This course was so painful to get through because the website does not work effectively. The timer freezes up and can take over a minute to run out instead of 12 seconds, and about 50% of the time when the timer ran out, the link to go to the next page would not work. I had to change the url to the next number manually or go back to the main menu to find the next page. Because of this, the course took me way longer than it should have and I was distracted from the actual content of the course. I tried everything I could on my end to solve this like using other browsers or wifi and clearing my cache. I tried to report these issues to Boat Ed but could only reach a chat bot that gave generic answers.
I was a Law Enforcement Harbor patrol deputy for many years and actually taught courses for the CBSOA. I've made hundreds of arrests for BUI and wish these courses were around when I was a boat operator. It would have made my work so much easier. I guess the new deputies will now reap the benefits.
Did the boat-ed corse a year ago and got the confirmation email with a pdf of my temporary card. Never received the card. Talked to support 3 times to have them re send the card to two different addresses. It's been a year. Never received my card
This was a great experience that I think every sailor should take this opportunity to learn about things that they have forgotten I learned so much about the navigation and so much more so I give the course a 10 great job
I paid for my boater safety course 7/31/2020. Then there was an error on the website and it wasn't working so I thought it was just technical problems. I waited until Monday 8/3/2020 to go back on and when I did it said the 90 days had already been up and I needed to pay again. I hadn't even started my course and it hadn't even been 7 days since I paid. I've emailed. I've called. Absolutely no help. A waste of $45.
I need my boat license for NH lakes so I signed up. Before you start the online class, you have to pay $50. That's fine. I was charged the $50 & brought to a link to download a mobile app. At the end of the online class I was brought to another link to take the final exam, but in order to take the exam, they told me that payment is required first. I had called customer service and was led to a message "we are experiencing high call volume. Instead of keeping you on hold, we'll call you back in the order we received your call. You will not loose your spot in the call back list." That was about a week ago and have tried calling multiple other times; first thing in the morning when their phone lines first open and throughout the day- but nothing, no call back. I also emailed customer service with hopes they would resolve my issue faster, but still- about a week later and I still have not heard back from them. I really need my license for the summer so I decided to pay again with hopes to finally talk to customer service and get reimbursed from my first payment. Since I've tried absolutely everything in my power to contact customer service other than calling a different country, today I finally disputed the payment with my bank to start the claim process. Luckily Bank of America will temporarily refund me in 2 days and hopefully this will get resolved with my bank. AND luckily I passed the final exam with flying colors so I don't have to deal with it anymore. The only reason why I give this 1 or 2 stars is because the interactive course on the app is pretty good- a little dragged out and takes a while to go through it, gets extreamly boring though. If I had it my way I would rather just review the course material in book form and go straight to the practice and final exam. Overall because of the lack of customer service, I would recommend a different website for your state that accepts proper NASBLA certifications. Many states accept different certifications, so just do your research properly. I know from the distant past, there are lots of scam sites that offer certifications that aren't approved by the state, so be careful.
Their contact is Kalkomey Enterprises. I have emailed and called dozens of times over 2 weeks and recieved ZERO replies. The Florida boat-ed course does not work on iPhone or Samsung.
It took 6 weeks to receive my card after I had to email them about it after the first three weeks and the reason they gave was lost in the mail. How careless can that be and it took me 3 weeks to do my final test because they had some problem with the website.
Shame on boat-ed for blatantly lying about the length of time it takes to complete the California Boater Course that is required for the California Boater Card.
They claim the following from their website:
"How long will it take to complete the course?"
"Typically it takes about 3 hours to go through the online course, excluding any quizzes and/or exams and re-studying that you may choose to do."
I took this class as fast as the program would possibly allow me to and I completed it in no less than 6 hours. Yes there were 6 10-question tests throughout but I sped through all of them and never scored less than 100% on each of them. It's not as though I needed any remediation or had to study or retake any of the exams. I missed one on the 60-question final but again, the final took me no more than 12-14 minutes. It's fine to charge $35 for the course but it's not if you're going to charge people more than the other online companies under the premise that this is the quickest offering at an average of 3 hours total. Not only a misleading claim but it's a flat out lie. If I took it again I would just take the free course that takes "4-8 hours to complete."
I'm one of the people who let my time run out as life got hectic. Knew in back of my mind had to be getting close but when I did get back and thought I had one day left found my time to complete had expired and had to pay more. Just an email stating time left to complete would have been appreciated.
At first I was a honestly a little annoyed at how long the course was. After completing it however I have a much broader knowledge of boating and safety. I have been a boater and fishermen for over 40 years and thought I knew everything there was to know about boating and water safety. I realized I was wrong and am happy to say I really appreciate the easy to follow instruction of the course as well. I can say know that I am definitely going to be a safe more confidant boater. Thank you boater Ed for providing this fantastic educational tool!
Clear instructions. Very comprehensive content. Easy to review before taking test. Separated into chapters. Pretest given after each chapter so student can repeat or review for final test. Online Booklet included for reference (same booklet which comes with many life jackets). Videos in course give how-to techniques on use of boats and jet skis using real people performing tasks correctly. Course also uses animated examples which shows how to follow boating laws and rules. This course allows the student to stop and start in their own time. I was able to score 100% on the final exam after completing all segments over the course of about 5 weeks. I was a little confused about how to get the certificate when I finished. I found out that I could print it out from the website myself. I definitely recommend this course. It's not expensive and the information is valuable.
I purchased Boat & ATV online combo for two children. No clear instructions on receipt on how to access ATV content on another website. I called DNR help site said they have nothing to do with Education.
Coarse Content was excellent & challenging for kids and they learned a lot of new information.
The overall course was really simple and easy to navigate. You can save and stop and start back whenever you like. The questions weren't difficult and the course material was easy to understand. Very straight forward stuff.
They where very efficient in every little step. Although being annoying during studying it is very important to not certify people that aren't eligible. Great job Boat-ed, I look forward to doing more courses with you. Congrats!
The course is well made, covers all good topics. As for as what can be done to improve... The interactive parts are not very user friendly on mobile devices. They should also have a timer with countdown to get an idea how long the course is to schedule your sessions around your day. But all in all it's only about 2-3 hours straight through. You can stop whenever and continue
The navigational section and fire extinguisher section could be more extensive in order to properly retain and commit to memory. The final sections were purely common sense and I flew through them as I expect anyone else would. The final charge of $10 was confusing and took a lot of back button and time to search for a reason as to why additional payment is needed. Most people will assume the $34.95 in the beginning is the one and only payment. An explanation and better instructions to acquire the verification ID # would make it easier.
This was a fun and informative course with alot of detailed information. I am new to boating and learned so much. Only thing missing is some basics on boat mechanics and functionality. A quick overview on how to drive and maintain the vessel would be nice. Perfect course for anyone wanting to get started.
Intense but well worth the time and effort. I learned a variety of lessons based on the various waterways in Pennsylvania. I feel confident as a novice but took copious notes to refer back to as i assume driving duties on the fresh water lakes of PA
Loved it, although long. Very thorough. Glad there is a course like this! You guys did a wonderful job. Although, i did not need it, I learned so many more safety lessons. I want my kids to do it now!
Answer:Customer service at this company consists of a virtual "zendesk," whatever that is. A lady named "Heidi Vanmeter" responded to my inquiry 11 DAYS later. She said the problem was fixed (it wasn't), and then posed the following robo-inquiry:
How would you rate the support you received?
Good, I'm satisfied
Bad, I'm unsatisfied
I clicked the second one. And, of course, I never heard back. I bet the website would post the first one, had I clicked it.
Answer:I printed it out myself. I either went to the Boat-ED website and printed it or went to the DNR website, logged in to my account, located it there and printed it. It has been awhile, so I can't remember which site provided it.
