Originally Posted by
Moe Zhoost
My primary frame of reference is sailing. I have to admit that I have never thought about how the ROTR applies to kayaks. You are absolutely right that the ROTR say absolutely nothing about human powered vessels (which would include my sailboat when rowing it). Any of these human powered vessels may have some limitations under different conditions that the operator would have to consider when encountering another vessel. Yes kayaks may be very maneuverable, but I can tell you that when I am rowing my 600 lb sailboat with oars that are a bit too short, I am not going to be quick to get out of the way of a speeding jet ski. It all boils down to which vessel is more maneuverable in a given encounter.
So, what you said
here is wrong. (Sailboats are special but that's not related to being "small vessels".) A jetski might have more responsibility to try to avoid a collision but that's not a "right of way" issue (that's implied in the "risk of collision" rule.
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.
Last edited by njkayaker; 09-13-20 at 05:44 PM.