Originally Posted by
Moe Zhoost
Inventive parsing with a bit of imagination about context and semantics and you've got yourself all wound up sideways, mate. We are on the same page - you just don't realize it. If I ever encounter you in that little boat of yours I'll be sure to give you a wide berth. Stay safe.
Your use of "right of way" in this discussion is incorrect. Using the phrase in talking about operating boats is weird.
Originally Posted by
Moe Zhoost
If your FIL means to be prudent and give way to larger vessels, then this may be a valid strategy to avoid collisions. On the other hand, there are a lot of small vessels with limited speed and maneuverability that do have legal right-of-way. Assuming that a big power boat is not in a limited special category, the operator is required to alter course. Failure to do this is criminal negligence.
This is still wrong. The navregs I linked to (which you weirdly say is not providing support) say nothing like this.
The requirement to avoid a collision is not a "right of way" issue. Confounding the two things is sloppy.
The requirement to avoid a collision supercedes any consideration of "right of way".