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

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

• Everyone on board or being towed behind a PWC must wear a U.S. Coast Guard-approved Type I, II, III, or V personal flotation device (PFD) at all times. Inflatable PFDs are not to be worn on personal watercraft.
• 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 not be operated during the hours between one half-hour after sunset to one half-hour before sunrise.
• No one under the age of 14 years may operate any PWC.
• No one under the age of 18 years may rent or lease a PWC.
• A PWC must be operated in a reasonable and prudent manner. It is illegal to:
  • Weave your PWC through congested waterway traffic.
  • Swerve at the last possible moment in order to avoid collision (as in spraying another person or vessel, or playing "chicken").
  • Jump the wake of another vessel unreasonably or unnecessarily close to that vessel or when visibility is obstructed.

Remember—As an owner of a PWC, you are responsible if you knowingly allow anyone under 14 years of age to operate your PWC in violation of Florida 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 Personwith a Vessel Legally

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

• All persons being towed behind a vessel on water skis or any other device must wear a U.S. Coast Guard-approved Type I, II, III, or V PFD. Inflatable PFDs and ski belts are not approved PFDs for water-skiing.
• Every vessel towing a person(s) on water skis, an aquaplane, or any similar device other than a parasail must have either:
  • A person on board, in addition to the operator, observing the towed person(s) at all times or ...
  • A wide-angle rearview ski mirror designed to allow the operator to observe the towed person at all times. Note that factory-installed mirrors on PWCs may not meet this requirement.
• Every vessel that is towing a person on a parasail or similar device must have a person, in addition to the operator, observing the towed person(s) at all times. Rearview mirrors are not acceptable when towing persons on parasails.
• Persons may be towed behind a vessel on water skis, an aquaplane, a parasail, or any similar device during the hours of one half-hour before sunrise to one half-hour after sunset only.
• A reasonable distance must be maintained from a person in the water, another vessel, a bridge, a wharf, a pier, a dock, a buoy, a platform, a piling, or a channel marker. It is illegal to cause the person being towed to collide or be likely to collide with any object or person.

If towing a skier with a personal watercraft and an observer on board, the PWC should be rated for at least three people—the operator, the observer, and the retrieved skier.

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