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Friday, May 23, 1997 Page: 1B
Safe boating is right course
Jim Stout is not happy with people who have a careless attitude about
boatingHe wants everyone who pilots watercraft to take the task seriously, and
he wants them to take life jackets or personal flotation devices seriously.
“Boating is basic,” said Stout, a veteran officer with the Pennsylvania
Fish and Boat Commission, “but people make it difficult.”
Stout is right. Last year, it was people who caused the 117 boating
accidents reported on Pennsylvania’s waterways.
Seven of those incidents ended with fatalities.
One of those fatals involved a 33-year-old boater on the Susquehanna River
in Wyoming County.
The victim, known as a strong swimmer, died last August 7 when his 10-foot
motor-powered johnboat capsized in the Susquehanna’s fast water.
The man was not wearing a PFD when the muddy river claimed his life at
about 8 a.m.
Stout spoke at a press conference Thursday at the county Emergency
Management Agency in Wilkes-Barre. The conference was held in conjunction with
the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary as part of National Safe Boating Week.
This year’s Safe Boating Week slogan is “Life Jackets: They float. You
don’t.”
And Stout was eager to point out new legislation that supports Safe Boating
Week’s theme.
“Children under 12 must wear a Coast Guard approved personal flotation
device on any water in Pennsylvania in any craft 20 feet or less in length
that is under way. That’s the new law, and it applies to canoes and kayaks as
well as powerboats,” Stout said.
This Memorial Day Weekend marks the traditional start of the recreational
boating season. Last year, a record-high 337,201 boats were registered in
Pennsylvania. Luzerne County had the third-highest number of all 67 counties:
12,668.
Stout does not want boaters to fall on the wrong side of the law. Nor does
he want them to find themselves in need of a flotation device that can’t or
won’t do its job.
“Having a PFD on board is not enough. It must be the proper size and must
be in good condition.
“Having a PFD with the stuffing coming out, or putting a young child in an
extra-large size PFD is like not having one at all, from an enforcement
standpoint,” Stout said.
He added that the popular floatable cushions are no longer acceptable as
primary PFDs. Life jackets or “wearable” PFDs are a must.
And he said that young people who pilot watercraft must indeed be
well-trained.
“There is a parallel between operating a powerboat and operating a motor
vehicle, and we are doing something special by giving young people a boating
opportunity,” he said.
All motor vehicle operators must be at least 16 years of age.
But kids age 11 and under may run a powerboat of 10 or more horsepower if a
person at least 16 years old is in the boat.
And young people age 12-15 may operate a powerboat of more than 10 hp alone
if they pass a safe boating course and carry the certificate on board, or have
someone age 16 or above with them.
“People don’t take operating a powerboat as seriously as operating a motor
vehicle, and they should,” Stout said.
Stout is again on target.
People should take piloting a boat seriously, unless they want to be like
those seven who died last year, or those 117 who had to file accident reports
with the Fish and Boat Commission.
George Smith is The Times Leader outdoors editor. His column appears on
Friday and Sunday.