(a) No person shall operate a vessel on any waters for towing a person or persons on water skis, an aquaplane, or a similar device unless there is in the vessel a person at least 12 years of age, in addition to the operator, in a position to observe the progress of the persons being towed.

This subdivision does not apply to motorboats less than 16 feet in length actually operated by the person or persons being towed and so constructed as to be incapable of carrying the operator in or on the motorboat. The department may establish rules and regulations governing the operation of those watercraft, which rules and regulations shall provide the greatest possible safety of persons and vessels.

Terms Used In California Harbors and Navigation Code 658

  • Department: means the Department of Boating and Waterways. See California Harbors and Navigation Code 651
  • Motorboat: means any vessel propelled by machinery, whether or not the machinery is the principal source of propulsion, but shall not include a vessel that has a valid marine document issued by the United States Coast Guard or any federal agency successor thereto. See California Harbors and Navigation Code 651
  • Operator: means the person aboard a vessel who meets any of the following:

    California Harbors and Navigation Code 651

  • Person: means an individual, partnership, firm, corporation, limited liability company, association, or other entity, but does not include the United States, the state, or a municipality or subdivision thereof. See California Harbors and Navigation Code 651
  • State: means a state of the United States, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the District of Columbia. See California Harbors and Navigation Code 651
  • Vessel: includes every description of a watercraft or other artificial contrivance used or capable of being used as a means of transportation on water, except either of the following:

    California Harbors and Navigation Code 651

  • Waters of this state: means any waters within the territorial limits of this state. See California Harbors and Navigation Code 651

(b) No person shall operate a vessel on any waters of this state towing a person or persons on water skis, an aquaplane, or a similar device nor shall any person engage in water skiing, aquaplaning, or other similar activity at any time between the hours from sunset to sunrise, except that those hours do not apply to those waters of this state as to which prohibited hours for those activities are fixed by local ordinances, laws, or regulations enacted pursuant to this chapter.

(c) Subdivisions (a) and (b) of this section do not apply to a performer engaged in a professional exhibition or a person or persons engaged in a regatta, vessel or water ski race, or other marine event authorized pursuant to Section 268.

(d) No person shall operate or manipulate any vessel, towrope, or other device by which the direction or location of water skis, an aquaplane, or a similar device may be affected or controlled so as to cause the water skis, aquaplane, or similar device, or any person thereon, to collide with, or strike against, any object or person. This subdivision does not apply to collisions of two or more persons on water skis, aquaplanes, or similar devices being towed by the same vessel.

(e) No person shall operate water skis, an aquaplane, or a similar device so as to endanger the life, limb, or property of any person.

(Amended by Stats. 1987, Ch. 745, Sec. 10.)

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