Page 24 - Experience Oregon Boating Handbook

Add alcohol or intoxicating substances and the stressors’
The U.S. Coast Guard reports that alcohol is the leading
contributing factor in boating accidents and is the leading
factor in 16% of boating fatalities, nationwide.
Operating a boat while under the influence of intoxicants
(BUII) is against the law. A blood-alcohol concentration of
.08% or more is considered to be under the influence. There
is no open container law for boaters, but the Marine Board
strongly advises boat operators and passengers to avoid
consuming any intoxicating substance when on the water.
Intoxicated passengers are also at risk from falling overboard
due to intoxication.
Marine patrol officers who have reason to suspect
that a boat operator is under the influence may require
the operator to undergo standardized field sobriety tests.
Anyone who operates a boat on Oregon’s waterways has
given consent (Implied Consent Law) to field sobriety
testing and breath, blood or urine testing to confirm an
officer’s observations. Refusal means automatic fines and
suspension of boating privileges and can also be used as
evidence in court.
Boating under the influence of intoxicants (BUII)
is a Class A misdemeanor. If convicted, boaters
face a maximum penalty of $6,250 and a year in jail,
suspension of all boat registrations in their name for
up to three years, and loss of operating privileges
for a period of time. Some jurisdictions also require
successful completion of a boating safety course.
Why Boating Under the Influence
of Intoxicants is Unsafe
1. Intoxicants affect sense of balance, which is critical in
boating.
2. Boating requires good vision and intoxicants can
seriously impair your vision. Peripheral vision, night
vision, depth perception, and your ability to focus are all damage or injury caused by his or her wake.
negatively impacted.
3. Intoxicants affect your judgment. Operators under the
influence are more likely to take risks they normally
wouldn’t and are less likely to make the right choices in a engage in activities (such as wakeboarding or wakesurfing) in
life-threatening situation.
4. Intoxicants slow your reaction time and in the case of a
hazardous situations, seconds may be all you have to take • Danger to swimmers and small boats
the correct action.
5. Even without impairing substances in your body, reaction
40 time is slowed in normal boating by environmental
stressors. Stressors include motion, sun, wind and noise.
fatiguing effects are multiplied.
6. Alcohol is a central nervous system depressant and
also dehydrates a person’s body. A person consuming
alcohol that falls overboard is more likely to succumb to
the effects of cold water immersion faster than someone
who has not consumed any intoxicating substances.
7. The affects (listed above) of ingesting any intoxicating
substance is amplified when out on the water, and so are
the risks to everyone else recreating on the water.
Boat Safe, Boat Sober!
Boat Wakes
Boaters today have more options
than ever before to enjoy Oregon’s
treasured lakes and rivers. From the
simplicity of paddling a sea kayak on
flat water, to the thrill of high-flying
wakeboard action, more people than
ever are finding their way to the water. This diversity of
boat types and uses brings with it the potential for conflict
– wakes from large boats make operation of small boats
difficult and even dangerous. More than ever, boaters need
to watch their wakes.
Wake and Its Effects
Wake, the path of moving waves a boat leaves behind, is
a product of the boat size, weight, hull shape and speed. All
boats create wake, and all boaters are responsible for their
wakes. Larger wakes carry more energy and increase the
chance of damaging docks, eroding sensitive river banks, or
tipping smaller boats. If you understand this, you can solve
problems caused by wake and reduce the risk to you and
your passengers.
Small boats: Canoes, kayaks and smaller motorized
fishing boats are, by their nature, unstable. They may not
be appropriate in high-traffic areas just as they may not be
appropriate in wind-driven swells on the Columbia River.
Operators of small craft should be especially aware of wakes.
• Taking a wake sideways can easily tip your boat, but
pointing your bow into the wake reduces this risk.
• Keep yourself and your passengers seated in the middle of
the boat to improve stability.
Large boats: Cruisers, wakeboard boats and even
larger fishing boats can, under certain conditions, create
exceptionally large wakes. Each operator is responsible for
The best way to minimize your wake’s risk to others is to
avoid“plowing”through the water, running close to other
boaters, swimmers, docks or sensitive shorelines, and to
areas away from developed or sensitive shorelines or where
small craft congregate.
Risks Associated With Wakes
• Sediment from shoreline erosion clouds water, making it
uninviting for swiming or fishing.
• May damage docks by thrusting them against their
moorings.