The Legal Requirements of Boating
Personal Flotation Devices (Life Jackets)
submitted by Kirk Mathew
All vessels must be equipped with U.S. Coast Guard-approved life jackets called personal flotation devices or PFDs. Many lakes, and good judgment, require them for float tubes. The quantity and type depends on the length of your vessel and the number of people on board and/or being towed. Each PFD must be in good condition, the proper size for the intended wearer, and very importantly, must be readily accessible! Readily accessible means you must be able to put the PFD on in a reasonable amount of time in an emergency (vessel sinking, on fire, etc.). PFDs should not be stowed in plastic bags, in locked or closed compartments or have other gear stowed on top of them.
Vessel operators should ask everyone on their vessel to wear a PFD whenever on the water. PFDs can save lives, but only if they are worn!
PFD Requirements:
* All vessels must have at least one Type I, II, III, or V personal flotation device that is U.S. Coast Guard-approved, wearable and of the proper size for each person on board. Sizing for PFDs is based on body weight and chest size.
* One Type IV U.S. Coast Guard-approved PFD must be on board vessels 16 feet or longer (except canoes and kayaks) and readily accessible, in addition to the above requirement.
* All PFDs must be in good and serviceable condition and must be readily accessible.
* California law requires children under the age of 12 to wear a U.S. Coast Guard-approved PFD while underway (unless tethered to a sailboat or in an enclosed cabin) in a vessel 26 feet long or less.
* Inflatable PFDs are acceptable for persons age 16 and older if they are wearable, activated by both pull and oral inflation features, and U.S. Coast Guard-approved.
* Every person on board a PWC or being towed behind a vessel must wear a U.S. Coast Guard-approved Type I, II, III, or V PFD.
* Persons using underwater maneuvering devices (diveboards) are exempt from wearing a personal flotation device.