COMDTINST 16796.7
responsibility of a partnership of interests, including the Coast Guard and the
Auxiliary, the states, the boating industry, and the boating public. The Coast Guard
contributes to boating safety with a balance of response, enforcement, and prevention.
The Coast Guard responds to about 40,000 search and rescue incidents each year.
Coast Guard boats and cutters enforce boating safety laws by performing about 50,000
boardings of recreational boats each year. To help prevent accidents and achieve
voluntary compliance with boating safety laws, the Coast Guard Auxiliary gives about
80,000 hours of classroom instruction each year, and conducts over 150,000 Vessel
Safety Checks.
b.
As these numbers show, the prevention and voluntary compliance efforts of the Coast
Guard Auxiliary are among the most significant Coast Guard contributions to boating
safety. However, a number of strategic influences in recent years have threatened to
diminish the Auxiliary's leadership role in boating safety. Of perhaps greater concern,
these influences have lessened the boaters' desire to seek voluntary compliance with
boating safety laws. These influences include steadily growing state legislation
requiring education of boat operators, the rise of commercial training providers in
response to new state legal requirements, and a diminished public perception of the
value of the Vessel Safety Check (formerly called the Courtesy Marine Examination).
In response to these trends, the Coast Guard Auxiliary was awarded a grant from the
Aquatic Resources (Wallop-Breaux) Trust Fund to re-engineer this program to meet
the current and future needs of the recreational boating population. Recommendations
of the study team convened under the grant included aligning the Vessel Safety Check
to current equipment, legal, and safety needs; developing a marketing plan to raise
public awareness; and involving other organizations in providing vessel safety checks
under the leadership and direction of the Coast Guard Auxiliary. The results of the
effort are documented in the study team's report, reference (c). This Instrapproved
recommendations from the report. This Instruction also implementrecommendations
of the Vessel Examiner Front End Analysis, reference (d).
5.
POLICY. The following policy changes are effective on 01 May 2000.
a.
The Vessel Examination Program is renamed the Vessel Safety Check Program
(VSCP).
b.
The Courtesy Marine Examination and the Personal Watercraft Safety Check are
combined into a single examination, renamed the Vessel Safety Check (VSC).
c.
The Courtesy Marine Examination decal and the Personal Watercraft Safety Check
decal are replaced by the Vessel Safety Check decal. A sample is shown in enclosure
(1).
d.
The Courtesy Marine Examination form, AUX-204 (3-98), and the Personal
Watercraft Safety Check form, AUX-204A (3-97) are replaced by the Vessel Safety
Check form, AUX-204 (1-2000). A sample is shown in enclosure (2).
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