Chapter 4: The Legal Requirements of Boating
Requirements Specific to Personal Watercraft (PWCs)

In addition to adhering to all boating laws, personal watercraft (PWC) operators have requirements specific to their vessel.

• Every person on board a PWC must wear a U.S. Coast Guard–approved personal flotation device (life jacket).
• An operator of a PWC equipped with a lanyard-type ignition safety switch must attach the lanyard to his or her person, clothing, or PFD.
• PWCs may be operated only between one-half hour before sunrise and one-half hour after sunset.
• There are age restrictions on operators of personal watercraft.
• It is illegal to operate a personal watercraft in an unsafe or reckless manner. Examples of unsafe PWC operation include:
  • Becoming airborne or completely leaving the water while crossing the wake of another vessel within 100 feet of the vessel creating the wake
  • Weaving through congested traffic
  • Operating at greater than “slow, no wake” speed within 100 feet of an anchored or moored vessel, shoreline, dock, pier, swim float, marked swim area, swimmer, surfer, person fishing, or any manually propelled vessel
  • Failing to observe the navigation rules or following too close to another vessel, including another personal watercraft (Note: Following too close means moving in the same direction and operating at a speed greater than 10 miles per hour when approaching within 100 feet to the rear or 50 feet to the side of another vessel that is underway, unless the vessel is in a channel too narrow to keep the required distance, in which case a PWC may be operated at a speed that is reasonable and prudent.

Remember—As an owner or person who has charge over or control of a PWC, you are legally responsible if you authorize or knowingly permit the PWC to be operated in violation of Arkansas law.

Be Part of the Action! Learn more about operating a PWC with this interactive animation. (Most students will already have Flash installed. If not, follow this link to install the Flash Player.)

Towing a Person with a Vessel Legally

Vessel operators towing a person(s) on water skis, an aquaplane, or any other device also must obey these laws.

• Every vessel towing a person(s) on water skis, an aquaplane, or other device must have on board, in addition to the operator, an observer at least 12 years old and in a position to observe the progress of the person(s) being towed. Boats equipped with a wide-angle, convex, marine rear-view mirror in a position to observe the skiers being towed are exempt from this requirement; however, PWC operators may not substitute a mirror for an observer (that is, a PWC must have an observer at least 12 years old).
• All persons being towed behind a motorboat or motorized device on water skis, an aquaplane, or other device must wear a USCG–approved PFD (life jacket).
• It is illegal for vessels to tow a person(s) on water skis, an aquaplane, or other device between one-half hour after sunset and one-half hour before sunrise. This restriction does not apply to night water-skiing or aquaplaning on controlled areas designated for those purposes where adequate lighting is provided.
• It is illegal to operate or manipulate any towing vessel, tow rope, or other device in such a way as to cause the towed device or towed person(s) to collide with or strike any object or person(s).
• If towing a person on skis or other device with a PWC, the PWC must be rated to carry at least three people—the operator, the observer, and the retrieved skier. You may not exceed the specified number of passengers identified by the PWC manufacturer as the maximum safe load for the vessel.

If towing a skier with a PWC, the PWC must be rated for at least three people—the operator, the observer, and the retrieved skier.