CHAPTER 193
FORMERLY
HOUSE BILL NO. 5
AS AMENDED BY HOUSE AMENDMENT NOS. 1, 2 AND 3
AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 23 OF THE DELAWARE CODE BY CREATING A NEW CHAPTER 22 RELATING TO BOATING SAFETY.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE (Two-thirds of all members elected to each House thereof concurring therein):
Section 1. Amend Title 23 of the Delaware Code by adding thereto a new Chapter, designated as Chapter 22, which shall read as follows:
"Chapter 22. BOATING SAFETY
§2201. Definitions
(a) 'Vessel' - includes every description of watercraft, other than a seaplane on the water, used or capable of being used as a means of transportation on the water.
(b) 'Recreational Boat' - means any vessel manufactured or used primarily for noncommercial use; or leased, rented or chartered to another for the latter's noncommercial use. Charter boats, head boats, or other vessels under the command of a person who is licensed by the United States Coast Guard to carry passengers for hire shall be defined as commercial and therefore exempt from this definition of
'Recreational boat'.
(c) 'Waters of this State' - means any waters within the territorial limits of this State, the marginal sea adjacent to this State, and the high seas when navigated as part of a journey or ride to or from the shores of this State.
(a) 'Use' - means operate, navigate or employ.
(b) 'Operator' - means that person in control or in charge of the vessel while the vessel is in use.
§2202. Child Safety on Recreational atatd
Every operator of a recreational boat shall be responsible for providing for the protection of any child 12 years of age or under, by having any such child who is aboard a recreational boat upon the waters of this State, properly wear a Type I, II, III or Type V Coast Guard approved personal flotation device which is in good serviceable condition and of the proper size. This Section shall not apply to any child who is below deck or in an enclosed cabin or while said recreational boat is anchored or moored.
2203 Rualties
A violation of this Chapter shall be an offense punishable by a fine of no more than $25 for each violation. The failure to provide a flotation device for more than one child in the same recreational boat at the same time, as required by this Chapter, shall be treated as separate offenses."
Approved July 17, 1987