In the February 2009 issue of Sea Kayaker magazine Craig Jungers writes about kayaks and the Rules of the Road that apply to all vessels operating on navigable waters. One of the more interesting facts that Craig brings to our attention is that sea kayaks under the rules are considered a power vessel. Under the rules the only place human powered vessels are singled out is in regards to the lights we must show when operating after dark.

Rules of the Road is a must read article for any of us paddling on navigable waters.
We'd like to hear your thoughts on this article or hear of your experiences regarding Rules of the Road and your paddling.

It sure wouldn't hurt to read up on the rules, but I have a rule that works for me. I give way to everything--even sea lions. Make that, especially sea lions.

Jungen did not say that kayaks are considered to be power vessels; he said that, his advice is that paddlers SHOULD "ASSUME that kayaks are to be treated under the law as if they were power boats." He tries to bolster his opinion by saying that "a paddle can be defined as machinery." With as much authority, I could say that the human body is a machine and therefore a swimmer should be classified as a power vessel. It is clear that the Navigation Rules, in Rule 25, distinquish a vessel under oars from a power vessel, and if an oar is not considered to be a machine, neither is a paddle.

They only thing you can say about the Navigation Rules and kayaks is that the Rules have failed to address kayaks and other human powered vessels. They address seaplanes, wing-in-ground (surface effect aircraft) dredges and submarines, but forgot kayaks; oops.

A worthwhile article, but I agree that the Rules do not address human powered vessels except with regard to lights. These unaddressed issues are usually determined in courts but to my knowledge there have been no precedents set in court regarding "vessels under oars" (Would a court lump paddles in with oars? We don't even know that.) The author's advice is only one way to look at this situation. Another is that the rules are set up with maneuverability in mind i.e. the more maneuverable vessel is the "give way" vessel. This is not specifically stated but is pretty obvious that this was a guiding principal in the fgormation of the Rules.
With that in mind, a kayak encountering a sailing vessel in very light wind, a court may decide the kayak was more maneuverable and should stay clear, but a kayak and a runabout propelled by machinery, the speed difference puts the kayak at a disadvantage and the court may rule the powerboat the "give way" vessel. The point the author makes is if we are have a situation where a court is making this decision, something has already gone horribly wrong.

Safe paddling.

Dave33 is correct when he says that something has gone horribly wrong if decisions involving kayaks & the Rules of the Road end up in court. The wise kayaker ALWAYS paddles as if the other vessel is piloted by a knave or a fool, and stays well away from larger and/or faster craft.

I don't always stay away from other craft, but I do give way to just about everything. Just offhand, I can't think of anything that I wouldn't give the right of way to, but I have almost run over a couple of cormorants and seagull.

Almost 30 years ago I had to learn the "international rules of the road for ships at sea" as a junior naval officer in Canada and most of it is gone.
One phrase does remain in my memory, though and that is " a vessel restricted in its ability to maneuver." This term would certainly apply to a sailing vessel in light winds as Dave33 mentions, but one also must consider the body of water being navigated. Though a powerboat may have speed and agility, if you are in waters like northern Georgian Bay in Ontario you have such numbers of rocks poking up from the depths, even miles off shore, they are more restricted in some circumstances than a more shallow draught craft... ie. Us! The same (maybe more to the point for we paddlers) is very true in marked/buoyed channels and waterways. We can scoot along a shoreline and allow others the deep water channel for safety. We also must live on the good will of the rest of the (non paddling) world so I take every opportunity to be charitable in my interactions with these poor, misguided souls. Your never know when you may be wind bound on private property and hope previous good grace has done the trick for the land owners.
I don't know about the rest of the world, but as traditional canoeist, there have been many running battles about the rights of paddlers under the rules that govern "Navigable Waterways" since I started pushing up and down rivers and lakes. A paddler invariably insists that if he/she can paddle it (pole it, drag it), then it is and they should be allowed all of the rights of passage, most notably that to portage around barriers like dams and falls. Land owners invariably take the stance that the little river that passes through their property is not navigable and many court cases have ensued. Often, because of fences across rivers to contain livestock, paddlers have been hurt. As Arledge stated earlier, the "Rules" have little to say about the wee paddler. It is not their big concern. It is only ours.
Thus said, I am with Magooch... I give way to everything.

In the State of California kayaks are, apparently, considered powered vessels. I had a run in with a lifeguard who almost gave me a citation because I was in a "powered boat" and cut inside a buoy at the corner of a roped off swim area. Now a paddleboard, such as the lifeguard had at his tower, would be legal to transit in the same situation, but I was "under power". I later found out, that paddleboards and surfboards are considered "flotation devices" by the Coast Guard. I wonder if my stand-up paddleboard is a powerboat, and if a sit-on-top kayak/surf-ski is a "flotation device".

The US and International rules that we have been discussing here define "power driven vessels" as those powered by "machinery". Single and double bladed paddles wielded by humans are not machinery. Local laws however can prohibit certain types of vessels from going certain places as described in the above post but in that example it was not because it was "powered" as defined in the Rules of the Road,

Dave

This has been a topic that's had some great thoughts passed around. Just for fun I contacted the Coast Guard for their take on our status. The following is their reply.

According to Navigation Rule 3; (a) The word "vessel" includes every description of watercraft, including non-displacement craft, WIG craft [Intl], and seaplanes, used or capable of being used as a means of transportation on water.

(b) The term "power-driven vessel" means any vessel propelled by machinery.

(c) The term "sailing vessel" means any vessel under sail provided that propelling machinery, if fitted, is not being used.

Per our FAQ page for kayaks on our website http://www.navcen.uscg.gov/mwv/navrules/navrules_faq.htm#0.3_12

Where do Kayaks and Canoes fit into the Navigation Rules? Neither the International nor Inland Navigation Rules address "kayaks" or "canoes" per se, except in regards to "vessels under oars" in Rule 25 regarding lights. One could infer that a "vessel under oars" should be treated as a "sailing vessel" since it is permitted to display the same lights as one, but, ultimately the issue of whom "gives way" would fall to what would be "required by the ordinary practice of seamen, or by the special circumstances of the case" (Rule 2).</i>


It appears we are in a gray area covered by Rule 2 which is as follows

RULE 2
RESPONSIBILITY
(a) Nothing in these Rules shall exonerate any vessel, or the owner, master, or crew thereof, from the consequences of any neglect to comply with these Rules or of the neglect of any precaution which may be required by the ordinary practice of seamen, or by the special circumstances of the case.

(b) In construing and complying with these Rules due regard shall be had to all dangers of navigation and collision and to any special circumstances, including the limitations of the vessels involved, which may make a departure from these Rules necessary to avoid immediate danger.

For all out discussion it looks like it is up to us to use our common sense as paddlers using "precaution required by the ordinary practice of seamen"

My take on the rules of the road are the same as motorcycling: Proceed as if everyone else out there is out to kill you.

I agree with Magooch. Be careful of all other craft...they are obviously not of sound mind or else they would be in a kayak whenever they were on the water!!!

Here, here!!!!!!

This probably comes under the heading of thread drift, but for some reason this forum won't let me start a new subject.

Anyway, here goes: Often when I'm paddling where a lot of power boat traffic is in close proximity, I find that a few power boaters are very curtious and slow down to reduce their wake, but sometimes it actually increases the wake if they come off a plane and don't slow to a crawl. Personally, I don't care how large a wake they make and I've been tempted to motion them on, or go over to them and explain that most kayaks are capable of dealing with waves quite nicely. However, on second thought, I decided to let well enough alone, because I realize that some kayakers and especially canoers might appreciate it when power boaters slow for them.

I wish I had a dollar for every time I've gotten the comment from a power boater asking, "How tippy is that thing and how do you keep it upright?" I'm probably far too eager to tell them how stable and seaworthy kayaks are; it might be better to just smile and hunch my shoulders--try to maintaing the mystique.

During a sailboat regatta held on a large-ish inland lake, several members of a paddle club, including a first-time-ever kayaker, brought their kayaks out to where the sailboats were having their race starts, some of them paddling across the starting line between the race committee boat and the pin startling line orange marker buoy to the left of the committee boat (including during the start sequence for a race).

This seems unsafe and a bit clueless; some of the racing sailboats had high freeboard and deck-sweeping overlapping headsails (which reach from the bow of the boat to several feet behind the mast) that restricted their crews' view forward. And some of the sailboats had only one or two people aboard and would have great difficulty watching out for several kayaks scattered throughout the starting area as well as watching out for other sailboats and maneuvering to start a race.

I had a quiet talk after the race with a sailing club member who is also a member of the paddle club and suggested that the area about 50 yards to the right of the race committee boat would be much safer for the paddlers than the imaginary "starting box" area within fifty yards of the committee boat and starting line.

We'd like to welcome paddlers to watch our races, cheer people on, follow the races, and then join us afterward for dinner or socializing. But, they really need to be able to predict where the sailboats are going to go, realize that their kayaks (a couple of blue and green kayaks and operators with dark clothing blended in very nicely with the water) may be invisible from the helmspeople's blind spots, and not scatter their kayaks in a high-traffic area, which hugely increases the chance of collision.

Your thoughts on how to communicate this to paddlers and sailors?