Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, July 3, 1990 TAG: 9007030058
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BILL COCHRAN
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Virginia's motorboat owners began paying significantly higher registration fees this week, but state officials say the cost of registering a boat here still is less than the national average.
The old registration fee of $11 for three years has been replaced by a sliding-scale system based on the size of each craft. The following three-year rates apply to new, renewal and transfer registrations:
Motorboats shorter than 16 feet, $18.
Motorboats 16 feet to 20 feet, $22.
Motorboats 20 feet to 40 feet, $28.
Motorboats 40 feet and longer, $36
The new fees, which are the result of action by the 1990 General Assembly, will bring an estimated $600,000 in much needed additional revenue to the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, the agency charged with managing the state's boating programs.
Boat-law enforcement, launching facilities and safety programs will benefit from the additional money, said Larry Hart, chief of the agency's administrative services.
All of these programs will receive particularly heavy use July 4, one of boating's busiest holidays.
Congested waterways call for added caution and common sense, said Jack Cox, boating education coordinator for the game and fish department.
Statistics show boating accidents through June are down appreciably this year. There have been six fatal accidents this year, compared with 17 for the same period a year ago. Cox said he hopes that trend won't be changed by a rash of holiday accidents.
"I would like to attribute it to boating education, but boat accidents are very cyclic," he said.
One of the simplest precautions boaters can take is to wear a life jacket, Cox said. Many boating fatalities occur when small-craft users fall out of their boat and drown.
Alcohol also plays a major role in boating accidents, Cox said.
"The one thing I would tell boaters out the Fourth of July is to watch their alcohol consumption," he said.
The extra money from the increased registration fees is needed particularly for the development of boat-launching facilities, Hart said. New boat ramps are needed and some established ones need to be repaired or enlarged, he said. Such work has fallen behind schedule because of a lack of funds.
"Most concrete boat ramps cost $100,000 or more," Hart said. "We still can put in some canoe access for less than that. It is more like $200,000 to build a ramp in tidal water."
The new fee schedule makes the average cost of registering a motorboat in Virginia $21 for three years, Hart said. The national average is $27.
"I hope boaters don't get too upset about the new fees, because they still are cheaper than in other states," he said.
Before the increase, Virginia boaters paid the third-lowest registration fees in the country, said Hart. "Now we are running 27th or 28th," he added.
Any boat with mechanical power, including an electric motor, is consider a motorboat and must be registered. Boats that are paddled, such as canoes and johnboats, don't have to be registered. But some legislators say they should be, pointing out that the owners of powerless craft also benefit from launching ramps, safety programs and warden patrols.
A bill calling for the registration of all boats is expected to be introduced in the 1991 General Assembly.
by CNB