Laserfiche WebLink
PERSONAL WATERCRAFT <br />What IS a personal watercraft? Sometimes <br />know n as /et Skis, Wet Jets, Wave Runners, <br />SeJi Doos, water scooters etc., a personal <br />watercraft is defined by law as a motorboat <br />that 1) IS powered by an inboard motor power­ <br />ing a water )et pump or by an outboard or <br />propeller-driven motor: and 2) is designed to <br />be operated bv a person or persons sitting, <br />standing, or kneeling on the craft, rather than <br />in the conventional manner of sitting or stand ­ <br />ing i..side a motorboat. <br />All personal ‘vatercraft are considered <br />motorboats and therefore, anv regulations that <br />govern other motorboats (such as fishing boats, <br />cabin cruisers, etc.), also govern personal <br />watercraft. <br />Personal Watercraft Laws <br />In summary, the law requires that: <br />• Anvone operating or riding on a personal <br />watercraft must wear a U.S. Coast Guard <br />approved Type I, II, III or V personal flotation <br />device (PFD or life jacket). <br />• You may not operate a personal watercraft <br />between sunset and 8:00 a.m. the following <br />day. <br />• You may not travel at greater than a slow- <br />no-wake speed, within 100 feet of anv <br />shoreline, dock, swimmer, swimming raft, anv <br />moored or anchored watercraft, or non- <br />motorized watercraft at anv time. (S/ow-no- <br />wake IS the slowest possible speed necessary <br />to maintain steerage, but in no case greater <br />than live miles per hour.) <br />• If vou tow a person on water skis, or any <br />other device, there must be an additional <br />person on board the personal watercraft to <br />act as an observer. (The obseaer does not <br />have to be facing backward.) The skier/ <br />kneeboarder etc. must also be wearing a PFD <br />or there must be one on board the personal <br />watercraft for the skier. <br />Factorv-installed or factoa-replacement <br />wide-field reaaiew mirrors are allowed <br />instead of an obseaer when pulling a skier <br />or other device (tube, kneeboard, etc.) The <br />mirrors must be integrated into the hull <br />design of the craft. After-market mirrors, <br />stick-on mirrors, motorcycle mirrors etc., <br />do not qualify for the obseaer exemption. <br />• If the machine is equipp>ed by the manu­ <br />facturer w ith a lanvard-^pe engine cutoff <br />switch. It must be attached to the person, life <br />lacket or clothing of the op>erator when under­ <br />way. <br />• You may not operate a personal watercraft <br />if any part of the spring-loaded throttle system <br />has been removed or tampered with so it inter­ <br />feres with the refurn-io-idle system. <br />• You may not chase or harass wildlife. <br />• You may not travel through emergent float­ <br />ing vegetation at greater than slow-no-wake <br />speed. <br />• You mav not operate a personal watercraft <br />in a manner that unreasonably or unnecessari ­ <br />ly endangers life, limb or property. <br />• You mav not weave through congested <br />watercraft traffic, or jump the wake of another <br />watercraft within 100 feet of the other water­ <br />craft. This includes other personal watercraft. <br />Age of Operator Requirements <br />Under 13 years old <br />A person under the age ' i j years may not <br />operate a personal watercra.;, .^-gardless of <br />29