Boating & Water Safety - Minnesota DNR - MN DNR

Boating & Water Safety

Minnesota Department of Natural Resources

Boating & Water Safety

Course approved by the National Association of State Boating Law Administrators and recognized by the U.S. Coast Guard.

Minnesota Department of Natural Resources Boat & Water Safety Section 500 Lafayette Road

Saint Paul, Minnesota 55155-4039 Twin Cities Metro Area (651) 259-5400 Toll free in Greater Minnesota (888) MINNDNR / (888) 646-6367 TTY (hearing impaired) (651) 296-5484, toll free TTY (800) 657-3929

boatingsafety boatandwater.dnr@state.mn.us MNDNRBoatandWaterSafety

Please Note

Information in this publication may be subject to change through amendments to federal or state laws, rules and regulations. For the latest information, consult the current Minnesota Boating Guide

or contact the Department of Natural Resources at the address, phone number, web site or e-mail listed in this manual.

Boating & Water Safety

Contents

1 Introduction The Need for Water Safety Programs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Water Accidents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 You are the Key to Water Safety. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

2 Regulations and Safety Equipment Watercraft Licensing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Watercraft Operator's Permit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Law Enforcement and Penalties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 General Operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Safety Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Pollution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

3 Safe Boat Operation Boats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 Marine Engines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 Watercraft Loading and Boarding. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 Boat Handling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 Grounding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 Rules of the Road . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 Regarding Federal NAVRULES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 Boat Smart. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 Alcohol and Drugs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 The Weather . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48 Operator Float Plan. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 Navigation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 Docking and Mooring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54 The Silent Killer - Carbon Monoxide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58

Transporting Watercraft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60 Aquatic Invasive Species and Required Actions . . . . . . . . . . . 63 Public Water Access . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65 Watercraft Accident Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66 Operator Float Plan Sample Form . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67

4 Personal Watercraft Personal Watercraft Laws . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70 Penalties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72 Personal Watercraft Concerns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72 Steering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73 Reboarding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76 Sound Judgment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76 Riding Gear . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78 Impact Rated Life Vests . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79

5 Safety in Other Activities Fishing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81 Water Skiing and Tubing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83 Boat Safety for the Hunter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87 Paddle Sports. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88 Sailing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89 Swimming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92 Scuba Diving and Snorkeling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93 Winter Activities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95

6 Emergencies Survival . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97 Cold Water Shock and Hypothermia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99 Basic Rescues. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101 First Aid. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103

7 Boat Theft. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109 8 Storage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113 9 Homeland Security . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115 10 Appendix

Glossary of Common Boating Terms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117 Agency Directory for Boat and Water Safety. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120

Minnesota Department of Natural Resources Boat & Water Safety Section

1

Introduction

The Need For Water Safety Programs Water recreation is a fun and popular way to enjoy the outdoors, par-

ticularly in a state with more than 12,000 lakes, 25,000 square miles of streams and over 800,000 registered watercraft. But these sports are only enjoyable if they are accident and citation free.

This book is your guide to avoiding trouble for you and your passengers while operating everything from a personal watercraft or canoe to a speedboat. The principles for each are the same: think safety first; prepare for the worst, anticipate the best; and know the laws that keep Minnesota's waterways and motorized and non-motorized watercraft secure.

In this dramatic accident, the boat operator was thrown from his craft after hitting another boat's wake at high speed. The boat continued across the lake and collided with a boat lift near shore. *Each new term introduced is printed in italics. Definition of many of these terms is found in the glossary starting on page 117.

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Boating &Water Safety

Considering the large number of boaters in Minnesota, water-based recreation is still a relatively safe pastime. Still, in a recent 10-year period, an average of 37 people died in non-boating drownings and 16 in boating accidents each year in the state. In addition, each year many more people suffered injuries and hundreds of thousands of dollars of property damage resulted from non-fatal boating mishaps.

Water Accidents

To give you a better picture of where the water accidents occur, the chart shows a breakdown of water-related deaths in Minnesota.

FALLS INTO WATER AND OTHER

33%

31%

SWIMMING, WADING, DIVING

6%

30%

FALLS THROUGH ICE

BOATING

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) annually compiles boating accident statistics and divides them into two groups: fatalities (where at least one death occurs) and non-fatal accidents (where only an injury or property damage occurs).

Fatal Boating Accidents Most boating fatalities occur in small, open boats powered by outboard

motors (less than 40 horsepower) or in non-motorized canoes. The two most common types of fatalities:

1. Capsizing (tipping over) -- These accidents are commonly associated with three unsafe boating practices:

? Overloading or improperly distributing the weight of passengers and gear in the watercraft, making it unstable and hard to handle.

? Sudden and sharp high speed turns.

? Boating in bad weather or ignoring the obvious signs of an approaching storm.

2. Falling Overboard -- Many boaters, anglers and hunters drown every year when they unexpectedly fall, or are thrown overboard. They may be riding on the boat's gunwale. They might be standing

Introduction 3

1 up to start an outboard motor, or trying to net a fish. In any case, they lose their balance and end up falling into the water.

2 Non-Fatal Boating Accidents

Most non-fatal boating accidents involve higher-powered craft (over 40 horsepower). Non-fatal accidents result in personal injuries and/or property damage. The two most common types of non-fatal accidents are:

1. Collisions -- Boating collisions usually involve two boats, or a boat and a fixed or floating object. Collisions between boats often occur when the operator of one or both boats is not paying attention to where they are going, or if the "Rules of the Road" (see page 42) are not

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