Boating guidelines to follow while out on the water this 4th of July

FAIRMONT, W.Va. (WBOY) — Before you launch your boats on the water this upcoming holiday weekend, there are some safety tips and guidelines that Natural Resources Police Officer Randall Kocsis has for you.

In an interview with 12 News, Kocsis highlighted his mission to teach boaters about Operation Dry Water, a campaign by the National Association of State Boating Law Administrators that aims to prevent people from boating under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

“You will be arrested, it’s a major inconvenience for us. Definitely a major inconvenience and a problem for the person that does get arrested,” said Kocsis.

Kocsis said officers will be out on the waters and interacting with the public and will only stop individuals who are showing boating violations like incorrect boat number registration font or colors. The law states that the registration should be block characters and numbers should be the same color and should contrast with the background.

Other safety tips include access to U.S. Coast Guard-approved wearable life jackets , and that everyone younger than 13 is required to have one when out on the water. Larger boats also have additional requirements like having throwable devices.

“Required on any motorboat, 16 feet and over. This is what I’m saying needs to be immediately available,” said Kocsis. Fire extinguishers are also an item motorboats should be equipped with.

In the state of West Virginia, boaters are not required to have a license. However, they must obtain a certificate of boating safety education that comes as a card and has to be provided to officers when requested.

The minimum age to operate a boat in the state is 12 years old. Anyone between the ages of 12 and 15, must have an adult 18 or older present if the boat has more than 10 horsepower. However, that adult is not required to be certified.

Anyone older than 15 who has their certification can operate a motorboat by themselves.

Kocsis said that individuals in kayaks, canoes, paddle boards and other non-motor powered devices should have a whistle and life jackets available to them, as well as a white light if they go out on the water in the dark.

For motorboats, Kocsis said that while you’re underway—meaning that the boat is out on the water and not anchored—your boat must have a red and green navigational light off of the front and a white all-around light on the back. No other decorative lights are permitted and will be considered violations.

You can view all of West Virginia’s safety boating guidelines here .

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