Pennsylvania |
Register for course
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| PA Legal Requirements (in addition to Federal) |
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| REQUIRED EQUIPMENT |
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| Personal Floatation Devices (PFDs) |
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| -Children 12 years of age and younger must wear an approved
wearable PFD while underway on Commonwealth waters on any boat 20 feet or less in length,
and while in all canoes and kayaks. |
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| -All water skiers and anyone towed behind boats, personal
watercraft operators and passengers, and sailboarders must wear an approved life jacket. |
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| Fire Extinguishers |
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| -Coast Guard approved fire extinguishers shall be carried on
all motorboats that have one or more of the following conditions: Closed
compartments, permanently installed fuel tanks, double bottoms not sealed to the hull or
completely filled with floatation materials, and closed living spaces. |
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| -Fire extinguishers must be installed so that they are
immediately available within arms reach of the operator or passengers on board. |
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| -Fire extinguishers must be maintained and fully charged. |
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| Sound producing devices |
| Boats under 40 feet in length must carry some mechanical means
of producing a sound signal that is audible for a half mile. It may be hand, mouth,
or power generated and must be readily accessible to the boat operator or passengers at
all times. |
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| Visual Distress Signals |
| -Are required for all boats operating on Lake Erie |
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| Muffling Devices |
| -Boat motors must be equipped with an efficient muffling system
or device in good working order. |
| -Boat exhaust systems may not be modified in any manner that
reduces or eliminates the effectiveness of the muffler or muffler systems' ability to
control noise. |
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| Lights |
| -All boats must display anchor lights when they are anchored
where other vessels normally navigate. This includes all Commonwealth waters (except
in special anchorage areas) |
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| Registration & Titling
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| -All motorboats and all boats using Fish & Boat Commission
lakes or access areas must be registered. |
| -Boat titles are issued when a boat is sold or conveyed.
Titles are issued for motorboats with a model year of 1997 or newer, except those
that are powered by an outboard motor and are less than 14 feet in length. All
inboard-powered boats, including 1997 or newer PWCs are subject to the titling
requirement. Voluntary titling is also available for any other boat. |
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| Operational Requirements |
| In Pennsylvania it is illegal: |
| -To operate a boat at greater than slow, no-wake speed within
100 feet of the shoreline, floats, docks, ramps, swimmers, downed skiers, anchored,
moored, or drifting boats, or areas marked with "slow, no-wake" buoys. |
| -To operate a motorboat less than 20 feet in length at greater
than slow, no-wake speed while a person is standing on or in the boat. |
| -To operate a motorboat not equipped with railings or other
safeguards at greater than slow, no-wake speed while a person is riding on the bow
decking, gunwales, transom, or motor cover. |
| -To fail to keep a proper lookout or fail to maintain a safe
speed so the boat operator can take proper and effective action to avoid a collision. |
| -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. |
| -To 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. |
| -To weave through congested traffic. |
| -To operate faster than at a slow, no-wake speed when within
100 feet to the rear or 50 feet to the side of another boat that is underway, unless in a
narrow channel. |
| -To operate within 100 feet of anyone towed behind another
boat. |
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| Minimum Age For Operating a Boat |
| The following age restrictions apply to the operation
of a motorboat propelled by a motor greater than 10 horsepower. |
| -Persons 11 years of age or younger may not operate such
watercraft unless at least one person 16 years of age or older is present on board. |
| -Persons 12 through 15 years of age may not operate such
watercraft unless they have obtained and have in their possession a Boating Safety
Education Certificate or at least one person 16 years of age or older is present on board. |
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| The following age restrictions apply to operation of
personal watercraft |
| -Persons 11 years of age or younger may NOT operate a PWC. |
| -Persons 12 through 15 years of age may operate a PWC only if
they have in their possession a Boating Safety Education Certificate. |
| -AFTER JANUARY 1, 2000, ALL PERSONAL WATERCRAFT OPERATORS MUST
HAVE A STATE APPROVED BOATING SAFETY EDUCATION CERTIFICATE IN THEIR POSSESSION TO OPERATE
A PWC ON COMMONWEALTH WATERS. |
| -Persons 12 through 15 years of age may NOT operate a PWC with
any passengers on board 15 years of age or younger. |
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| Water Skiing |
| -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 person being towed. |
| -Tow ropes may not exceed 80 feet in length. |
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