May I ask post respondents to refrain from mentioning lighting for use at night, or to please begin a new thread discussing Coast Guard rules for lighting for paddling at night?
It has always been contentious subject and will probably hijack this thread which is focused on a bizarre law
Where do Kayaks and Canoes fit into the Navigation Rules? Kayaks and Canoes are a vessel under oars and are addressed specifically in Rule 25
Rule 25: How does a vessel know another is restricted in their ability to maneuver, not under command, or constrained by draft? A vessel’s status is communicated via their display of lights and shapes. The determination of whether a vessel is restricted in their ability to maneuver is at the master’s discretion. Should a master consider their vessel restricted in their ability to maneuver, the vessel shall exhibit the lights or shapes as such (Rule 27) in accordance with the technical specifications (Annex I). If a vessel is not displaying the appropriate lights/shapes for a vessel restricted in their ability to maneuver, then it is assumed that they are not.
Rule 27 - Vessels Not Under Command or Restricted in Their Ability to Maneuver
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(b) A vessel restricted in her ability to maneuver, except a vessel engaged in mineclearance operations, shall exhibit:
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(ii) three shapes in a vertical line where they can best be seen. The highest and lowest of these shapes shall be balls and the middle one a diamond.
First, I read this as shapes OR lights per rule 27. I assume there is stuff on lights you did not include under this rule. If others read it the same way as me, good luck keeping lights out of it.
Now to the shapes option - this appears to describe a vertical stack, yes? Ball top and bottom and in the middle likely something akin to a flag. Even on their worse day, I can’t see anyone in the CG expecting a larger vessel to discern a couple of balls and a flag on a pole that is of scale to work on a kayak sitting a few inches above the water line.
I have seen the vertical ball/flag formation on working ships of one sort or another. But the smallest of them is many times larger than a kayak.
Personally I don’t see anything that alters the reflective patches and lighting options most already use…
Hypothetically, I do want to consider 2 round brightly colored helium ballons, and one 3 dimensional diamond shaped ballon, all on string 10-20 feet above the kayak… It might help radar if the ballo0ns are foil. A florescent yellow against a coastline is hard to miss, and arrangements such as these keep aircraft away from powerlines.
I have never seen this in my life, there are no products on the market for kayaks that fulfill this need, and I agree that it “sounds” preposterous. But there it is…clearly and unambiguously written on a law enforcement web site. Would you write an email to USGC stating “You can’t possibly be serious; is the web site accurate?”
Following these clear instructions makes your kayak more visible, reduces the chance of being struck, and following the law shows you have practiced reasonable care if you are struck by a careless power boater.
It would be great if any member of the Coast Guard Auxiliary might ask there commander/liaison/official and report back.
Finally, as an aside, I am not suggesting that installation of this arrangement allows you to paddle down the middle of the Hudson and obligate large marine traffic to change course.
@Barge said:
… The determination of whether a vessel is restricted in their ability to maneuver is at the master’s discretion …
This statement alone means that, if you want to go on a limb and consider me the master of my vessel (those of you in tandems can draw straws), then I alone decide whether to display these markings.
THIS part is clear and unambiguous.
I still fail to see the point of this, as I really don’t think it has anything to do with paddle craft. But hey, stranger laws have been written… few of them are enforced. I’m not under USCG jurisdiction anyway.
@Sparky961 said:
I don’t get it. Are you asking if kayaks should have the marking because you think they are restricted in their ability to maneuver?
The law clearly points to Rule 25. Rule 25 clearly points to rule 27. I think any group of reasonable people would consider a vessel under oars to be restricted in its ability to maneuver. However, its does not matter what I think. The law clearly indicates that a paddler can make the determination that his vessel is restricted in ability to maneuver.
@Barge said:
I think any group of reasonable people would consider a vessel under oars to be restricted in its ability to maneuver.
I’m a reasonable person and I disagree. In a kayak I have much MORE maneuverability than most other vessels around me. I also have the absolute choice of course, and am capable of navigating through very shallow water where other crafts dare not go. What I lack compared to the others is acceleration and velocity.
Bad news, Barge. Sparky is right again. The whole “maneuverability” thing is about avoiding collisions. You, as a paddler, have more ability to avoid a collision than any large vessel.
Though this is a topic I can’t see getting worked up about, I will agree with a previous poster that canoes kayaks or any vessel under oars are far less restricted in their ability to maneuver than virtually any other kind of vessel on the water. I think you are misinterpreting the meaning of “ability to maneuver”. Having the ability to maneuver means you can change course or speed at will, at a moment’s notice and with immediate effect, and without regard to the locations of channels, shoals, etc. I can’t see how any boat can be less restricted in maneuvering capability than those which we here use. Examples of limited ability to maneuver would be a cargo ship that continues to coast after cutting power and barely even slows down after 10 miles, or any big ship that can only change heading by 10 or 20 degrees or so in the space of half a minute, or a ship that simply won’t stay within a navigation channel if it changes heading at all. Those of us in paddle craft face no such limitations. If we can see that we are about to be run down by another vessel, we can simply vacate that location - we can be somewhere else entirely in the space of a few seconds if we have the wherewithal to understand the situation.
I see that Steve answered quicker with his shorter type of reply. Yeah, his answer is the quickest way to say it.
Well it appears that I mistook Rule 25 for Faq #25. I will certainly admit my error. But the rude paranoid comment, insistence on being right, and willingness to argue in place of uncovering this mistake diminishes the value of this community.
