Survey on what states allow you to sit on the swim deck seats facing back while underway.

[dzeppos]

California says it’s illegal. - although we do it sometimes in limited circumstances

 

[Gym]

Thanks for the reply and info Rod, I feel that we will be using it very similarly.

I get your point @Ronnie but It was too early in the season for swimmers and only two boats beached not near me. This is the Martha's Vineyard and Chappaquiddick areas of the Cape. Whereas they are very popular vacation areas they are carefully marked for speed and swimmers. There are no markings and never were any in this bay. When questioned the harbormaster was at a loss as to what my violation was so he pointed to the two beached boats that were well away from us. Again, I do appreciate what they do as we get people here from all over the country. There are Freedom Boat Clubs here so people who know nothing about boating rules keep the water police pretty busy. I do plan on asking specifically about passengers sitting on the swim deck while underway though. This has been an insightful thread.

 

[zipper]

In my previous post above it was mostly based on CO poisoning while riding back there. There is another reason, there are no railings or lifelines back there like you see on Sailboats or on the bow of most cruisers. If you were to install stantions and string lifelines or put a stern rail on, you might conform with this law, but the CO part is still deadly. This example is from the Virginia boating course. Overloading or Bow Riding | VA | Boat Ed.com™ Folks have been talking about this for a while. This popped up in a search. It is the "other" site and someone here wrote it a while back.

 

[Ronnie]

I have not looked for the specific statute on this but as I understand the order of precedence, federal law controls over state and local laws. That is, when federal and state or local laws conflict, federal law controls. The basic premise being state and locals governments can create stricter laws but not weaker laws than the federal government. An example of this is legalization of marijuana for recreational use. Many states have made such use legal but if the federal government chose to do so, it could legally enforce their its laws against such use. All this to state that if riding on the swim platform is against coast guard rules/laws, a federal government function, doing so is also illegal in all states. As I recall the U.S. coast guard has jurisdiction in all navigable waters on the coasts bordering the continental U.S., AK and HI as well as and within the U.S. and the states of AK and HI.

@Gym , my thoughts on your situation is the LEO was power tripping/felt he needed to make an example of someone, as such he could have claimed you broke the speed restrictions near boaters to justify pulling you over. Kind of like being pulled over for tinted driver and passenger side windows, not everyone with tint gets pulled over and often times it leads to other charges, all they need is probable cause to stop you, unlike the coast guard they don’t need any reason at all to stop and board your vessel. I’ve digressed, ignorance of the law is no excuse for its breach, how this applies here is that just because there were no signs prohibiting speeding doesn’t mean that the laws against it don’t exist or that they are not enforceable. An extreme example being the laws against murdering people/homicide, I’ve never seen a sign posted about it but it is still against the law and is applied to anyone, well most anyone, that breaches it.

I believe it’s against any current CA law. Do I beak the law and let people sit back there anyway? Sometimes but I accept the I don’t know of a ticket although this may change if I ever actually get a ticket (I wonder what the fine is). I also think the fear of CO poisoning are overstated, it’s very rare that my boat will be sitting still at idle or higher, in a windless as environment when I’m on the water. Isn’t there an easy way to add colored smoke to the exhaust to see where it travels?

 

[connor2002]

Arizona , thoughts ? Legal?

 

[FSH 210 Sport]

Arizona , thoughts ? Legal?

Illegal

 

[connor2002]

A. No person shall operate a watercraft in a careless, reckless or negligent manner.

B. A person shall not operate a watercraft while allowing a person to ride on the gunwales, the transom or the decked over bow of a watercraft propelled by machinery operating in excess of wakeless speed except if:

1. That portion of the watercraft was designed and constructed for the purpose of carrying passengers at all speeds.

2. The watercraft is being maneuvered for anchoring, mooring or casting off moorings.

C. No watercraft shall be operated with a passenger or passengers on the bow in such a manner as to obstruct the view of the operator.

D. No person on water skis, a surfboard or a similar contrivance shall behave in a careless, reckless or negligent manner.

E. Except in case of emergency no person under the age of twelve years may operate a watercraft propelled by a motor of greater than eight horsepower unless the person's parent or legal guardian or at least one person who is eighteen years of age or older is present on the watercraft.

F. Except as provided in subsection E, it is unlawful for any person to allow another person under the age of twelve to operate a motor-powered watercraft.

G. A person violating subsection A, B, C or D is guilty of a class 2 misdemeanor.