Boat Operator Responsibilities
Boat operators are responsible for:
- Knowing the rules and regulations in the areas where they boat.
- Knowing the waters where they are boating.
- Having the required safety equipment for their watercraft.
- The actions of all persons on board their boats.
Rule of Responsibility Defined
NAVIGATION RULES United States Coast Guard (USCG), RULE 2, “RESPONSIBILITY”
“2(a) Nothing in these Rules shall exonerate any boat, or the owner, master or crew thereof, from the consequences of any neglect to comply with these Rules or of the neglect of any precaution, which may be required by the ordinary practice of seamen, or by the special circumstances of the case.”
“2(b) In construing and complying with these Rules due regard shall be had to all dangers of navigation and collision and to any special circumstances, including the limitations of the boats involved, which may make a departure from these Rules necessary to avoid immediate danger.”
Boat Classification
Boats are classified according to length, which is the horizontal distance from bow (front) to stern (back) along the centerline. It excludes any projections that are not part of the boat’s hull such as an outboard motor or swim platform.
Classification determines the minimum required equipment. See Minimum Required Equipment table on the Legally Required Equipment page.
Capacity Plates
A boat's capacity plate provides important information about the boat including maximum weight capacity, maximum horsepower, maximum person capacity by number and maximum persons capacity by weight. Individuals being towed behind a boat (e.g. waterskiers, tubers, kneeboarders, wake surfers, parasailers, etc.) are considered to be passengers and must be counted in regard to the boat’s maximum passenger capacity.
No boat shall be loaded beyond its safe carrying capacity. Observe and understand the capacity plate.
Hull Identification Number (HIN)
This number is federally required and is located on or near the boat transom’s upper starboard (right) side. Also, the HIN is hidden by the manufacturer on the boat for recovery purposes. HINs are 12 characters in length and may be 17 characters on newer boats.
Boat Operation Requirements
In Pennsylvania, it is illegal to...
- Operate a watercraft in a reckless, negligent or dangerous manner. Boats must be operated at a rate of speed that does not endanger the life or property of any person.
- Operate a boat at greater than slow, no-wake speed within 100 feet of the shoreline, docks, launch ramps, swimmers or downed skiers, persons wading in the water, anchored, moored or drifting boats and floats. Slow, no-wake speed is the slowest possible speed of a motorboat required to maintain maneuverability, so the wake or wash created by the motorboat on the surface is minimal. The slow, no-wake zone for wake surfing activity is 200 feet. See Other Water Activities.
- Operate a motorboat less than 20 feet in length at greater than slow no-wake while a person is standing on or in the boat.
- Operate a motorboat at greater than slow, no-wake speed with a person riding outside of the passenger carrying area or while a person is riding on the bow decking, gunwales, transom or motor covers.
- Operate a pontoon boat at any speed while a person is riding outside the passenger carrying area.
- Cause a boat to become airborne or to leave the water completely while crossing another boat’s wake when within 100 feet of the boat creating the wake.
- Weave through congested traffic.
- Operate faster than slow, no-wake when within 100 feet to the rear or 50 feet to the side of another boat that is underway, unless in a narrow channel.
- Operate within 100 feet of anyone towed behind another boat.
- Operate a motorboat with anyone sitting, riding or hanging on a swim platform or swim ladder attached to the boat.
- NEW REQUIREMENT: Operate a motorboat less than 26 feet at greater than slow, no-wake speed without an engine cut-off switch attached to the operator unless inside an enclosed cabin.
Many waterways in Pennsylvania have special regulations, such as electric-motor-only rules or horsepower restrictions. Learn more about waterway-specific boating regulations on the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission website.
Homeland Security
Strict regulations have been issued relating to waterways for national security. Boaters must follow these regulations or be exposed to serious penalties. Our mutual security, in part, depends on your diligence in reporting suspicious activities that you may encounter on the water.
Requirements for All Watercraft:
- Stay at least 100 yards from all military, cruise line or commercial shipping boats. Violating the Naval Vessel Protection Zone is a felony offense, punishable by up to 6 years imprisonment and/or up to $250,000 in fines.
- You must operate at slow, no-wake speed within 500 yards of United States naval boats.
- Check with local authorities and refer to current charts to identify and stay away from security zones and port operation areas.
- Generally, stay at least 100 yards from military areas, cruise lines and petroleum facilities. Also, stay away from dams and power plants.
At the request of the Captain of the Port or District Commander, an area may also be designated a Security Zone. This zone may be highlighted in magenta (pink-red coloration) on charts to better stand out and warn the public to stay clear. Unauthorized boats, without specific permission to enter, must stay out of these marked areas. Armed military, harbor police or civilian authorities securing these areas will confront violators.
Guidelines:
- Do not stop or anchor beneath bridges or in a channel. If you do stop, be prepared to be boarded by patrolling authorities.
- Be observant and report any suspicious activity to USCG or local authorities.
- Always secure and lock your boat when not on board.
Minimum Age of Operation
The following age restrictions and boating education requirements apply to the operation of motorboats.
Mandatory Boating Education
Boating safety education is important for both new and experienced boaters. Knowledgeable boaters are safer boaters. Boating courses are fun for the entire family. Online courses allow you to work at your own pace in the comfort of your own home. Classroom courses may be available at locations throughout the state. Boating safety education provides the foundation for safe recreational boating and should be considered as an introduction to safe boating practices. Boating regulations and conditions can be expected to change. Therefore, the PFBC encourages boaters to take additional boating and water safety courses through organizations such as the United States Coast Guard Auxiliary, United States Power Squadrons, American Sailing Association, United States Sailing Association, American Red Cross and American Canoe Association.
Boating Courses And Safety Certificates
Boaters who successfully complete a PFBC-approved boating course are issued a Pennsylvania Boating Safety Education Certificate, valid for a lifetime of boating safety.
Boating Safety Education Certificates are required:
- To operate a personal watercraft
- For persons born on or after January 1, 1982, to operate boats powered by motors greater than 25 horsepower.
Approved permanent Boating Safety Education Certificates for Pennsylvania residents must be issued by the PFBC. Out of state boaters must have a certificate issued for a course approved by NASBLA.
If you already have your Pennsylvania Boating Safety Education Certificate from the PFBC and you are applying for a duplicate or replacement certificate, you can get a new one for $5 each. To obtain one (or more) certificates, find the application on page 2 of this booklet or download an application from our website.
If you do NOT have a Pennsylvania Boating Safety Education Certificate, but you have earned a certificate from the United States Coast Guard Auxiliary, United States Power Squadrons or another approved course, you must mail the original certificate issued to you for successfully completing that course along with the application on page 2 of this booklet to the PFBC or download the application from our website. The cost for your new, permanent Pennsylvania Boating Safety Education Certificate is $10.
Classroom and Internet Courses
Approved classroom boating courses are available from the PFBC, United States Coast Guard Auxiliary, United States Power Squadrons and several other approved course providers. In addition, the PFBC has several approved online courses. Information on these providers and their courses is available on the PFBC’s website. In some cases, there are fees for the courses in addition to the permanent Boating Safety Education Certificate fee of $10.
Life Jackets
Personal flotation devices (PFDs, life jackets, life preservers, life vests and throwable devices) are the most important piece of equipment on a boat; life jackets are the best defense against drowning. Each person in the boat must have a wearable, USCG-approved life jacket! The Commission urges all boaters to wear life jackets at all times.
LIFE JACKET WEAR REQUIRED FROM NOV. 1 TO APRIL 30
Boaters must wear a life jacket in boats less than 16 feet in length or any canoe, kayak or paddleboard. Recreational boating fatalities that occur in Pennsylvania from November through April are primarily due to the effects of cold water immersion. When water temperatures are less than 70 degrees F, cold water shock is a major factor in boating fatalities. Victims who wear a life jacket when exposed to cold water have potentially life-saving advantages such as insulation from the cold, buoyancy for victims who are unable to tread water and reduced risk of aspiration of water. In an effort to reduce the number of fatalities related to cold water immersion, the Commission has amended regulations to require life jackets be worn while on small and unstable boats during the period most noted for cold water temperatures.
Since boating conditions can change quickly and without warning (increasing your chance of unexpectedly falling into the water), boating without wearing a properly fitted life jacket is dangerous. Trying to put on a life jacket while in the water is difficult and nearly impossible in moving water.
Life Jacket Requirements:
- All boats must have a USCG-approved wearable life jacket on board for each person.
- In addition to wearable life jackets, boats 16 feet and over must have a USCG-approved throwable device (ring buoy, life ring or buoyant seat cushion) on board. Canoes, kayaks and paddleboards, regardless of length, are not required to carry a throwable device.
- Life jackets must be used in accordance with any requirements on the approval label.
- All life jackets must be in good and serviceable condition and legibly marked showing the USCG approval number. This means the life jacket must be fully functional, free of tears or defects in the material. All buckles, straps, zippers and other closures must be operable.
- Wearable life jackets must be “readily accessible,” which means that they are out in the open ready to wear or that they are stowed where they can be easily reached. Throwables devices must be “immediately available,” which means that the device shall be within arm’s reach of the operator or passenger while the boat is operated and cannot be in a protective covering. A life jacket that is sealed in its original packaging is not readily accessible or immediately available.
- Life jackets must be the appropriate size for the person intended and adjusted to wear.
- A throwable device may not be used as a substitute for a wearable device.
Wearable Life Jackets
- Life jackets should be inspected regularly for tears and damage. If damage is present, do not repair the life jacket. Throw it away. Repairs to a life jacket may be the weak spot that causes a drowning.
- Inflatable life jackets must be checked frequently and maintained according to the manufacturer’s recommendations to ensure correct operation.
- Life jackets must be used in accordance with any requirements on the approval label.
- Life jackets with old type identification (e.g. Type I, Type II, Type III and Type V) are still usable as long as life jackets are in good and serviceable condition.
Who Must Wear a Life Jacket?
- Children 12 years old and younger on Commonwealth waters when underway in any boat 20 feet or less in length and in all canoes, kayaks and paddleboards are required to wear a life jacket.
- On Pittsburgh District United States Army Corps of Engineers lakes (only), everyone in boats less than 16 feet in length and in all canoes, kayaks and paddleboards are required to wear a life jacket.
- All water skiers and anyone towed behind boats, personal watercraft operators and passengers and sailboarders (windsurfers) are required to wear a life jacket. Inflatable life jackets are not acceptable for these activities.
- Boaters are required by law to wear life jackets on boats less than 16 feet in length or any canoe, kayak or paddleboard during the coldwater months from November 1 through April 30.
Make Sure the Life Jacket Fits—the “Touchdown” Test
For a life jacket to work properly, not only does it need to be on your body, it should fit properly as well. A properly fitting life jacket is more comfortable (meaning you are more likely to wear it), but more important, it functions better. Life jackets that are too large can ride up or even come off when you are in the water.
It’s easy to check a conventional life jacket for proper fit—just put it on. The life jacket should fit you snugly with all zippers, straps, ties and snaps correctly secured. With a partner behind you, raise your arms like you are signaling a touchdown in a football game. Have the partner lift the jacket by the shoulders. The jacket should come no higher than your chin. If the jacket covers your face or comes off—that’s what would happen in the water. In this case, tighten the straps or use a smaller size.
