Basic Public Education Committee

This site is provided as a means of communications with the USPS National Basic Public Education Committee (BPECom).  We welcome your questions and comments on our public courses and associated materials.

R/C Richard L. Carson, JN
Stf/C David A. Daniels, SN
Stf/C George Malindzak, SN

Topics

News

• ABC3 Reprint 2012 Student Manual Being Shipped
  
  ABC3 reprint 2012 Student Manual is being shipped to fill orders at this time. The following supporting instructor materials continue to be updated: Instructor Manual, CD with PPT presentations including Chapter 5, Appendix A (Canadian Rules and Regulations), Appendix E (Boating Decision Making), examinations, and examination answer keys. We will promulgate completion and stocking information as soon as it is determined. In the interim, continue to use the 2008/2010 instructor materials currently in stock. (05 Feb 12)

• January 2012 Boating Class Reports Available for Printing or Download. (03 Feb 12)
  

• USCG District 9 Charts for Use in Coastal Explorer Express Program.
  
  The previous (February 3, 2010) CD version of Rose Point's Coastal Explorer Express viewer program may have a corrupted zip file for the charts of USCG District 9. If you have a problem loading District 9 charts from your CD, download a good copy of the zip file (254,458KB) and install it in Coastal Explorer. Note that this is a rather large file and may take some time to download depending on your Internet connection speed. The procedure to download and install the file is as follows:

  • Click on this link to download the zip file, browse to your "C:\Charts" folder/directory, and save the zip file to this folder/directory.
  • Start Coastal Explorer Express.
  • Click on the menu icon to "Access program options, install charts, and configure electronics.", and select "Install Charts..." from the pull-down menu.
  • In the resulting window, click on the "Install charts from a ZIP file..." option.
  • Browse to your "C:\Charts" folder/directory if it doesn't come up automatically.
  • Click on the file you just downloaded, which should be named "09CGD_RNCs.zip", then click "Open" or "OK". You should get a message that the charts are being installed and that it may take a little while to complete.
  • Close the window after the charts are installed. You can then check that the charts are installed by using the Chart Portfolio to see all the charts you have installed. (22 Nov 11)
    
    

• America's Boating Course, 3rd Edition - 2010 — Information, Registration, and Assessment Overview

  The USPS Public Boating Course

  America’s Boating Course, 3rd Edition (ABC3): USPS' ABC3 is the sole basic public safety boating course supported by USPS and approved by the National Association of State Boating Law Administrators (NASBLA) for use through 2011. It has been approved by most states, and is offered in either an 8-hour (Chapters 1-4) format and a 12-hour (Chapters 1-4 plus Chapter 5) format. Chapters 1-4 focus on Federal laws and state licensing requirements, and Chapter 5 introduces the student to the use of charts and piloting. The classroom version of ABC3 is presented by USPS Certified Instructors only. The ABC3 student manual is "Copyright 2008 United States Power Squadrons Reprint 2010" to distinguish it from prior editions.

  Student and Instructor materials to support the ABC3 course (Student Manual, Instructor Manual, Instructor CD with PPT, bonus CDs for the student, assessments, answer sheets, diplomas) continue to be obtained from the on-line catalog on the USPS Education Department Home Page.   

  Examinations:  Testing and verification of student comprehension is through four end-of-chapter reviews and a 50-question final multiple choice examination at class end.  Education on state boating laws is specific to the state’s laws and assessed typically by a 10-question multiple choice test in addition to the 50-question NASBLA approved exam.  Those completing Chapter 5 may receive an endorsement so stating on their diploma.  Minimum passing score for all ABC3 related exams is 80%.  All multiple choice examinations are closed book, proctored by USPS members as arranged by the Exam Administrator, and scored by designated personnel other than the instructors.  Two ABC3 final examinations are provided.  Those not passing the initial assessment may, after additional study, retake the second exam. State-specific test questions are provided by the respective states and may include additional evaluation direction.

  Successful completion of the final examination leads to issuance of an ABC3 wallet card and diploma.

  Course Completions:  There is one report, submitted electronically, that records completion of each public boating class or seminar.  The report is made through the HQ 800 System or Boating Course Assistant version 7 (BCA 7) software.  Both programs are easily accessed from the USPS Education Department web site.  While each is unique with various additional aids to administration, they integrate the necessary information from the Student Registration form (ED46) and Course Answer sheet (ED26) into a data record which is uploaded to USPS Headquarters in Raleigh, NC.  Both allow for pre-registering by students, a feature that aids compilation of data for reporting purposes.

  Boating Class Summary (ED 27):  This report provides the student statistics from course completion reports to the respective district and squadron educational departments, and state boating law administrators.  ED-27 reports are produced by the HQ 800 System from squadron information submitted to HQ from either of the two software programs.   

  The two software programs, HQ 800 System and BCA7 were introduced in the winter of 2010, expanding on electronic systems in use in recent years to accommodate reporting of the full spectrum of USPS courses and seminars now offered to the public. 
  

  Support Common to Both Software Programs by HQ 800 System

  Announcing and advertising your USPS public boating course:  All public boating courses are to be listed on-line on the USPS website. This serves several purposes. First, it announces to the general public the date, time, location, and point of contact for each class. Next, the new features of the on-line registration system will automatically send email notifications of the boating class schedules and completion results to the designated state Boating Law Administrator (BLA) or their representative. This feature meets the reporting requirements contained within just about all of the Memorandum of Understanding between USPS and the States.

  Pre-registering students:  The on-line registration process for potential students to pre-register for squadron public boating classes supports the student who chooses to do contact on-line, and provides the host squadron with information that helps prepare the student for the course. The process requires that squadron boating class information be listed in the on-line HQ800 database. Squadrons enter their class information into the database using the USPS Education Department Home page, then select “Manage Public Programs,” select “Register Boating Courses (HQ800), and enter course data. When entering course data, check the “allow on-line registration” and consider checking “offer 6 month memberships" box. Once activated, students may fill in the pre-registration form with all their personal data, greatly simplifying the process of entering the data into the course completion report.

  Supports on-line searches:  When "GOOGLE" and other on-line search engines are used to seek terms such as "safe boating classes" or "public boating education", the  courses listed in the HQ800 System are provided. The  BOAT U.S. course listing extracts the USPS information for publication on their site.

  Summary Information for the Educational Departments:  The cumulative reports from squadron submissions are used to manage stock levels to support squadron efforts, track trends in USPS Boating Safety Education, and may be used locally to manage course schedules and inter-squadron teaching efforts.
  
  A printable PDF version of the above announcement is also available. (27 Jun 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 the ABC3 web page. (22 May 11)
  

• Intracoastal Waterway PowerPoint Teaching Aid. A short presentation (1814KB, PPT) on navigating the Intracoastal Waterway has been prepared by Stf/C Pablo Prieto and D/Lt/C George Malindzak. Please include any part or all of it in those classes where you have students traversing the Intracoastal Waterway. (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)
  
  
• ABC3 Review Answer Sheet and PowerPoint Files for 2010 Reprint. Revised PowerPoint files and answer sheet for the 2010 reprint of ABC3 are available under the Downloadable Material section of the ABC3 web page. (22 Mar 10)
  

• America's Boating Course, 3rd Edition, Computer Settings. New instructions for setting your computer options to run America's Boating Course, 3rd Edition, using Adobe Flash Player and Adobe Shockwave Player are available on the ABC3 web page. (01 Sep 09)

• ABC3 Slide Correction. In Section 17 of ABC3, slide number 23 has a spelling error. The corrected slide can be downloaded from the ABC3 web page. (21 Jul 09)

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Public Boating Programs

• 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.  Subjects include:

  • Boat handling under normal conditions
  • Adverse conditions and emergencies
  • Types of boats and boating terminology
  • Required and recommended equipment
  • Boating regulations and navigation rules
  • Lines and knots
  • Charts and aids to navigation (in 12-hour format only)
  • Piloting techniques (in 12-hour format only)
  • Marine radiotelephone usage
  • Trailer boating

  Information for instructors and assistants is available from the ABC3 information page.

• Seminars address specific boating topics and needs of interest to both members and the public in a two-hour format. Squadrons conduct seminars to provide specific information to its members and the public, and to increase awareness of USPS knowledge, skills, and abilities to the public. Seminars also serve as excellent public relations fora from which to entice new members. Information for instructors and assistants is available from the Seminars information page.

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Paddle Smart

Paddle Smart is a USPS seminar on a series of topics created especially for paddle sports.  There is also a related (but more for the public) Paddle Smart web site.  Web site topics include:

• Navigation Rules with emphasis on kayaks, canoes, etc.
• Personal Flotation Devices (life jackets)
• Charts and Maps
• Homeland Security
• Weather and its impact on paddlers
• Electronics for paddlers including GPS, cell phones, VHF marine radios, etc.

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Questions or Comments?

If you have any questions or comments about any of the public boating courses, please contact the National Basic Public Education Committee chair by e-mail, phone or postal service mail.  Please be sure to keep your SEO and/or DEO advised of any correspondence you may have with the National committee. Addresses for the National BPECom chair are listed in The ENSIGN and on the Committee Chairpersons page.

We will try to answer your questions as soon as possible, but please allow 5 working days for an answer.

Anyone wishing to provide input on these courses, please contact the committee chair.

If you are interested in becoming a member of this committee, submit a resume on-line at the Committee on Nominations web site.

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