PERSONAL WATERCRAFT LAW
Personal Watercraft
- You must be 15 years of age to operate a Personal Watercraft (PWC). Persons less than 12 years of age shall not operate a Personal Watercraft and persons 12 - 14 may only operate with an adult onboard with them.
- PWC may only be operated between the hours of sunrise and sunset.
- Each person on a PWC must wear a Coast Guard approved PFD.
- The operator of the PWC must wear a lanyard type cut off switch provided by the manufacturer.
- All persons shall operate a personal watercraft in a reasonable and prudent manner at all times. Maneuvers which unreasonably or unnecessarily endanger life, limb, or property shall constitute reckless operation of the vessel and includes, but is not limited to the following
- Wave jumping in congested areas.
- Becoming airborne within 100 feet of a vessel creating a wake.
- Operating at a speed greater than no wake speed within 100 feet of an anchored vessel, shoreline, dock, pier, swim float, marked swim area, swimmers, surfers, persons engaged in angling or manually powered boats.
- Following too closely in excess of 10 miles per hour within 100 feet to the rear and 50 feet to the side of any other vessel.
Observer Required When Towing with a PWC
To operate a personal watercraft towing another person on water skis or other towables, the personal watercraft must have on board, in addition to the operator, a rear-facing observer, who monitors the progress of the person or persons being towed. The rear-facing observer must be at least twelve years of age.
No person may operate a personal watercraft towing another person on water skis or other towables unless the total number of persons operating, observing and being towed does not exceed the specified number of passengers as identified by the manufacturer as the maximum safe load for the vessel.
|
