Operating a PWC

As an owner of a PWC, you are responsible if you operate your PWC or allow anyone else to operate it in violation of Oregon law. In Oregon, these are the operating laws for PWC.

• PWC have the following speed restrictions.
  • Slow to 10 mph when you are approaching within 100 feet of another powerboat or sailboat underway.
  • Slow to “slow-no wake speed” when within:
    • 100 feet of any anchored or non-motorized boat
    • 200 feet of a shoreline of a lake, bay, or reservoir (safe take-offs and landings are excepted)
    • 200 feet of a swimmer, a surfer, a shoreline angler, or a diver-down flag
    • 200 feet of a dock, launch ramp, marina, mooring area, floating home, boathouse, pier, or swim float
• Do not operate PWC within 200 feet behind a person being towed on water skis or other similar devices.
• PWC must be operated in a reasonable and prudent manner. It is illegal to:
  • Weave your PWC through congested waterway traffic.
  • Jump the wake of another boat unreasonably close to that boat or when its operator’s vision is obstructed.
• It is illegal to operate a PWC if under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
• It is illegal to chase, harass, or disturb wildlife, birds, or marine mammals.