Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - January/February 2015 - 44

Information All Boaters Must Know

by Ryan C. Walt

Boating and Watercraft Safety Manager,
Bureau of Boating & Outreach
This article reviews key regulatory and safety information that
boaters must know before venturing out on the water. The
annual Boating Regulations Recap brochure also highlights
new regulations that were approved by the Pennsylvania Fish
& Boat Commission (PFBC). The Boating Regulations Recap
paired with the Pennsylvania Boating Handbook provides boaters
with comprehensive safety information to use when operating
watercraft on Pennsylvania waterways.

Personal Flotation Devices (PFDs)

* A United States Coast Guard approved wearable life jacket
is required for each person on board. Also, one throwable
device is required on boats 16 feet in length or longer.
* Children 12 years of age and younger must wear an
approved life jacket while underway on Commonwealth
waters on any boat 20 feet or less in length and in all canoes
and kayaks.
* All water skiers and anyone towed behind a boat, personal
watercraft operators and passengers, and sailboarders must
wear a life jacket. Inflatable life jackets are not acceptable for
these activities.
* Wearable life jackets must be "readily accessible" or
in the open where they can be easily reached. Throwable
devices must be immediately available or within arm's reach.
A PFD stowed in a compartment or sealed in its original
packaging is not readily accessible or immediately available.
* Life jackets must be the right size and appropriate for the
activity. Read the label!

Mandatory cold weather
life jacket regulation

As of November 1, 2012, all boaters must wear a life jacket
on boats less than 16 feet in length or any canoe or kayak from
November 1 through April 30. Recreational boating fatalities
that occur in Pennsylvania from November through April are
primarily due to the effects of cold water immersion. In an
effort to reduce these fatalities, the Commission has amended
regulations to require life jackets to be worn on small and unstable
boats during the period most noted for cold water temperatures.

Boating accidents

Boating accidents must be reported in writing by the boat
operator or owner to PFBC when:
* A person dies or disappears.
* A person is injured and requires advanced medical
treatment beyond first aid.

44

Pennsylvania Angler & Boater * January/February 2015

* Damage to the boat and other property totals more than
$2,000, or there is a complete loss of the vessel.
Boating accident reports can be downloaded from the
Commission's website at www.fishandboat.com/images/
pages/forms/pfbc260.pdf or obtained from any of our
regional law enforcement offices.

Mandatory boating education
HP OF MOTOR RESTRICTIONS OF USE
PWC

All PWC (personal watercraft) operators, regardless of age,
must have a Boating Safety Education Certificate.
Persons 11 years of age or younger may NOT operate.
Persons 12 through 15 years of age may NOT operate with any
passengers on board 15 years of age or younger or rent a PWC.

0-25hp
Greater

None

than 25hp

Persons 11 years of age or younger may NOT operate.
Persons born on or after January 1, 1982, may not operate unless
they have obtained and have in possession a Boating Safety
Education Certificate.

Water-skiing and similar activities

* It is unlawful to operate a motorboat at any speed with
a person or persons sitting, riding or hanging on a swim
platform (teak surfing) or swim ladder attached to the
motorboat, except when launching, retrieving, docking or
anchoring the motorboat.
* It is unlawful to operate a motorboat at any speed when
towing a person on water skis or other devices using a tow
rope of 20 feet or less (as measured from the transom).
* Wake surfing is excluded from the 20-foot tow rope requirement.
* Boats engaged in the activity of wake surfing are limited to
slow, no-wake speed when within 200 feet of the shoreline,
docks, launch ramps, swimmers or downed skiers, persons
wading in the water, anchored, moored or drifting boats and
other marked areas.
* Motorboats propelled by an outboard motor, inboard/
outboard motor or water jet are prohibited from towing a
person in or on the wake of the boat (wake surfing).
* Skiing is illegal between sunset and sunrise.
* In addition to the operator, a competent observer must be in
the boat in a position to observe the towed person.
* Conventional water-ski tow ropes may not exceed a length of
80 feet.

Specially regulated waters

Additional regulations such as speed limits and slow, no-wake
areas affect boaters on specific waterways. Boaters should read all
regulations posted on the bulletin boards at access areas. Know the
waters you plan to boat before you go.
By understanding boating regulations and safety information,
you will be prepared while on the water. Visit www.fishandboat.
com/regs_boat.htm.
PFBC Facebook: PaFishandBoat
http://www.fishandboat.com/images/pages/forms/pfbc260.pdf http://www.fishandboat.com/images/pages/forms/pfbc260.pdf http://www.fishandboat.com/regs_boat.htm http://www.fishandboat.com/regs_boat.htm
Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - January/February 2015

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