Regs Covering Floatplanes

[pelmet]

Someone told me that the Canada Maritime Act applies to floatplane operations. Just wanted to confirm the proper name of the act and where one might find further info

[scdriver]

Correct, at all times on the water for the purpose of regs, floatplanes are considered boats. I guess it would be the Canada Marine Act that applies, but also any local port authority regulations established under the marine act

[Bede]

ship means every description of vessel, boat or craft designed, used or capable of being used solely or partly for marine navigation, whether self-propelled or not and without regard to the method of propulsion, and includes a sea-plane and a raft or boom of logs or lumber.

https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/act ... l#h-148627

[86583]

so does the pilot of a seaplane need to have a boat licence to operate on the water? or does the seaplane rating on the pilot licence suffice?

if so, can you operate a boat based on the seaplane rating on your pilot licence?

[PilotDAR]

A seaplane rating would not be considered an acceptable substitute to a pleasure craft operator's card or equivalent marine qualification to operate a boat.

The seaplane rating is sufficient to operate a seaplane on the water, though you are subject to the marine right of way regulations, so knowing them is a good idea. That said, if you're operating a seaplane on the water in an area so congested that right of way is becoming an issue with other boats, I'd rethink why you're operating there! Planes and boats don't mix well in close quarters.

[86583]

I'm not disagreeing with you, and I'm assuming this is your "opinion" and not based on any document..
by your own admission your saying that anyone operating a seaplane, especially in congested area's should know the rules of the road and again I agree.. sometimes you have no choice but to mix with boat traffic.. I guess that's part of the reason I'm curious why a seaplane rating wouldn't be a substitute for the boating licence..
I guess if I wanted to play devils advocate and answer my own question the obvious answer would be how many people that do seaplane ratings take the time to teach maritime rules of the road as well as the mechanics of getting off and on the water safely..

[digits_]

I'm not sure if these are the *only* regulations covering this situation, but here are the rules governing "Competency of Operators of Pleasure Craft Regulations
SOR/99-53"

https://laws.justice.gc.ca/eng/regulati ... age-1.html

Application
2 (1) These Regulations apply in respect of pleasure craft that are fitted with a motor and that are operated for recreational purposes in Canadian waters, other than the waters of the Northwest Territories and Nunavut.

(2) These Regulations do not apply in respect of seaplanes.

Based on this, you don't need a boating license.

[PilotDAR]

be how many people that do seaplane ratings take the time to teach maritime rules of the road

Probably few. Perhaps a flaw in the system. That said, aside from understanding navigation buoys, many of the right of way rules for airplanes and vessels are quite similar. I opine that if a seaplane pilot applied good judgement of the rules of the air while operating on the water, things would probably be okay. Obviously, from the exemption mentioned above, the regulator thinks similarly. I think it's probably a very small problem not worth fixing. I expect that a major factor is that the authorities are very interested in getting boats to slow down and give way properly in congested areas. Takeoff and landing aside, seaplanes are usually operating very slowly on the water in congested areas, out of maneuvering necessity.

In addition to seaplane training, I am also TC delegated to teach the marine course to fire department staff. There is a lot more to the marine operator's course next up from the PCOC than you'd ever want to see in a float endorsement, and a lot of it is not applicable to airplane on the water operations anyway. It's about 40 hours of classroom training, in addition to training on the water. Sure, knowing it would be great for seaplane pilots, but dramatic overkill too. Many years ago, I took the OPP marine operator's course, which is amazing training, in part because the OPP teaches in very well maintained, though beater worn out ex patrol boats. They are not particularly concerned if you scratch it, and the cost of prop that you may damage is already built into the course fee! As an indicator of how aggressive the training is, we wear required to wear white water rafting lifejackets (torso protection) and helmets for most of the training. My partner found out why when I maneuvered a little too hard one day, and hes was not holding on .

I do recall a former DHC test pilot friend of mine, who wanted to get his Toronto Harbour marine license. He used DHC's amphib Turbo Beaver at the time for the practical test - and passed!

For the few times I've had to operate a seaplane in amongst boats, I just gave everyone lots of space, and it went just fine.