Boating Safety

[BigBossMan]

I'm writing this message because I want everyone to enjoy themselves on the water. I'll be refering to the Delta, but the rules apply to all bodies of water. I strongly recommend picking up an "ABC of Boating Safety" booklet from the Dept. of Boating and Waterways or the local Marine Patrol Office. It's an excellent book. I'm only going to address the most common violations.

Blue Light- when a patrol boat makes an enforcement stop on a boat, they activate their blue lights. Passing boats must reduce to a "No Wake" speed when approaching/passing the patrol boat while the blue lights are activated.

No Wake Zone when you come within 100' of a swimmer/bather (A downed skier is not a swimmer but, be careful). No Wake Zone when you come within 200' of an occupied dock or occupied beach.

Make sure all of your mandatory equipment is in proper working order. A life jacket for everyone in the boat. A throwable PFD IMMEDIATELY available. A fire extinguisher that works. Check your navigational lights so that they are working properly. And I'm sorry to say but those custom painted CF #'s that match your boat...unless they're 3" block solid color. They're not in compliance.

And one last thing...The rules on the road apply to the rules on the water. Don't cut corners. Stay on the right side of the slough or river unless you are passing. Be alert to oncoming boats or boats entering the waterway from a side slough. There is no speed limit on the water. But, there is a section for reckless operation.

With the weather warming up and the boat traffic increasing...I hope this little bit of information is helpful...Be Safe!

[tommypV2]

good idea to remind everyone as the peak fishing season approaches.

Earlier this year, we got stopped and inspected for the first time in my six years of boating on the Delta. Couple more things they were looking for is a throwable with 100' of rope and fishing licenses. They were cordial and we had everything they asked for.

The funniest thing is that as soon as the sheriff pulled up on us with the blue light, three other boats in the area got on plane and left the area!

If you are a law enforcement person reading this, please make sure to check out the small boats operating in the middle delta - especially at the Mildred south opening. Some of these folks are practicing "catch & keep" with no discrimination to size or species.
Just don't single out bass fishermen please.

[gabuelhaj]

Please clarify throwable with 100' of rope? Attached? Seperated? Both immediately available?

Thanks!

[BigBossMan]

A throwable PFD needs to be immediately available where you can grab it and throw it. Not placed in a storage compartment out of the way. It does not need to be connected to a 100' rope. A 100' rope is not required but is nice to have to assist to helping someone from out of the water.

[gabuelhaj]

OK, thanks! I got the throwable immediately available but only had 50 ' rope and wanted to know if I had to replace it with a 100 '.

Dang, I'm starting to run out of space!

Thanks again and good luck!!

[macinckirk]

Good to see this put up, it just helps us all to rember to check and make sure that everything is ready for the yr to come, like your Fire Ex. its bad news to pull 1 out of your boat that you have had for yrs and it be empty and your sitting there in a 40,000.00 dollar bass boat going well it was ok 2 yrs ago

Thanks Kirk

[Burke]

A couple of questions regarding No Wake Zone within 200' of an occupied dock/beach.

--There are a lot of areas where you can't get beyond 200' of an occupied dock/beach or you'll be in shallow water or on the rocks. What do you do?
--What is considered an occupied dock? - you can see people or just having a boat tied to it.

A couple of examples:
--If you launch out of Wimpy's or New Hope at low tide and head south on the Mokelumne, a lot of recreational boaters will use the "low tide beaches" where the river is less than 200' wide. I've seen a lot of boaters (including us) go by them at full plane.
--In Disappointment Slough near Paradise Marina, there are a dock that has about a dozen "old" boats tied to it that haven't moved in years (most of the boats don't have current registration). Is that considered an occupied dock since someone lives on a "houseboat" in the middle of that mess? (I'm asking because we're there last week and a guy ran out of the houseboat and started to yell at us about slowing down when we got off plane about 150' away one of the old boats on the fringe of the mess.)

Is this a violation? We were fishing the back part of Hog Slough where the slough is 20-25' across. We had tied the boat to a piling to enjoy our lunch. A recreational boater comes by at full plane within 10 ft of us to go to the end of the slough. We had to stick our feet out and push against the piling to prevent the boat from being bashed on the piling. He did the same thing on the way out.

Thanks for the info and the replies.

[BigBossMan]

An occupied dock is a dock with a boat tied to it...People standing on a dock without a boat tied up would not be considered occupied. Unless you travel close enough at a high speed to put those people endanger, then you would have reckless operation...As for the areas where you can't go beyond 200' you must slow down to a "No Wake" speed. For a wake to be considered a wake, there must be white water cresting off the top of the wake. Most bass boat cause less of a wake by design than ski boats...
Those recreational boats beached on the Mokelumne,"No Wake" zone. And, I understand boats travel through there on full plane but, if there's a patrol boat watching. Somebody is going to have an expensive day on the water. The old boats in Disappointment, "No Wake" as well.

The Hog Slough incident...Reckless operation by the recreational boat. In that situation it doesn't matter if you were tied to a piling, driving that close to another boater at that speed, you could articulate reckless operation by the other driver...BIG! violation. Keep the phone number for the local Marine Patrol. Call them with a detailed description of the boat, CF#'s, the driver of the boat and your information.

The main point to consider is to be aware of your surroundings and consider safety first...By law the occupied docks and beaches are "No Wake" zones. And, in certain areas they will be enforced. In other areas there is going to be some flexibility for various reasons...I hope this has answered your questions. Let me know if there are any more questions you have...

[PeteD]

So your saying if theres 5 ski boats with people in the water ready to get up, and 5 ski boats pulling skiers in a slough the 5 boats on plane or myself do not need to get of plane to a no wake speed when passing ? or is someone gonna get tagged.

Ive been in a slough where it was worse than what I just stated and it was very dangerous.

Thanks
Peted

[BigBossMan]

If a skier is in the water, whether they are preparing to come up or just fell down. The ski/tow boat must hold up an orange flag to warn other boats that a skier is in the water. There is no rule that a boat passing that downed skier has to come off of plane...That isn't to say that you can pass on full plane with disregard to the safety of the skier in the water or other boats in the immediate area...There are no marked lanes on the water nor do boats have brakes.

I've seen areas in the Delta that were exactly as you described...It's not safe...If a boat passes a downed skier, and you could articulate reckless operation by the passing boat, a citation could be issued. But, if you're following a skier being towed and they fall down or you approach a downed skier and you can safely pass without interfering with other boats or the skier, then you can continue traveling your course of speed.