PERSONAL WATERCRAFT LAW
“Personal watercraft” means a vessel less than 16 feet in length which uses an inboard motor powering a water jet pump, as its primary source of motive power and which is designed to be operated by a person sitting, standing, or kneeling on the vessel, rather than in the conventional manner of sitting or standing inside the vessel. A person must be at least 18 years of age to rent a personal watercraft in Florida.
Operation of personal watercraft
- PWC may only be operated from ½ hour before sunrise to ½ hour after sunset during clear visibility.
- Operator must be at 14 years old. It is unlawful for the owner of any personal watercraft or any person having charge over or control of a personal watercraft to authorize or knowingly permit the same to be operated by a person under 14 years of age (a second-degree misdemeanor).
- Everyone on a PWC must wear a Type I, II, III or V life jacket as approved by the United States Coast Guard. Inflatable type life jackets are prohibited.
- The operator of a personal watercraft must attach the engine cutoff switch lanyard (if equipped by the manufacturer) to his/her person, clothing, or PFD.
Reckless operation of a PWC:
A personal watercraft must at all times be operated in a reasonable and prudent manner. Maneuvers which are classified as reckless operation (a first-degree misdemeanor) include but are not limited to:
- weaving through congested vessel traffic
- jumping the wake of another vessel unreasonably or unnecessarily close to such other vessel or when visibility around such other vessel is obstructed
- swerving at the last possible moment to avoid collision
Boat Speed Limits And Operation In Zoned And Restricted Areas
- PWC operators may not become airborne while crossing the wake of another motorboat and within 100 feet of that motorboat.
- PWC must not be operated at greater than slow - no wake speed within 50 feet of any other vessel, PWC or person in the water.
AIRBOATS
All airboats operating in Florida waters must be equipped with a mast or flagpole bearing a square or rectangular flag. The flag must meet these requirements:
- be a height of at least 10 feet above the lowest portion of the vessel.
- be at least 10 inches by 12 inches in size and must be international orange in color.
- displayed in a way so that visibility of the flag is not obscured in any direction.
Airboats must be effectively muffled. Florida requires the exhaust of every internal combustion engine used on any airboat operated on the waters of Florida to be provided with a stock factory muffler, underwater exhaust, or other manufactured device capable of adequately muffling the sound of the exhaust of the engine.
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