Self-Reported On-Water Boat Operator Survey

Contributor: Ernie Marshburn, PhD

Dr. Ernie Marshburn began boating in a Sunfish and Flying Scots during the summers while working as a camp counselor. He sailed a Canadian Sailcraft 36 for 13 years and raced for many years winning the North Carolina Sailing Championship in 1994. Both Dr. Marshburn and his wife Dianne earned their USCG Masters license for a 50 ton vessel with sailing and towing endorsements in 2000. Through Dr. Marshburn's work, he learned most literature on boating safety is based primarily on reported accidents, and there’s a lack of data about normal boating behavior. SOBOS — Self-reported On-water Boat Operator Survey — is aimed at changing the face of boating safety by taking a crowdsourcing approach to collecting information about how people use their boats. Boaters who wish to participate simply access the link, fill out the form take a short survey, and then can email that form for data collection. SOBOS currently includes a Float Plan and Operator Survey.