GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
1997 SESSION

S.L. 1997-129
HOUSE BILL 508

AN ACT TO PROVIDE FOR ADDITIONAL REGULATION OF PERSONAL WATERCRAFT ON THE UPPER CATAWBA RIVER AND TO PROVIDE FOR NO WAKE ZONES ON LAKE NORMAN.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

Section 1.  Chapter 75A of the General Statutes is amended by adding a new section to read:
"§ 75A-13.3.  Personal watercraft.
(a)	No person shall operate a personal watercraft on the waters of this State at any time between the hours from one hour after sunset to one hour before sunrise.  For purposes of this section, 'personal watercraft' means a small vessel which uses an outboard or propeller-driven motor, or an inboard motor powering a water jet pump, as its primary source of motive power and which is designed to be operated by a person sitting, standing, or kneeling on, or being towed behind the vessel, rather than in the conventional manner of sitting or standing inside the vehicle.
(a1)	Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, no person under 16 years of age shall operate a personal watercraft on the waters of this State, nor shall the owner of a personal watercraft knowingly allow a person under the age of 16 to operate a personal watercraft. A person of at least 13 years of age but under 16 years of age may operate a personal watercraft on the waters of this State if:
(1)	The person is accompanied by a person of at least 16 years of age who physically occupies the watercraft; or
(2)	The person possesses a boating safety certificate or a photographic identification card certifying that the person has completed a boating safety course approved by the United States Coast Guard Auxiliary.
(a2)	No livery shall lease, hire, or rent a personal watercraft to or for operation by a person under 16 years of age, except as provided in subsection (a1) of this section.
(b)	No person shall operate a personal watercraft on the waters of this State, nor shall the owner of a personal watercraft knowingly allow another person to operate that personal watercraft on the waters of this State, unless:
(1)	Each person riding on or being towed behind such vessel is wearing a personal flotation device approved by the United States Coast Guard; and
(2)	In the case of a personal watercraft equipped by the manufacturer with a lanyard-type engine cut-off switch, the lanyard is securely attached to the person, clothing, or flotation device of the operator at all times while the personal watercraft is being operated in such a manner to turn off the engine if the operator dismounts while the watercraft is in operation.
(c)	A personal watercraft must at all times be operated in a reasonable and prudent manner.  Maneuvers that endanger life, limb, or property, including:
(1)	Unreasonably or unnecessarily weaving through congested vessel traffic;
(2)	Jumping the wake of another vessel unreasonably or unnecessarily close to such other vessel or when visibility around such other vessel is obstructed; and
(3)	Intentionally approaching another vessel in order to swerve at the last possible moment to avoid collision
shall constitute reckless operation of a vessel as provided in G.S. 75A-10.
(d)	The provisions of this section do not apply to a performer engaged in a professional exhibition, a person or persons engaged in an activity authorized under G.S. 75A-14, or a person attempting to rescue another person who is in danger of losing life or limb.
(e)	This section applies only to that portion of the waters of the upper Catawba River found within Alexander, Burke, Caldwell, Catawba, Iredell, Lincoln, McDowell, and Mecklenburg Counties, beginning where the US Highway 221 bridge crosses the Catawba River in McDowell County and extending downstream to the Cowans Ford Dam. The provisions of G.S. 75A-13.2 shall not apply to the region covered by this section."
Section 2.  G.S. 75A-13.2 is amended by adding a new subsection to read:
"(e)	The provisions of this section shall not apply to that portion of the upper Catawba River covered by G.S. 75A-13.3."
Section 3.  G.S. 75A-18 is amended by adding a new subsection to read:
"(e)	A person under 16 years of age who operates a personal watercraft in violation of the provisions of G.S. 75A-13.3 is guilty of an infraction as provided in G.S. 14-3.1."
Section 4.  It is unlawful to operate a vessel at greater than no-wake speed within 50 yards of a boat launching area, bridge, dock, pier, marina, boat storage structure, or boat service area on the waters of Lake Norman.  No-wake speed is idle speed or slow speed creating no appreciable wake.
With regard to marking the no-wake speed zone established in this section, each of the boards of commissioners of Catawba, Iredell, Lincoln, and Mecklenburg Counties may place and maintain navigational aids and regulatory markers of a general nature on the waters of Lake Norman within the boundaries of each respective county.  Provided the counties exercise their supervisory responsibility, they may delegate the actual process of placement or maintenance of the markers to some other agency, corporation, group, or individual.  With regard to marking the restricted zones, markers may be placed and maintained by the individuals using the protected areas and facilities in accordance with the Uniform Waterway Marking System and any supplementary standards for that system adopted by the Wildlife Resources Commission.
This section is enforceable under G.S. 75A-17 as if it were a provision of Chapter 75A of the General Statutes.
Section 5.  Section 4 of this act is effective when it becomes law and is enforceable after markers complying with Section 7 are placed in the water.  The remainder of this act is effective when it becomes law.
In the General Assembly read three times and ratified this the 2nd day of June, 1997.
s/	Dennis A. Wicker
President of the Senate

s/	Harold J. Brubaker
Speaker of the House of Representatives