03-18-2021, 06:35 PM
And the confusion starts with :
``(1) In general.--An individual operating a covered
recreational vessel shall use an engine cut-off switch link while
operating on plane or above displacement speed.
Does this mean "covered" as enclosed, or does this mean "covered" as in under the authority of this law???
I called my attorneys, the noted firm of Dewy, Cheatem, and Howe, to get answers, but they have not responded yet.
When I lived in Washington State they passed a law that all boat operators get Coast Guard certified. It was painful but free except for the final application for the certification, which was not that expensive.
https://www.boatus.org/ has a direct link to the free course.
I have mixed feelings about the law. First, I have chased down a run-a-way boat when the operator fell out, but that was well below the 115 HP they call for. Personally I have never heard of anyone being ejected from a moving boat at displacement or plane speed before, unless they were wave hopping and I can't catch them. I don't believe in making laws to stop the one of a kind accidents, I believe in making laws that stop the majority of the problems. 2nd, considering Utah does not enforce most of the Coast Guard rules now, does this even matter to us?
The CG has specific rules for how close you can be to other boats, and when and how to pass or approach a boat, how to sound your passing, how to ........ Heck, I am certified and considering no one else used it in any State I have lived in I have forgotten most of it now anyway.
PERHAPS, and I do mean perhaps, if Utah required all operators to be CG certified, ad IF, and I DO MEAN IF, they enforced it, then the Power Squadrons might respect the other boat users in the State.
For now, it looks to me like another "feel good" law that protects the people that already don't need to be protected and make the proponents "feel good" about trying to protect the rest.
JMHO
``(1) In general.--An individual operating a covered
recreational vessel shall use an engine cut-off switch link while
operating on plane or above displacement speed.
Does this mean "covered" as enclosed, or does this mean "covered" as in under the authority of this law???
I called my attorneys, the noted firm of Dewy, Cheatem, and Howe, to get answers, but they have not responded yet.
When I lived in Washington State they passed a law that all boat operators get Coast Guard certified. It was painful but free except for the final application for the certification, which was not that expensive.
https://www.boatus.org/ has a direct link to the free course.
I have mixed feelings about the law. First, I have chased down a run-a-way boat when the operator fell out, but that was well below the 115 HP they call for. Personally I have never heard of anyone being ejected from a moving boat at displacement or plane speed before, unless they were wave hopping and I can't catch them. I don't believe in making laws to stop the one of a kind accidents, I believe in making laws that stop the majority of the problems. 2nd, considering Utah does not enforce most of the Coast Guard rules now, does this even matter to us?
The CG has specific rules for how close you can be to other boats, and when and how to pass or approach a boat, how to sound your passing, how to ........ Heck, I am certified and considering no one else used it in any State I have lived in I have forgotten most of it now anyway.
PERHAPS, and I do mean perhaps, if Utah required all operators to be CG certified, ad IF, and I DO MEAN IF, they enforced it, then the Power Squadrons might respect the other boat users in the State.
For now, it looks to me like another "feel good" law that protects the people that already don't need to be protected and make the proponents "feel good" about trying to protect the rest.
JMHO