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California Harbors and Navigation Code Section 658.5

Legal Research Home > California Laws > Harbors and Navigation Code > California Harbors and Navigation Code Section 658.5

658.5.  (a) Except as provided in subdivision (b), no person under
16 years of age shall operate a vessel powered by a motor of greater
than 15 horsepower, except for a vessel that does not exceed 30 feet
in length and is designed to use wind as its principal source of
propulsion, or a dinghy used directly between a moored vessel and the
shoreline or between a moored vessel and another moored vessel.
   (b) Except as provided in subdivision (a), no person 12, 13, 14,
or 15 years of age shall operate a vessel powered by a motor of
greater than 15 horsepower, or a vessel that exceeds 30 feet in
length and is designed to use wind as its principal source of
propulsion, unless the person is accompanied in the vessel by a
person who is at least 18 years of age and who is attentive and
supervising the operation of the vessel.
   (c) Subdivisions (a) and (b) do not apply to any of the following:
   (1) A person who operates a vessel as a performer in a
professional exhibition.
   (2) A person engaged in an organized regatta, vessel race, or
water ski race.
   (3) A person engaged in a marine event authorized pursuant to
Section 268.
   (d) Any person who violates this section, and any person who
permits any other person under 16 years of age to operate a vessel in
violation of this section, is guilty of an infraction.



658.5.  (a) Except as provided in subdivision (b), no person under
16 years of age shall operate a vessel powered by a motor of greater
than 15 horsepower, except for a vessel that does not exceed 30 feet
in length and is designed to use wind as its principal source of
propulsion, or a dinghy used directly between a moored vessel and the
shoreline or between a moored vessel and another moored vessel.
   (b) Except as provided in subdivision (a), no person 12, 13, 14,
or 15 years of age shall operate a vessel powered by a motor of
greater than 15 horsepower, or a vessel that exceeds 30 feet in
length and is designed to use wind as its principal source of
propulsion, unless the person is accompanied in the vessel by a
person who is at least 18 years of age and who is attentive and
supervising the operation of the vessel.
   (c) Subdivisions (a) and (b) do not apply to any of the following:
   (1) A person who operates a vessel as a performer in a
professional exhibition.
   (2) A person engaged in an organized regatta, vessel race, or
water ski race.
   (3) A person engaged in a marine event authorized pursuant to
Section 268.
   (d) Any person who violates this section, and any person who
permits any other person under 16 years of age to operate a vessel in
violation of this section, is guilty of an infraction.

Last modified: February 22, 2013