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Has your teen completed a
boater education course?
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Will an adult who has
completed a boater education course be present to supervise teen water
activities? (Hint: have them show you
their boater education card)
-
Have your teen?s friends
completed boater education courses?
-
What area of the lake
will the boating activity be held in?
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Is the boat or personal
watercraft (PWC) equipped with a working radio? Cell phones do not
work consistently in lake areas.
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Is the boat or PWC
equipped with required safety gear? (Ask for a
Power Squadron check.)
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Where will your teen get
a wet suit to wear? (Recommended to avoid
serious body cavity injury if falling from the PWC causes contact with
the water jet.)
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Does the adult
supervising always wear his/her life vest? Does he/she require
passengers to wear their vests at all times?
-
Does the boat/PWC
operator understand and enforce capacity limits for the type of boat
being operated? (How many people can the boat carry
safely?)
-
Do you give permission
for your teen to operate a boat or PWC, or to be a passenger in a
boat/PWC operated by another teen?
-
Does the host plan to tow
your teen or others behind the craft in a tube? Will there be a
look-out to spot the person in tow? (Refer to
the question below about loss of steering off-throttle in PWC
operation.)
-
Is the boat operator
aware of the ?dead zone? where Carbon Monoxide accumulates behind the
boat? Will Teak Surfing be permitted? (Teak
Surfing can cause death by Carbon Monoxide poisoning. See USCG Office of
Boating Safety for further information on Teak Surfing.)
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Will other boats or
personal watercraft be following in any entourage? If so, do they
know and keep a safe distance of 150 to 200 feet? Will there be
any wake jumping? (Wake jumping is considered a boat
operating offense.)
-
Does your teen
understand/demonstrate the capability needed to operate a PWC, with the
knowledge that letting off the throttle means losing control of steering
direction? Does your teen and the other boaters accompanying
him/her also recognize/understand/demonstrate that she/he/they must make
avoiding a collision on a PWC is one of the biggest priorities at hand?
(76% of PWC accidents are collisions.)
