Paddling Safety Tips

• Wear your life jacket.  Some 80% of all recreational boating fatalities happen to people who are not wearing a life jacket.
• Expect to get wet and dress properly.  Even the best paddlers sometimes capsize or swamp their boats.
• Be prepared to swift.  If the water looks too hazardous to swim in, don’t go paddling.
• If you capsize hold on to your boat, unless it presents a life-threatening situation.
• Scout ahead whenever possible.  Know the river.  Avoid surprises.
• Be prepared for the weather.  Get a forecast before you go.
• Wear wading shoes or tennis shoes with wool, polypropylene, pile, or neoprene socks.
• Never take your boat over a low-head dam.
• Portage (carry) your boat around any section of water about which you feel uncertain.
• Never boat alone.  Boating safety increases with numbers.
• Keep painter lines (ropes tied to the bow) and any other ropes coiled and secured.
• Never tie a rope to yourself or to another paddler, especially a child.
• Kneel to increase your stability before entering rougher water, like a rapid.
• If you collide with an obstruction, lean toward it.
• File a float plan with a reliable person, indicating where you are going and when you will return.  Remember to contact the person when you have returned safely.

Boating Regulations

• One wearable Coast Guard-approved personal floatation device (PFD or life jacket) in serviceable condition and of the appropriate size is required for each person in your boat.  If your boat is 16 feet or longer, one throwable device (seat cushion or ring buoy) is required.  Canoes and kayaks, regardless of length, are not required to carry a throwable device.
• PFDs must be worn by all children 12 years-old and younger on boats 20 feet or less in length while under way, and on all canoes and kayaks.  Others are strongly encouraged to wear a PFD at all times on the water.
• All boats must display an anchor light (a white light visible 360 degrees) when at anchor between sunset and sunrise.  Boats can use a lantern or clip-on battery-powered unit to meet this requirement.
• All powered boats must show running lights between sunset and sunrise.  Between sunset and sunrise, unpowered boats must carry a white light (visible 360 degrees) installed or portable, ready to be displayed in time to avoid a collision. 
• All boats are required to carry a sound-producing mechanical device audible for a half mile.  Athletic whistles meet this requirement.
• All motorboats using Pennsylvania Fish & Boat Commission access areas must be registered.  Valid registration from another state is honored for up to 60 days for unmoored boats.  Launch permits issued by the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources allowing unpowered boats to launch at state park lakes are also valid for use at Pennsylvania Fish & Boat Commission accesses..  The Commission also issues launch permits in lieu of registration for unpowered boats.
• Operating watercraft, including canoes, kayaks, and rafts, under the influence of alcohol or drugs is illegal.  The law is strongly enforced for user safety.   For further information on boating regulations, contact the Pennsylvania Fish & Boat Commission at www.fish.state.pa.us.