Police and Safety Requirements

Senna27

Senna27

New Member
I sail my boat on a lake in northern Ontario which is part of the Trent Waterway System. Lift locks at both ends so you can go from lake to lake, on & on... In other words, it's a well traveled.

When I had my Sea-Doo's, we used to get pulled over by the Police all the time. They would check to make sure we had our "Pleasure Craft Operator's License" and all the necessary safety equipment. They loved to write tickets if you were't 100% legal.

I was wondering if you Laser people carry "all" the required safety items and if you have ever been stopped and checked out by the Police.

We are required to have a life jacket, whistle, paddle, 50' of floating rope and a waterproof flash light, although I'm not sure about the last one!
 
Senna27 said:
We are required to have a life jacket, whistle, paddle, 50' of floating rope and a waterproof flash light, although I'm not sure about the last one!
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In Ohio we are required to carry our boat registration, life jacket, dock line, have a bailer, whistle, and at night, a flashlight. No paddle is necessary in a Laser.
 
In July of 2001, it cost $234 to be sailing with big flashlights, dead batteries, and no spare functioning batteries on a Laser in the middle of Lake Travis at midnight .

In Texas we do not need registration numbers and letters and tags on non motorized watercraft shorter than 14 feet.

Laws vary state by state and certainly are not the same in Texas as in Canada.

Regardless of your location, it is unwise to ask, " Why are you stopping me this time donut breath?" or to keep repeating, "Yessir Mr Pig."
 
Merrily said:
In Ohio we are required to carry our boat registration, life jacket, dock line, have a bailer, whistle, and at night, a flashlight. No paddle is necessary in a Laser.
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in florida i am pretty sure we need nothing cause i have never heard of any one being pulled over or been pulled over myself. And why in ohio do you need a bailer when we have an auto bailer.:confused:
 
sailor327 said:
in florida i am pretty sure we need nothing cause i have never heard of any one being pulled over or been pulled over myself. And why in ohio do you need a bailer when we have an auto bailer.:confused:
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In Ontario, a bailer or manual water pump is not required for any self-bailing sealed hull sailing vessel fitted with a recess-type cockpit that cannot contain a sufficient quantity of water to make the vessel capsize, or a multi-hull vessel that has subdivided multiple-sealed hull construction.
 
In the UK, I'm not aware of any regulations at all covering dinghies. Clubs insist that you wear buoyancy aids (= common sense), but apart from that I've never come across anything. Having said that, I've not done any cruising, nor have I tried sailing at midnight... (why would you want to do that???)

Land of the Free? Sounds more like Land of the over-regulated... Where in a Laser are you supposed to keep 50' of floating line? Same place as the beer chiller, anchor etc I guess...:p
 
There aren't any requirements on dinghys here, hell they don't even enforce you to wear a PFD...Its a law that you should, but LIS is under-regulated.
 
In Toronto, I know the cops will get ya if you don't have a paddle while in the inner Harbour, cause of the lakers and farries that go threw. Like a paddle will help if a 60 foot lake freighter is coming at ya. But I was told that the cops here are terrified of sail boats cause they never what side to approach on. They only other law for Lasers would be lifejackets.

Cheers
Mark
 
sailor327 said:
. And why in ohio do you need a bailer when we have an auto bailer.:confused:
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I should have written functioning bailer, such as the auto bailer. I was talking about small boats in general.
 
BTW, I installed an auto bailer on the weekend. Wow, works like a charm even in really light winds!
 
also, does your foot count as a bailer?, it works for me. or you can just capsise the boat to get water out of the copckpit, those are my methods.
 
On Cass Lake, near Detroit, Michigan at the weekend, apparently one unregistered Laser was 'busted' by the water cops - for not having registration decals / papers. They must have been bored.

My Laser in Michigan is unregistered. At the beginning of the season (new boat) I called the Secretary of State to ask whether it should be. They told me it does not, since it's unpowered, and under 14ft in length.

Problem in Michigan seems to be, there are so many powered water craft (it is the motor city), the authorities have trouble understanding the concept of a sailboat. Last year, I casually asked a SoS employee about registration, and they felt it should be registered since "I may fit an engine at some point"...:eek:
 
where i live there r no requirememnts for registration in any boat that does not have a motorised engine that is above 6hp / 4kw. having said that the clubs require that we wear a pfd all the time and at night we are suposed 2 carry a small hand torch so we are able to navigate...common sense

i didnt realise in other places you had to register a laser???...:confused:
 
AndyDove21 said:
On Cass Lake, near Detroit, Michigan at the weekend, apparently one unregistered Laser was 'busted' by the water cops - for not having registration decals / papers. They must have been bored.
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Very!!!
 
chrisfsi said:
In the UK, I'm not aware of any regulations at all covering dinghies. Clubs insist that you wear buoyancy aids (= common sense), but apart from that I've never come across anything. Having said that, I've not done any cruising, nor have I tried sailing at midnight... (why would you want to do that???)

Land of the Free? Sounds more like Land of the over-regulated... Where in a Laser are you supposed to keep 50' of floating line? Same place as the beer chiller, anchor etc I guess...:p
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I was in the UK a few years ago and saw a rack-boat of some kind (a Laser 5000 maybe?) with a funny warning sticker. It said something like "Caution: This vessel is not manufactured in accordance with EU regulation xx.xxx for positive roll stability and will not right itself in event of a capsize".
 
In Ontario it says that you need a paddle,but in the information booklet it states that in small sailboats your rudder can be classified as your paddle.You can use the rudder in a sculling motion to get you ashore.You do requirer a waterproof flashlight.
 
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