Scientific Boating Operations

 

Overview 

The primary goal of the Scientific Boating Program at Hopkins is to ensure that educational and scientific boating operations are conducted according to the procedures set forth in the Boating Safety Manual. Priorities include training and authorizing boat operators according to the standards of the Scientific Boating Safety Association (SBSA), of which Hopkins has been a member since 2008, and ensuring that users of Hopkins boats have appropriate training and experience for the vessels and locations/conditions in which they are used.

How to contact Marine Operations 

Who can join or utilize the program

All Stanford affiliated Students, faculty, staff, etc. can use our boating program

Stanford students, faculty, and staff intending to use boats for research as operators can join our scientific boating program -more information on how to become an operator in the levels below 

Stanford students, faculty, and staff wanting to reserve our boats and an approved operator for their research may submit a request - more information on how to request a vessel and operator in the levels below

Non-Stanford-affiliated individuals are not permitted to operate our vessels

How 

Prospective Operators: 

Three levels of boat training and qualification are available at Hopkins, depending on the needs of the researcher or student. Skipper candidates must submit an application to Stanford's scientific boating program on WebBoater, including a written summary of boating experience and documentation of any previous training. All candidates must complete a California Safe Boating course and/or submit documentation 

Part of the qualification process involves the skipper candidate spending time as crew on the boat he/she wishes to be checked out on (or similar) with a qualified skipper. Please allow sufficient time to complete training and authorization before any planned Hopkins boating operations. Specific boat use and checkout procedures for each level of qualification are described below:

 

 

Required Incident Reporting At Stanford

Any accident, incident, or near-miss event shall be reported to the BSO and to the Hopkins Marine Station administrator/station manager within 24 hours of occurrence. Reportable incidents include but are not limited to: injury, vessel break-down, outboard motor failure or loss, hull damage, citation or boarding of the vessel, and near-accident or “close calls”, whether on land or water. If the operator is in doubt about whether the event needs to be reported in writing, they should check with the BSO.  

Learn more about this program

Boating Safety Courses and Additional Information

Minimum requirements

Additional training

U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary Boating Skills and Seamanship

External MOTC Classes 

External Resources