Requirements for Operating a Thrill Craft

§13-256-16 Thrill craft operations; general provisions (a) No person under fifteen years of age shall operate a thrill craft. No person shall permit, or mislead another person into permitting, a person under fifteen years of age to operate a thrill craft.

(b) No person shall operate thrill craft within a marine life conservation district or marine natural area reserve.

(c) Thrill craft operations shall be curtailed in certain designated areas as described in subchapters two through eleven as necessary, to: 1) avoid possible adverse impacts on humpback whales or other protected marine life; 2) provide for increased public access; 3) reduce user conflicts; and 4) promote overall public safety.

(d) Effective January 2005, all recreational thrill craft operators shall be required to possess, and make available upon demand of enforcement personnel, a certificate of completion from a state approved course on the safe use and operation of a thrill craft. The State may recognize reciprocity with other states, i.e., the National Association of State Boating Law Administrators (NASBLA) approved portion of the personal watercraft course; however, all operators shall be required to complete the portions of a certificate course for Hawaii that includes, but is not limited to:

     (1) Local ocean safety principles and practices;
     (2) The historical, cultural, and customary practices of Hawaii's ocean users; and
     (3) Any rules or laws pertaining to protected species and thrill craft operation in the State.

(e) All thrill craft operators and passengers shall be required to wear a personal flotation device in accordance with section 13-243-1.

(f) All persons holding or receiving a certificate of completion under this section are exempt from section 13-244-15.5 for the purpose of operating a thrill craft.

NOTE: §13-256-16 (f) primarily applies to individuals who were certified to operate a thrill craft in Hawaii's waters prior to 2014.