TOLL-FREE CALLS GET ANSWERS FOR BOATERS

                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SUNDAY, February 21, 1993                   TAG: 9302210093
SECTION: BOAT SHOW                    PAGE: BS-6   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short
TOLL-FREE CALLS GET ANSWERS FOR BOATERS
If you have a boating question, want to report a safety defect or take a boating course close to home, the BOAT/U.S. Foundation for Boating Safety wants you to know that assistance is just a toll-free phone call away.
The foundation has launched a national advertising and publicity campaign to encourage more boaters to use two free sources of information: the U.S. Coast Guard Boating Safety Hotline, 800-368-5647, and the foundation's own CourseLine, 800-245-BOAT (outside Virginia, 800-336-BOAT).
"The Hotline and the CourseLine offer boaters instant access to a wealth of free information they can use to enjoy the sport safely," said Jim Ellis, executive director of the BOAT/U.S. Foundation.
The Coast Guard Boating Safety Hotline provides information on a wide range of topics, including Coast Guard boarding procedures, charts, hurricanes, regulations and licenses, safety equipment and manufacture recalls.
Boaters also may call the Hotline to report a safety defect in a boat or equipment. Calls are answered on weekdays 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The BOAT/U.S. Foundation CourseLine helps boaters find free boating courses taught by volunteers from local units of the U.S. Power squadron, U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary and the American Red Cross, as well as state agencies. The CourseLine lists more than 18,000 locations coast to coast offering courses that cover boat handling, navigation, engine troubleshooting, equipment regulations, rules of the road, trailering and weather. Calls are answered weekdays 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.

by Archana Subramaniam by CNB