Rules Of The Road Boats and Boating

Boats and Boating’s Rules Of The Road
On the water there are no painted lines to mark where boats must go. In order to provide an orderly flow of traffic,there are “rules of the road” that boaters should learn and practice.
Boaters on the water encounter three situations: meeting, crossing and overtaking.The following diagrams should give a clear explanation of who has the right of way (stand-on vessel) and who must give way (give-way vessel). However, in an emergency, all vessels must give way to avoid a collision. At night, a boat’s navigation lights give an indication of right of way

The above rules cover most traffic situations, but a few other situations exist. Sailboats under sail have the right of way except when they are the overtaking vessel. Rowboats and paddle powered boats have the right of way over motorboats. All recreational craft should yield the right of way to large commercial craft (towboats, barges). Such vessels have large blind spots and will be unable to see smaller crafts in front of them. On small or narrow bodies of water,all traffic should stay to the right of midchannel and not “cut corners”.