Chapter 4: The Legal Requirements of Boating
Unlawful Operation of a Vessel

Washington law designates the following dangerous operating practices as illegal.

Negligent Operation is operating a vessel in a manner that causes danger to the life, limb, property, or rights of any person. This includes:

• Not paying attention to the operation of the vessel
• Failing to keep a proper lookout
• Failing to follow the Navigation Rules
• Causing danger from the effects of the vessel’s wake
• Allowing passengers to ride on the bow, gunwales, or transom of a vessel not equipped with adequate railings to prevent falls overboard

Reckless Operation is operating carelessly in a willful and wanton disregard of the rights, safety, or property of another person. It includes:

• Weaving in and out of other vessels, docks, or buoys
• Playing “chicken” with another vessel
• Operating in a marked “No Boats” area, such as a swimming or dam spillway area

Remember—Speed limits and zoned or restricted areas are determined by local ordinance in Washington. Talk to the marine patrol of your local sheriff’s office or police department before going boating.

Teak surfing (or platform dragging) is holding onto any portion of the exterior of the transom of a vessel (including the swim platform, swim deck, swim step, or swim ladder) for any amount of time while a power-driven vessel is underway or the engine is idling. Bodysurfing is swimming or floating on or in the wake directly behind a power-driven vessel that is underway or idling.

• The law does not apply to persons who are briefly on a swim platform, swim deck, swim step, or swim ladder while exiting or entering a vessel.
• This law has been passed to aid in the prevention of carbon monoxide poisoning (read more in Chapter 5).
• All new and used power-driven vessels that are sold within Washington (other than personal watercraft) must display an approved carbon monoxide warning sticker on the interior of the vessel.

Overloading or Overpowering a Vessel is putting too much equipment on a vessel or equipping it with an engine that is too large and powerful, which can cause the vessel to capsize or swamp and put people into cold water.

• If it appears to an enforcement officer that the vessel is clearly overloaded or overpowered beyond safe operation and is a hazardous condition, the officer may direct the operator to return to shore and correct the condition before continuing the voyage.
• Remember that it is unsafe and a violation to:
  • Load your vessel with passengers or cargo beyond its safe carrying ability or to carry passengers in an unsafe manner, taking into consideration the weather and other existing conditions at the time of operation, such as traffic or tides. Use your capacity plate to guide you.
  • Operate a vessel equipped with a motor that is powered beyond the vessel’s ability to be operated safely. Safe operation includes factors such as the type and construction of the vessel, your boating activity, and other conditions like the weather.
• Assault by Watercraft is operating a vessel in a reckless manner or while under the influence of alcohol or drugs and injuring another person with serious disfigurement or the loss of a body part or organ.
• Homicide by Watercraft is operating a vessel in a reckless manner or while under the influence of alcohol or drugs and causing the death of another person. It is also considered “homicide by watercraft” if a person dies within three years as a result of injury caused by a boating accident.

Assault by Watercraft is operating a vessel in a reckless manner or while under the influence of alcohol or drugs and injuring another person with serious disfigurement or the loss of a body part or organ.

Homicide by Watercraft is operating a vessel in a reckless manner or while under the influence of alcohol or drugs and causing the death of another person. It is also considered “homicide by watercraft” if a person dies within three years as a result of injury caused by a boating accident.

Remember—Personal watercraft operators must obey all boating laws and also must obey additional laws that apply only to PWCs.