(a) No person shall operate a personal watercraft unless such person is 16 years of age or older, except that a person between 14 and 16 years of age may operate a personal watercraft if such operation occurs under the direct supervision of said person’s parent or legal guardian.

Terms Used In Delaware Code Title 23 Sec. 2212

  • Approved personal flotation device: shall mean any United States Coast Guard approved type I, II, III or V personal flotation device. See Delaware Code Title 23 Sec. 2211
  • Guardian: A person legally empowered and charged with the duty of taking care of and managing the property of another person who because of age, intellect, or health, is incapable of managing his (her) own affairs.
  • Headway speed: shall mean the minimum speed necessary to maintain steerage and control of a personal watercraft while such personal watercraft is moving. See Delaware Code Title 23 Sec. 2211
  • Personal watercraft: shall mean any class A in-board vessel (less than 16 feet in length) as defined by the United States Coast Guard which uses either an internal combustion engine powering a water jet-pump or a propeller as its primary source of propulsion and which is designed to be operated either by a person or persons sitting, standing or kneeling on the vessel, or by a water skier via remote control, instead of in the conventional manner of vessel operation, such as riding in the vessel. See Delaware Code Title 23 Sec. 2211

(b) No person shall operate a personal watercraft at any time between sunset and sunrise and at times of restricted visibility unless the personal watercraft is equipped with navigation lights.

(c) No person shall operate or ride in a personal watercraft unless such person is wearing an approved personal flotation device.

(d) No person shall operate a personal watercraft unless the personal watercraft is equipped with a self-circling device or a lanyard-type engine cutoff switch. If the personal watercraft is equipped with a lanyard-type engine cutoff switch, no person shall operate such personal watercraft unless the lanyard is attached to the person, clothing or personal flotation device of the operator of such personal watercraft.

(e) No person shall remove, alter or tamper with any part of the spring-loaded throttle mechanism on a personal watercraft which immediately returns the engine to an idle speed upon release of the operator’s hand from the throttle control, or any feature of an engine cut-off switch on a personal watercraft which is installed by a manufacturer.

(f) A personal watercraft shall at all times be operated in a reasonable and prudent manner. Maneuvers which may endanger the safety of persons or property shall include but are not limited to:

(1) Weaving through congested vessel traffic;

(2) Jumping or attempting to jump the wake of another vessel within 100 feet of such other vessel, or when visibility around such other vessel is obstructed;

(3) Following within 100 feet of a water skier; or

(4) Speeding in restricted speed areas.

(g) No person who is the owner of a personal watercraft or who has charge or control over a personal watercraft shall permit another person to operate such personal watercraft in violation of any provision of this subchapter.

(h) No person shall operate a personal watercraft at any speed greater than headway speed while within or at the entrance to a marina or other place utilized as an anchorage.

(i) Except for the waters of Delaware’s Inland Bays contiguous to incorporated areas, on Delaware waters other than the Atlantic Ocean, no person shall operate a personal watercraft at any speed greater than headway speed unless said personal watercraft is at least 100 feet from all wharfs, piers, docks, boat launching areas, pilings, bridge structures or abutments, moored, drifting or anchored vessels, all nonmotorized vessels, and any shoreline, and at least 300 feet from all people in the water; provided however, that the provisions of this subsection shall not apply to the waters of the Nanticoke River.

(j) Within the waters of Delaware’s Inland Bays contiguous to incorporated areas, no person shall operate a personal watercraft at any speed greater than headway speed unless said personal watercraft is at least 300 feet from all wharves, piers, docks, boat-launching areas, pilings, bridge structures or abutments, moored, drifting or anchored vessels, all nonmotorized vessels, any shoreline and all people in the water.

(k) Within the Delaware waters of the Atlantic Ocean, no person shall operate a personal watercraft at any speed greater than headway speed unless such personal watercraft is at least 300 feet from all wharfs, piers, docks, boat launching areas, pilings, bridge structures or abutments, moored, drifting or anchored vessels, all nonmotorized vessels, all people in the water and any shoreline.

(l) No person shall operate a personal watercraft in an area where motorized vessels are prohibited.

(m) No person shall operate a personal watercraft to tow a water skier, aquaboard or other similar device unless there is in such vessel a competent observer, in addition to the operator, and the personal watercraft is designed by the manufacturer to carry the operator, the observer and the person or persons being towed. The observer shall be considered competent if the observer is facing toward the person or persons being towed.

68 Del. Laws, c. 185, § ?3; 68 Del. Laws, c. 346, §§ ?1, 2; 70 Del. Laws, c. 186, § ?1; 70 Del. Laws, c. 268, §§ ?1, 2; 71 Del. Laws, c. 206, § ?1; 71 Del. Laws, c. 427, § ?4; 72 Del. Laws, c. 358, §§ ?1-3;

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