PARKERSBURG - The Mid-Ohio Valley Power Squadron and the Parkersburg Chapter of the American Red Cross will hold their annual boating safety course, Boat Smart, on March 20-21 at the Red Cross headquarters on Eighth Street.

The course will be taught in two four-hour sessions, from 5:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. March 20 and from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. March 21.

The course is required for owners of boats and personal watercraft with an engine greater than 10 mph, said Ted Treat, squadron education officer. The course meets the requirements under law in Ohio and West Virginia, he said.

To operate a powerboat in Ohio, boating education is required for those born after Jan. 1, 1982, in West Virginia after Dec 31, 1986.

The course is free, however, the course manual, which costs $20, is recommended for each family group.

The squadron encourages family participation, said Bob Fish, incoming district commander for the Power Squadron in a region encompassing Pittsburgh, Cleveland and Charleston and more than 1,600 members.

It's important that other riders on the boat or watercraft know how to use the equipment, particularly the safety equipment, and how to assist the pilot or take over for him in the situation arises, Treat said.

''You never know when the skipper is going to find himself in the water or is incapacitated,'' he said.

Studies have shown that 80 percent of the accidents involved boaters who haven't taken the course, Fish said. Of the fatalities, most of the killed failed to follow the basis tenet of the squadron, that is to wear a life preserver, he said.

Topics to be covered include boat operation, rules of the road, safety equipment, docking, anchoring, trailering and operation under adverse conditions.

The course is coordinated with more than 450 other squadrons throughout the United States. Materials are nationally developed and certified volunteers teach classes.

To register, call Treat at 304-863-6126 or Bob Lanyon, boating safety instructor, at 304 428-6472.

The squadron is chartered and affiliated through United States Power Squadrons and was organized in Parkersburg 37 years ago. Members include power and sail boaters on the Ohio River, Seneca Lake and the Chesapeake Bay.

The United States Power Squadron, organized in 1914, is a nonprofit, educational organization dedicated to making recreational boating safer and more enjoyable. It is the largest boating organization in the United States with 60,000 members in 450 squadrons.