Motorboating opens up lakes, rivers, and coastlines for exploring and fun. You'll learn how boats and motors work, the rules of the water, and how to handle a boat safely. With good skills, you'll be a trusted crew member on any trip.
Why it's worth it
A motorboat can take you across a big lake to a remote campsite, out to a fishing spot, or along a coastline to explore. With that freedom comes responsibility: you're in charge of everyone aboard. This badge teaches you how motors work, the rules of the road on the water, how to read the weather, and how to dock, turn, and stop with confidence. You'll be the crew member any captain is glad to have aboard.
Start this week
- Find out when your troop or council is offering the next swimmer test, and get some pool time in before then.
- Ask your Scoutmaster for the name of a Motorboating counselor, and send them a short message with a parent copied to set up a first meeting.
- Look up your state's boating laws, including whether young operators need a boater education card and at what age.
- Ask your counselor or troop where you could practice boat handling with a qualified adult, like a summer camp or a family friend's boat.
Plan ahead: Pass the swimmer test (2) early, before any time on the water. Boat-handling practice (5) depends on having a boat and a qualified adult, so ask about camp sessions or other opportunities right away.
Stay safe
- Follow Safety Afloat every time, with a qualified adult aboard and everyone wearing a properly fitted life jacket.
- Wear the engine cut-off lanyard while driving, and keep everyone clear of the propeller and exhaust.
- When fueling, shut off the engine, put out any flames, close hatches, and air out the boat before restarting.
Requirements · 5
Every official requirement and part, numbered to match Scouting America, in plain language. Sign off against the official wording (opens in a new tab) (updated 2025).
- Requirement 1
Safety and first aid
Tips for this section: Learn the Safety Afloat points and how to handle problems like sunburn, cold water, and cuts.
Example for this section: Walk through a scenario: a passenger leans over the side and falls in. Explain how you'd shut down the motor, throw a flotation device, circle back carefully, and help them aboard. Then tie it to the Safety Afloat points.
- Requirement 1a
Discuss with your counselor the hazards of motorboating (flammable fuel, carbon monoxide, propellers, collisions, falling overboard, capsizing, running aground) and how to anticipate, prevent, reduce, and respond to them
- Requirement 1b
Explain first aid for motorboating injuries and illnesses, including motion sickness, dehydration, hypothermia, heat reactions, blisters, and bug bites
- Requirement 1c
Discuss the Scouting America Safety Afloat policy and how it applies to motorboating
- Requirement 2
Swimming and life jackets
Tips for this section: Practice your swimming so the test is easy, and try on different life jackets to learn how a good fit feels.
Example for this section: Lay out three life jackets and explain the differences, then show how to check fit: buckle and tighten every strap, then have a buddy lift the shoulders. If it slides up over your chin, it's too loose.
- Requirement 2a
Pass the Scouting America swimmer test before doing requirement 5
- Requirement 2b
Name the types of life jackets (PFDs) and when to use each, and show how to pick and correctly fit one
- Requirement 3
Motors and boat operation
Tips for this section: Ask a boat owner or marina mechanic to show you a motor up close and explain fueling and winter storage.
Example for this section: With a marina mechanic or boat owner, compare an outboard motor with an inboard. Explain why you close hatches and keep flames away while fueling, and what winterizing does, like draining water so it won't freeze and crack the engine.
- Requirement 3a
Explain inboard, outboard, and inboard/outboard motors and what each is used for and good at
- Requirement 3b
Explain safety steps and precautions for handling fuel, servicing the engine, and storing and placing equipment
- Requirement 3c
Explain how to winterize a boat motor and why it's needed
- Requirement 3d
Explain safety steps and precautions for swimmers and skiers in the water, where passengers sit while underway, and boat wakes
- Requirement 4
Motorboating safety guidelines
Tips for this section: Look up your state's boating rules and check the weather forecast before every trip, just like a real captain would.
Example for this section: Plan a short trip: check the marine forecast for wind and storms, review your state's speed and no-wake rules, and explain the rules for passing and crossing other boats. Decide in advance what would make you cancel.
- Requirement 4a
Review how each part of Safety Afloat applies, including checking the weather before and during an outing, making sure all required equipment is aboard and working, and following a float plan
- Requirement 4b
Explain the recreational boating rules or laws in your area or state, get a motorboat operator permit if your state requires one, and discuss how you'd look up other states' boating laws
- Requirement 4c
Discuss how bad weather and rough water can affect motorboating safety and performance
- Requirement 4d
Promise to follow the Safety Afloat guidelines and explain what each point means
- Requirement 4e
Explain and show how to use the equipment that state and federal rules require aboard a motorboat
- Requirement 4f
Explain federal and state ventilation system rules and why they exist
- Requirement 4g
Explain how motorboats use lights (sight signals) and sound signals
- Requirement 4h
Discuss common motorboat anchors and when each works best, and explain how to anchor properly
- Requirement 5
Boat handling with an adult aboard
Tips for this section: Practice docking, turning, and stopping with a qualified adult aboard, starting in calm water away from other boats.
Example for this section: With a qualified adult aboard, practice in open, calm water: get underway, stop, turn, back up, and approach a dock slowly against the wind or current. Repeat each move until it feels smooth.
- Requirement 5a
Board the boat and help others board, and make sure everyone aboard wears a properly fitted life jacket
- Requirement 5b
Fuel the boat and do a safety check
- Requirement 5c
Attach the engine cut-off switch link if the boat has one, start the motor safely, and get underway from a dock or beach launch
- Requirement 5d
Run a course of at least 1 mile, showing how to overtake and pass slower boats, yield right-of-way, pass oncoming traffic, turn, reverse direction, and use navigation aids
- Requirement 5e
Anchor the boat to hold position on open water, then pull up and stow the anchor and move on
- Requirement 5f
Land or dock the boat, get off, and help others get off
- Requirement 5g
Moor, dock, or beach the boat, then stow and secure all the gear
- Requirement 5h
Tie these boating knots: bowline, sheet bend, clove hitch, cleating hitch, and anchor bend
Places to visit
Ask an adult to set it up, and go with your family, den, patrol, or crew.
A marina service shop
Mechanics can show you outboard and inboard motors up close and explain fueling, maintenance, and winter storage.
How: Have an adult call ahead and ask whether a technician could give a short tour to a few Scouts on a quiet weekday.
A Coast Guard Auxiliary or state boating safety class or vessel safety check
Volunteers can show you what safety gear a boat must carry and how to inspect it.
How: Have a parent check the Auxiliary or state boating agency website for upcoming classes or safety check events and go together.
Where it can lead
- Marine technicianRepairs and maintains boat engines and systems; trained through technical programs.
- Coast Guard memberPatrols waterways, enforces boating laws, and rescues people in trouble.
- Boat captainRuns ferries, tour boats, or fishing charters with a Coast Guard license.
- Marine patrol officerEnforces boating laws and helps keep lakes and rivers safe.
- Marina managerRuns the docks, fuel, repairs, and services that keep boaters on the water.
Ask yourself
- What part of being responsible for a boat feels exciting, and what part feels like a lot?
- Which boat-handling skill took the most practice, and what helped it click?
- How did checking the weather change your plans or your thinking about a trip?
- What did you learn about looking out for everyone aboard?
- Where would you like to go by boat someday, and what would you need to learn first?
Good questions to ask your counselor or an experienced boater
- What's the most important thing to check before you leave the dock?
- How do you decide when the weather is too risky to go out?
- What's the hardest part of docking, and how did you learn it?
- What mistakes do new boat operators make most often?
- What's a close call you had on the water, and what did you learn from it?
Helpful reads
- Earning a merit badge, step by step, From picking a badge to getting the final signature: how to find a counselor, set up meetings safely, work the requirements, and keep your progress., Youth · Families · 6 min read
- Contacting counselors, experts, and organizations, Email and phone scripts, who to ask for, how to follow up, and how to say thanks, with a parent copied every time., Youth · Families · 7 min read
- Choosing your next merit badge, How to pick a badge you'll actually finish: start with what you care about, balance Eagle-required and just-for-fun badges, and make the most of camp., Youth · Families · 6 min read
For leaders & parents
- Run all boat handling with a qualified adult aboard and life jackets worn by everyone.
- Consider having scouts take a state boating safety course alongside the badge.
People & places that can help
- Merit badge counselor — Talk with them early; they can explain what's expected.
- U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary or state boating agency — Boating safety classes and local rules.
- National Weather Service (opens in a new tab) — Forecasts and marine weather.
- Scouting America (opens in a new tab) — Official requirements and program updates.
- U.S. Coast Guard Boating Safety (opens in a new tab) — Required safety gear, navigation rules, and checklists for boaters.
- NASBLA (opens in a new tab) — Find your state's boating laws and an approved boater education course.
- U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary (opens in a new tab) — Volunteer boating safety classes and free vessel safety checks.
- NWS Marine Forecasts (opens in a new tab) — Wind, wave, and storm forecasts for lakes and coastal waters.
- Guide to Safe Scouting: Aquatics Safety (opens in a new tab) — Safety Afloat and the rules for Scout boating activities.
Pairs well with
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Tips, examples, and questions are ideas from experienced leaders, not extra requirements. Your unit leader or counselor decides when a requirement is complete.