FLORIDA BOATING 2026 UPDATED EXAMS TEST PAPER
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS SURE A+
✔✔If you cannot help out safely, make sure to - ✔✔notify another boater who can as
quickly as possible; and also notify the authorities.
✔✔If you are involved in an accident with another boat, you need to - ✔✔stop and
exchange information—and provide assistance if you can do so safely.
✔✔Did you know that the major cause of fatalities in small boats is from - ✔✔drowning
after a fall overboard or a capsizing?
✔✔according to the U.S. Coast Guard, eighty-five percent of people who drown while
boating are - ✔✔not wearing a lifejacket.
✔✔Capsizing - ✔✔A capsizing is when a boat overturns or is swamped with water.
-Capsizing is most common in small boats like canoes and sailboats
✔✔Fall Overboard - ✔✔1. A fall overboard is when someone unexpectedly tumbles
over the side of a boat into the water.
2. Because these falls often catch boaters by surprise, there is usually no chance to put
on a lifejacket if it's not already being worn.
✔✔Common causes of falls overboard and capsizing include: - ✔✔1. being caught off
guard by a wave or sharp turn when moving around in the boat,
2. carrying too much weight in the boat or unevenly distributing weight in the boat;
3. and bad weather conditions.
✔✔(Capsizing and Falls Overboard)
Knowing this, there are a few things we can do to prevent these emergencies. - ✔✔1.
First, stay low and centered in your boat, and always maintain three points of contact
when moving about your boat.
2. Second, take corners at a safe speed and angle.
3. Third, watch for other boats' wake and take that wake head-on from the bow.
4. Next, never overload your boat and make sure that the load is distributed evenly.
5. And lastly, avoid boating in bad weather.
, -If you must boat in bad weather, make sure to slow down.
- A final tip is to never tie the rode line of the anchor to the stern of your boat. This
places more weight at the back of the boat, increasing chances of swamping.
✔✔(Capsizing and Falls Overboard: Response)
If you're operating a boat and a passenger falls overboard, here's what to do: - ✔✔Step
1: Immediately slow down and stop the boat.
Step 2: Quickly throw something buoyant, like a life buoy or a lifejacket, to the person
overboard. This will help them stay afloat and mark their location in the water if they go
under.
Step 3: Assign someone in your boat to keep the overboard person in sight at all times.
Have them continually point to the person's location in the water.
Step 4: Carefully position the boat close enough to make contact with the overboard
person.
-Keep them on the operator side of the boat.
Step 5: Throw a buoyant heaving line, or a life buoy attached to your boat, to the person
overboard.
Step 6: Pull the overboard person to your boat and get them back on board using the
boat's boarding ladder. If your boat doesn't have a ladder, you can drape a heavy rope
or chain across the stern to use as a makeshift step.
✔✔It's important to consider that in most instances, the overboard person will climb
back into the boat from the stern. To avoid a second emergency, - ✔✔turn off your
engine.
✔✔(Capzising and Falls Overboard: Survival)
In the event that you find yourself in the water after your boat capsizes or you fall
overboard, here are some tips to remember: - ✔✔1. First, stay calm and conserve
energy.
2. If you were boating with others, take a headcount and make sure everyone is
accounted for. Stay together.
3. If possible, re-board your boat.
4. Stay with your boat unless it's headed for a hazard.
Small boats tend to float; by holding on to your boat, you will help conserve energy and
remain more visible to other boaters who can come to your rescue.
,5. When separated from your boat in a fast moving river, float on your back with your
feet pointed downstream.
6. And most important, get out of the water as quickly as possible.
✔✔Falls overboard and capsizing show how important it is to wear a lifejacket. If you
end up in the water, your lifejacket will help you - ✔✔conserve energy, stay warm and
keep afloat while you wait for rescue.
✔✔Every year, many drowning and boat related fatalities are the direct result of a -
✔✔fall overboard or a boat capsizing in cold water.
✔✔Why is cold water so dangerous? Because cold water - ✔✔literally "shocks" the
body and causes it to slowly shut down, making drowning much more likely.
✔✔remember that your priority in the case of cold water immersion is to - ✔✔get
yourself out of the water as quickly as possible using whatever means available.
✔✔When a person falls into cold water, their body - ✔✔experiences a variety of
physiological responses that relate both to the temperature of the water and the amount
of time they are in contact with the water.
✔✔(Stages of Cold Water)
When immersed in cold water, the body goes through the following stages. - ✔✔1. Initial
Immersion or Cold Water Shock
2. Short-term Immersion
3. Longer Term Immersion
4. Post-Rescue Collapse
✔✔(Stages of Cold Water)
Initial Immersion or Cold Water Shock - ✔✔1. When a person first falls into cold water,
their initial reaction will be a "gasp reflex".
-This reflex often includes hyperventilation and muscle spasms, and, as a result of
gasping for air, can lead to the inhalation of water.
2. It can also lead to changes in heart rate and blood pressure. These first effects
usually last about two to three minutes at which point the body starts to experience
more serious changes.
✔✔(Stages of Cold Water)
, Short-term Immersion - ✔✔1. It only takes a few minutes for your body to start losing
basic motor skills when immersed in cold water.
2. After as little as three minutes, you may start to lose strength and sensation in your
hands, which will also affect your ability to swim, regardless of how good a swimmer
you are.
3. Boaters often drown as a result of swimming failure even before hypothermia has had
the chance to set in.
✔✔(Stages of Cold Water)
Longer term Immersion - ✔✔1. After about 30 minutes of cold-water immersion, the
body's core temperature will drop below the safe normal level.
-This is called hypothermia.
2. The core temperature will continue to drop until it has reached the same temperature
as the water, and the person will lapse into unconsciousness.
✔✔(Stages of Cold Water)
Post Rescue Collapse - ✔✔1. A drop in blood pressure resulting from hypothermia may
cause the person to become unconscious, or even stop breathing, even several hours
after the rescue.
2. For this reason, a person suffering from hypothermia needs to receive medical
attention as soon as possible following rescue from the water.
✔✔_____________ are the leading causes of cold-water immersion. - ✔✔Boats
capsizing and falls overboard
✔✔1. Capsizing is most often caused by
2. Falls overboard are most often - ✔✔1. overloading, unsafe boat handling, improper
anchoring, or the loss of power or steering.
2. caused by slips or falls while moving around a boat.
-These emergencies can be prevented by always staying low and stable while moving
about your boat and by taking care to follow the guidelines for safe loading and
operation in bad weather.
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS SURE A+
✔✔If you cannot help out safely, make sure to - ✔✔notify another boater who can as
quickly as possible; and also notify the authorities.
✔✔If you are involved in an accident with another boat, you need to - ✔✔stop and
exchange information—and provide assistance if you can do so safely.
✔✔Did you know that the major cause of fatalities in small boats is from - ✔✔drowning
after a fall overboard or a capsizing?
✔✔according to the U.S. Coast Guard, eighty-five percent of people who drown while
boating are - ✔✔not wearing a lifejacket.
✔✔Capsizing - ✔✔A capsizing is when a boat overturns or is swamped with water.
-Capsizing is most common in small boats like canoes and sailboats
✔✔Fall Overboard - ✔✔1. A fall overboard is when someone unexpectedly tumbles
over the side of a boat into the water.
2. Because these falls often catch boaters by surprise, there is usually no chance to put
on a lifejacket if it's not already being worn.
✔✔Common causes of falls overboard and capsizing include: - ✔✔1. being caught off
guard by a wave or sharp turn when moving around in the boat,
2. carrying too much weight in the boat or unevenly distributing weight in the boat;
3. and bad weather conditions.
✔✔(Capsizing and Falls Overboard)
Knowing this, there are a few things we can do to prevent these emergencies. - ✔✔1.
First, stay low and centered in your boat, and always maintain three points of contact
when moving about your boat.
2. Second, take corners at a safe speed and angle.
3. Third, watch for other boats' wake and take that wake head-on from the bow.
4. Next, never overload your boat and make sure that the load is distributed evenly.
5. And lastly, avoid boating in bad weather.
, -If you must boat in bad weather, make sure to slow down.
- A final tip is to never tie the rode line of the anchor to the stern of your boat. This
places more weight at the back of the boat, increasing chances of swamping.
✔✔(Capsizing and Falls Overboard: Response)
If you're operating a boat and a passenger falls overboard, here's what to do: - ✔✔Step
1: Immediately slow down and stop the boat.
Step 2: Quickly throw something buoyant, like a life buoy or a lifejacket, to the person
overboard. This will help them stay afloat and mark their location in the water if they go
under.
Step 3: Assign someone in your boat to keep the overboard person in sight at all times.
Have them continually point to the person's location in the water.
Step 4: Carefully position the boat close enough to make contact with the overboard
person.
-Keep them on the operator side of the boat.
Step 5: Throw a buoyant heaving line, or a life buoy attached to your boat, to the person
overboard.
Step 6: Pull the overboard person to your boat and get them back on board using the
boat's boarding ladder. If your boat doesn't have a ladder, you can drape a heavy rope
or chain across the stern to use as a makeshift step.
✔✔It's important to consider that in most instances, the overboard person will climb
back into the boat from the stern. To avoid a second emergency, - ✔✔turn off your
engine.
✔✔(Capzising and Falls Overboard: Survival)
In the event that you find yourself in the water after your boat capsizes or you fall
overboard, here are some tips to remember: - ✔✔1. First, stay calm and conserve
energy.
2. If you were boating with others, take a headcount and make sure everyone is
accounted for. Stay together.
3. If possible, re-board your boat.
4. Stay with your boat unless it's headed for a hazard.
Small boats tend to float; by holding on to your boat, you will help conserve energy and
remain more visible to other boaters who can come to your rescue.
,5. When separated from your boat in a fast moving river, float on your back with your
feet pointed downstream.
6. And most important, get out of the water as quickly as possible.
✔✔Falls overboard and capsizing show how important it is to wear a lifejacket. If you
end up in the water, your lifejacket will help you - ✔✔conserve energy, stay warm and
keep afloat while you wait for rescue.
✔✔Every year, many drowning and boat related fatalities are the direct result of a -
✔✔fall overboard or a boat capsizing in cold water.
✔✔Why is cold water so dangerous? Because cold water - ✔✔literally "shocks" the
body and causes it to slowly shut down, making drowning much more likely.
✔✔remember that your priority in the case of cold water immersion is to - ✔✔get
yourself out of the water as quickly as possible using whatever means available.
✔✔When a person falls into cold water, their body - ✔✔experiences a variety of
physiological responses that relate both to the temperature of the water and the amount
of time they are in contact with the water.
✔✔(Stages of Cold Water)
When immersed in cold water, the body goes through the following stages. - ✔✔1. Initial
Immersion or Cold Water Shock
2. Short-term Immersion
3. Longer Term Immersion
4. Post-Rescue Collapse
✔✔(Stages of Cold Water)
Initial Immersion or Cold Water Shock - ✔✔1. When a person first falls into cold water,
their initial reaction will be a "gasp reflex".
-This reflex often includes hyperventilation and muscle spasms, and, as a result of
gasping for air, can lead to the inhalation of water.
2. It can also lead to changes in heart rate and blood pressure. These first effects
usually last about two to three minutes at which point the body starts to experience
more serious changes.
✔✔(Stages of Cold Water)
, Short-term Immersion - ✔✔1. It only takes a few minutes for your body to start losing
basic motor skills when immersed in cold water.
2. After as little as three minutes, you may start to lose strength and sensation in your
hands, which will also affect your ability to swim, regardless of how good a swimmer
you are.
3. Boaters often drown as a result of swimming failure even before hypothermia has had
the chance to set in.
✔✔(Stages of Cold Water)
Longer term Immersion - ✔✔1. After about 30 minutes of cold-water immersion, the
body's core temperature will drop below the safe normal level.
-This is called hypothermia.
2. The core temperature will continue to drop until it has reached the same temperature
as the water, and the person will lapse into unconsciousness.
✔✔(Stages of Cold Water)
Post Rescue Collapse - ✔✔1. A drop in blood pressure resulting from hypothermia may
cause the person to become unconscious, or even stop breathing, even several hours
after the rescue.
2. For this reason, a person suffering from hypothermia needs to receive medical
attention as soon as possible following rescue from the water.
✔✔_____________ are the leading causes of cold-water immersion. - ✔✔Boats
capsizing and falls overboard
✔✔1. Capsizing is most often caused by
2. Falls overboard are most often - ✔✔1. overloading, unsafe boat handling, improper
anchoring, or the loss of power or steering.
2. caused by slips or falls while moving around a boat.
-These emergencies can be prevented by always staying low and stable while moving
about your boat and by taking care to follow the guidelines for safe loading and
operation in bad weather.
