New Boating Laws

House Bill 1, passed by the 1998 General Assembly, made several important changes to Kentucky’s boating laws as follows:

SAFE BOATING CERTIFICATION

    1. A person under twelve (12) years of age shall not operate a personal watercraft or motorboat over ten (10) horsepower on the public waters of the Commonwealth.
    2. Effective January 1, 1999, a person twelve (12) years of age through seventeen (17) years of age shall not operate a personal watercraft or motorboat over ten (10) horsepower on the public waters of the Commonwealth unless the person is in possession of a safe boating certificate or is accompanied, on board, by a person eighteen (18) years of age or older or in possession of a safe boating certificate.
    3. While operating a motorboat or a personal watercraft over ten (10) horsepower on the public waters of the Commonwealth, nonresidents twelve (12) years of age through seventeen (17) years of age shall have in their possession a Kentucky safe boating certificate or a recognized and equivalent boat operator licensing or safe boating certificate from another state or country.
    1. Subsections (1) to (6) of this section shall not apply to:
    1. A performer engaged in a professional exhibition; or
    2. A person participating in a regatta, a race, a marine parade, a tournament, or an exhibit that is held in compliance with administrative regulations adopted by the department.
    1. The parent, legal guardian, or other adult who has direct supervision over a minor under the age of eighteen (18) shall not knowingly authorize or permit the minor to operate a motorboat or personal watercraft in violation of this section.

BOATING WHILE INTOXICATED

    1. A person shall not operate any motorboat or vessel, or manipulate any water skis, surfboard or similar device in a reckless or negligent manner so as to endanger the life or property of any person.
    2. A person shall not operate any motorboat or vessel, or manipulate any water skis, surfboard, or similar device while intoxicated or under the influence of any other substance which impairs one's driving ability.
    3. Any person who operates a vessel upon the waters of the Commonwealth shall be deemed to have given consent to a test or tests as accepted by the state's evidentiary mandate for the purpose of determining the operator's alcohol concentration or the presence of other drugs. The test or tests shall be administered at the direction of a law enforcement officer who has probable cause to believe that the operator may have been violating this section.

PENALTIES

Any person who violates Section 3 of this Act [Boating While Intoxicated] shall not be subject to the penalties of KRS Chapter 189A, but shall be guilty of a separate offense and subject to a fine of one hundred dollars ($100) to two hundred fifty dollars ($250) for the first offense, a fine of two hundred fifty dollars ($250) to five hundred dollars ($500) for the second offense, and a fine of five hundred dollars ($500) to one thousand dollars ($1,000), or imprisonment in the county jail for not less than thirty (30) days, or both, for the third or subsequent offense. Refusal to submit to a breath alcohol analysis or similar test in violation of subsection (3) of Section 3 of this Act shall be deemed an offense.
  1. A person may, in addition or in lieu of the penalties specified in subsection (1) or (2) of this section, and in addition to the penalties of subsection (3) of this section, be required to take a safe boating course approved by the department or offered by the United States Coast Guard, Coast Guard Auxiliary, or U.S. Power Squadron, and to present the court a certificate documenting successful completion of the course.

PERSONAL WATERCRAFT SAFETY:

    1. A personal watercraft may be used to tow individuals engaged in water-skiing or similar activities if it has adequate seating capacity and an observer on board to monitor the progress of the person being towed, or if it is equipped with a rearview mirror with a minimum field of vision of one hundred sixty degrees (160° ) mounted so that the operator can observe the activities of the person being towed.
    2. A person shall not operate a personal watercraft on public waters unless every individual operating or riding on the personal watercraft is wearing a personal flotation device that is approved by the United States Coast Guard under 46 C.F.R. sec. 160.
    3. A personal watercraft that does not have self-circling capability shall not be operated on public waters unless:
    1. The personal watercraft is equipped with a lanyard-type engine cutoff switch; and
    2. The lanyard is attached to the person, clothing, or personal flotation device of the operator.
    1. A personal watercraft or motorboat operated on public waters shall at all times be operated according to the "Rules of the Road" and in a reasonable and prudent manner so as not to endanger human life, human physical safety, or property. A person shall not do any of the following while operating a personal watercraft or motorboat on public waters:
    1. Weave through congested watercraft traffic in a way that endangers human life, human physical safety, or property;
    2. Follow a watercraft that is towing an individual on water skis, a surfboard, or a water sport device in a way that endangers human life, human physical safety, or property;
    3. Jump the wake of another watercraft in a way that endangers human life, human physical safety, or property;
    4. Cut between a boat and the individual or individuals being towed by the boat;
    5. Cross paths with another watercraft when visibility around the other watercraft is so obstructed as to endanger human life, human physical safety, or property; or
    6. Steer a personal watercraft or motorboat toward an object or individual in the water and turn sharply at close range in a way that endangers human life, human physical safety, or property.
    1. A person shall not operate a personal watercraft on public waters at any time between sunset and the following sunrise.
    2. A person shall not operate a motorboat or personal watercraft within fifty (50) feet of a commercial motor vessel and its tow which is in operation on a waterway, except if the operator of the commercial motor vessel has given his or her consent.

DEFINITIONS:

"Personal watercraft" means a vessel which uses an internal combustion engine to power a jet pump for its primary source of propulsion and is designed to be operated by a person sitting, standing, or kneeling on the vessel rather than to be operated by a person sitting or standing inside the vessel.
"Safe boating certificate" means a document attesting the successful completion of instruction, approved by the department or given by the United States Coast Guard or Coast Guard Auxiliary or the U.S. Power Squadron, to prepare an individual to safely operate a motorboat or personal watercraft on the waters of the Commonwealth.