Georgia Code, Title 52, Chapter 7, Article 1 - General Provisions

• § 52-7-1 - Short Title
  This article shall be known and may be cited as the "Georgia Boat Safety Act."
• § 52-7-2 - Declaration of Policy
  It is the policy of this state to promote safety for persons and property in and connected with the use, operation, and equipment of...
• § 52-7-3 - Definitions
  As used in this article, the term: (1) "Blind point" means that portion of any of the waters of this state in which there...
• § 52-7-4 - Requirement As to Numbering of Vessels
  Every vessel using the waters of this state shall be numbered, except those vessels exempted by Code Section 52-7-6 and those vessels documented by...
• § 52-7-5 - Numbering of Vessels; Requirements; Fees
  (a) The owner of each vessel required to be numbered by this article shall file an application for number with the department on forms...
• § 52-7-6 - Exemptions From Numbering Requirements
  A vessel shall not be required to be numbered under Code Sections 52-7-4 and 52-7-5 if it is: (1) Not motor propelled; provided, however,...
• § 52-7-7 - Dealers' Vessels
  (a) Any dealer may obtain certificates of number to be used only for the purpose of testing or demonstrating vessels owned by the dealer....
• § 52-7-7.1 - Hull Identification Numbers Required; Penalty for Violations
  (a) No person shall operate on the waters of this state a vessel manufactured after November 1, 1972, unless the vessel displays an assigned...
• § 52-7-7.2 - Display of Hull Identification Numbers on New Vessels
  Each vessel manufactured or built after April 14, 2006, for sale in this state shall have a hull identification number displayed prior to sale...
• § 52-7-7.3 - Seizure of Vessels Without Hull Identification Numbers; Seizure of Related Property; Inspections
  (a) If the hull identification number on a vessel required by Code Section 52-7-7.1 or 52-7-7.2 to have a hull identification number does not...
• § 52-7-7.4 - Property Not Subject to Replevin; Report by Law Enforcement Agency of Seizure of Property; Procedures
  Reserved. Repealed by Ga. L. 2015, p. 693, § 3-31/HB 233, effective July 1, 2015.
• § 52-7-7.5 - Counterfeit Hull Identification Numbers; Penalty
  (a) It shall be unlawful for any person to knowingly possess, manufacture, sell or exchange, offer to sell or exchange, aid in the sale...
• § 52-7-7.6 - Exception to Requirement for Hull Identification Numbers
  A vessel shall not be required to have a hull identification number under Code Section 52-7-7.1 or 52-7-7.2 if it is: (1) An innertube;...
• § 52-7-8 - Classification of Vessels; Required Equipment
  (a) Classification. Vessels subject to the provisions of this article shall be divided into four classes as follows: (1) Class A................................. Less than 16...
• § 52-7-8.1 - Discharge of Sewage From Vessels on Lakes; Use of Vessels With Marine Toilets on Protected Fresh Waters; Certificate and Recordation Requirements
  (a) (1) The General Assembly finds that because of the increasing number of vessels having marine toilets which are operated or moored on Allatoona...
• § 52-7-8.2 - Restrictions on Operation of Personal Watercraft
  (a) As used in this Code section, the term: (1) "Accompanied by" means in the physical presence within the vessel of a person who...
• § 52-7-8.3 - Operation of Watercraft; Identification; Operation by Minors
  (a) A person 16 years of age or older may operate any vessel or personal watercraft on any of the waters of this state...
• § 52-7-9 - Boat Liveries
  (a) The owner of a boat livery shall cause to be kept a record of the name and address of the person or persons...
• § 52-7-10 - Exhausts to Be Muffled; Exemptions; Noise Level Testing
  (a) The exhaust of every internal combustion engine used on any vessel, excluding those vessels documented by the United States Coast Guard and licensed...
• § 52-7-11 - Lights
  (a) Categories. Requirements for lights on vessels operated within this state fall into two categories: regulations for vessels using inland waters (waters of this...
• § 52-7-12 - Operation of Watercraft While Under Influence of Alcohol, Toxic Vapors, or Drugs; Legal Drug Use Not Exempted; Blood and Other Chemical Tests; Test Refusal; Owner's Liability for Allowing Another to Operate While Intoxicated; Civil and Criminal Actions; Child Endangerment
  (a) No person shall operate, navigate, steer, or drive any moving vessel, or be in actual physical control of any moving vessel, nor shall...
• § 52-7-12.1 - Reckless Operation of Vessel or Other Water Device
  Any person who operates any vessel or manipulates any water skis, aquaplane, surfboard, tube, or similar device in reckless disregard for the safety of...
• § 52-7-12.2 - Homicide by Vessel
  (a) Any person who, without malice aforethought, causes the death of another person through the violation of subsection (j) of Code Section 52-7-8.2, Code...
• § 52-7-12.3 - Feticide by Vessel
  (a) For the purposes of this Code section, the term "unborn child" means a member of the species homo sapiens at any stage of...
• § 52-7-12.4 - Serious Injury by Vessel
  Whoever, without malice, shall cause bodily harm to another by depriving him or her of a member of his or her body, by rendering...
• § 52-7-12.5 - Ordering Drug, Alcohol, or Other Substance Tests; Implied Consent Notice; Reports; Suspension; Hearing; Certificate of Inspection
  (a) The test or tests required under Code Section 52-7-12 shall be administered as soon as possible at the request of a law enforcement...
• § 52-7-12.6 - Terms of Suspension; Return of Operating Privilege; Operation When Suspended
  (a) Any operator's privilege to operate a vessel on the waters of this state required to be suspended under subsection (d) of Code Section...
• § 52-7-12.7 - Suspension of Privileges to Operate a Vessel Upon Waters of This State for Violations of Vessel Laws
  (a) Except as provided for in Code Sections 52-7-12, 52-7-12.5, and 52-7-12.6, and notwithstanding criminal proceedings that may be initiated by law, upon a...
• § 52-7-13 - Boating Safety Zones; Restrictions on Use of Motors and Operation of Houseboats on Certain Lakes; Exceptions
  (a)(1) The following are established as boating safety zones from May 1 through the following September 30: (A) The ocean waters adjacent to Jekyll...
• § 52-7-14 - Collisions, Accidents, and Casualties; Salvage Rights
  (a) Duty to render assistance and identify vessel and self. It shall be the duty of the operator of a vessel involved in a...
• § 52-7-15 - Furnishing Information to Federal Officials and Agencies
  In accordance with any request duly made by an authorized official or agency of the United States, any information compiled or otherwise available to...
• § 52-7-16 - Towing Persons on Water Skis, Aquaplanes, Surfboards or Similar Device
  (a) No person shall operate a vessel on any of the waters of this state for towing a person or persons on water skis,...
• § 52-7-17 - Speed and Load Restrictions; Riding of Bow or Gunwale of Vessel
  (a) The speed of each vessel shall at all times be regulated so as to avoid danger or injury or damage or unnecessary inconvenience,...
• § 52-7-18 - Rules of the Road for Boat Traffic
  (a) All vessels operating on the coastal waters of this state shall conform to the "Steering and Sailing Rules" established by Section II, Rules...
• § 52-7-19 - Regattas, Boat Races, Marine Parades, Tournaments, and Exhibitions
  (a) The department may regulate the holding of regattas, boat races, marine parades, tournaments, or exhibitions which by their nature, circumstance, or location will...
• § 52-7-20 - Operation of Vessels in Vicinity of Regulatory Markers and Aids to Navigation; Tampering With Regulatory Markers and Aids to Navigation
  (a) As used in this Code section, the term: (1) "Aids to navigation" means buoys, beacons, or other fixed objects in the water which...
• § 52-7-21 - Local Regulations Concerning Operation, Equipment, Numbering, and Other Matters Relating to Vessels
  (a) This article and other applicable laws of this state shall govern the operation, equipment, and numbering of vessels and all other matters relating...
• § 52-7-22 - Comprehensive Boating Educational Programs; Required Completion; Exception
  (a) The department shall establish a comprehensive boating education program and may seek the cooperation of boatmen, the federal government, and other states. The...
• § 52-7-23 - Power of Board of Natural Resources to Adopt Rules and Regulations
  The Board of Natural Resources is authorized to adopt any regulations necessary for the administration and enforcement of this article, including, but not limited...
• § 52-7-24 - Filing and Publication of Rules and Regulations and Amendments Thereto
  A copy of the regulations adopted pursuant to this article and of any amendments thereto shall be filed in the office of the department...
• § 52-7-25 - Enforcement of Article
  (a) Any person empowered to enforce this article and any rule or regulation adopted pursuant hereto shall have the authority to stop and board...
• § 52-7-26 - Penalty
  (a) Except as otherwise provided in this article, any person who violates this article or any rule or regulation promulgated hereunder shall be guilty...

Last modified: October 14, 2016