPoint Files for 2010 Reprint

  Revised PowerPoint files and answer sheet for the 2010 reprint of ABC3 are available under Downloadable Material section of this web page. (22 Mar 10)

• Spanish Translations of ABC3 Exams

  The ABC3 Exam #1 and Exam #2 exams have been translated into Spanish. The catalogue numbers are 02-73-121 for the ABC3 Spanish Final Exam 1 and 02-73-122 for the ABC3 Spanish Final Exam 2. The old Form A exam is already available in Spanish. The Spanish translations are available in the on-line Materials Catalog right after the English exams. (28 Oct 09)

• America's Boating Course, 3rd Edition, Computer Settings (Revised)

  Recent security enhancements by Adobe and Microsoft require that the default computer settings be changed to permit the ABC3 Courseware CD to run. If you experience difficulties, you should download this file (PDF, 399KB) and follow it carefully. IBM PC computers must use Windows Internet Explorer and change the default values as outlined in the download. Macintosh computer users must run in "IBM PC Compatibility" mode and also use Internet Explorer with its default values changed. (01 Sep 09)
  

• ABC3 Slide Correction

  In Section 17 of ABC3, slide number 23 has a spelling error. The corrected slide is available in the Downloadable Material section. (21 Jul 09)
  

• "This is USPS" Presentation

  On the ABC3 Instructor CD is a presentation called “This is USPS”. There are three slides #’s 19, 20 and 21 that state that a member can receive discounted software from Tech Soup. That is not correct. The software donation program is only for Squadron use.

  Please inform your SEO and those who do the membership presentation at your classes to delete these three slides. This was mentioned at the DEO meeting in Anaheim but still seems to cause problems. (03 Jun 09)
  

• Changes Needed to Instructors PowerPoint CD for Americas Boating Course 3rd Edition
  

  The first change is to replace Slide 26 in Section 12 – VHF Radio (PPT, 6793KB), if you are using Windows Vista or newer as your operating system. The codec used to record this slide is no longer recognized by computers running Windows Vista or newer operating systems. There is no problem with machines running Windows XP.

  The second change is in the ABC3 menu slides for Chapter 4. There is an embedded hyperlink between Trailering and PWC operation that should not be there. You can simply remove it and delete the box. If it does not bother you or your instructors, just be aware that it is there and that you do not click on it. (03 Apr 09)

• ABC 3rd Edition Posters

  Two sizes of posters are available at no charge to advertise your ABC 3rd Edition courses. They come in 8.5" x 11" and 11" x 14" sizes. Order them using the Free Brochures Order Form. (24 Feb 09)
  

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Downloads

• Chapter 5 Exam and Answers. A downloadable version of the Chapter 5 exam questions and answers is available on this protected web page. (22 Nov 11)

   

• Squadron and District Guide for America’s Boating Course – 3rd Edition. A new ABC3 guide (865KB, PDF) for use by squadrons and districts to manage ABC3 students is available. The interfacing with, and handling of various messages for, Internet-based ABC3 students is described in the guide. (22 May 11)

• Rose Point Navigation Systems Coastal Explorer Reference Manual. An electronic copy (1248KB, PDF) of the Coast Explorer Reference Manual is available for download. (24 Jul 10)
  
  
• America's Boating Course—3rd Edition (ABC3) Chapter Review PowerPoint Files. As part of the ABC3 reprint for 2010, several review questions were reworded and one question was moved from Chapter 1 to Chapter 2. The revised answer sheet is available below (next topic), and the PowerPoint review slides, version 1.1, are available for downloadable here. The PowerPoint files completely replace the previously issued files version 1.0. (22 Mar 10)
  
  

  • ABC3_Chapter_1_Review_v1.1.ppt (1.98MB)
  • ABC3_Chapter_2_Review_v1.1.ppt (1.89MB)
  • ABC3_Chapter_3_Review_v1.1.ppt (3.98MB)
  • ABC3_Chapter_4_Review_v1.1.ppt (6.12MB)

  These files are for use by USPS members only, and you may be asked to provide your USPS certificate number and five digit postal zip code or your PIN when accessing these files. Please note that with the protected files, the system will try to rename any file you save to your local computer.  When the window opens for the download, please rename the file you're saving to something meaningful for you.  Be sure to include the correct file name extension (e.g., .ppt for a PowerPoint file).
  

• America's Boating Course—3rd Edition (ABC3) Chapter Review Answers. A revised answer sheet for the review questions in the reprinted (2010) ABC3 manual is available. The answers have been changed on the student CD to match this sheet. The original answer sheet for the previous ABC3 manual is also available. (16 Mar 10)
  
  
• 2010 Printing of ABC3.The 2010 reprinting of ABC3 is the current and only public boating course being shipped. It is easily identified by the new NASBLA logo on the first inside page. (The older addition did not have the NASBLA logo on this page.) A PDF file for Instructors (342KB) lists all the changes made in this addition and is available only by downloading. The use of The Coastal Explorer Viewer DVD has replaced the Maptech Digital Charting CD. The Coastal Explorer Viewer DVD includes the charts of the entire United States and is upgradeable to Coastal Explorer Express for a nominal charge. The instructions for the upgrade are on the DVD. (22 Jul 11)
  
  
• ABC3 Slide Correction. In Section 17 of ABC3, slide number 23 has a spelling error. The corrected slide can be downloaded here (PPT, 1125KB). (21 Jul 09)
  
  
• America’s Boating Course 3rd Edition. ABC3 has two exams, ABC3 Exam 1 and ABC3 Exam 2. Exam 1 is the primary exam and exam 2 is to be given to a student who fails the first exam. The answer keys remain the same. An assessment examination and answer key for those completing the optional chapter 5, Introduction to Navigation, is available at No Charge (N/C) from the United States Power Squadrons Materials Catalog. Please remember to order the exams and the answer sheets with your course material. All the brochures that you normally hand out in class are now on a “Free Brochure Order Form” located on the Educational Department home page under “Order Course Materials”. (30 Sep 11)
  

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