Right of Way Rules for Power Boaters

It doesn’t matter whether you only have an engine, or your vessel also has sails or oars. If you are using a motor for propulsion, then you are governed by the rules of the road for power boaters, which haven’t changed since the days of steam ships.

Simply put, right of way rules define vessels as burdened or privileged. A privileged vessel can proceed unimpeded; a burdened vessel has to give way.

Signals are rarely used in Marina del Rey, but I’ve mentioned them here for reference. The rules are just the basics that are essential to follow the second rule of good boating – don’t hit another boat. (What’s the first rule? Don’t hit anything harder than your boat, like a breakwater.)

Let’s get this out of the way ahead of time. Once, while tacking into my slip on my Cal 25 sailboat, a 40-foot cabin cruiser rode up behind me. Because I cut in front of him under sail, the skipper unleashed an impatient blast on his horn. Rightly, I chose to ignore him.

Right of way rules usually depend on which boat is less maneuverable. A sailboat almost always has the right of way over a power boat, unless the motorboat is as big as a cruise ship or Marina del Rey party boat and is restricted in its ability to maneuver by the limits of the channel.

Likewise, sailboats must give way to all boats propelled by oar or paddle. All boats must stay clear of boats that are not under command, like those adrift or anchored. Not generally known is that sailboats should also stay clear of fishing boats that are trawling with a net (not trolling with lines) although that does stand to reason. Who wants to snag a keel in a net?

Technically speaking right of way rules don’t really apply until the possibility of a collision exists, usually defined as two boats on a constant bearing with closing distance.

A simple air horn is all boaters need to be in compliance with Coast Guard regulations requiring that small craft using motors have an “efficient whistle.”

The most elemental avoidance maneuver is instinctive for Americans. If you are powering toward another boat head on, each boat should move to starboard (the right) to allow the other to pass port to port (left) side. We employ the same move in cars here. This kind of encounter is described as a meeting situation, generally held to be 11.25 degrees on either side of the bow. If you were to place a clock face on your boat for reference with 12:00 at the bow, a meeting situation would generally be recognized from 11:00 – 1:00

Ideally when boaters start to veer to starboard, each of the boaters should give a single blast on the horn indicating that they are passing port to port.

If the course of both vessels is so far to starboard of each other that there is no risk of any collision, they may proceed passing starboard to starboard. The correct procedure here is as a courtesy to call and respond with two blasts each. Never answer two blasts with one or vice versa. Four quick repeated blasts are used to signal danger such as if a boat is backing into your path.

In a crossing situation, the rules are similar to that of a four way stop sign although here it doesn’t matter which boat gets to the intersection first. The vessel to starboard has right of way. The burdened vessel gives way to any vessel from the bow on the starboard side to 22.5 degrees abaft of the starboard beam. Again if you think of your bow as being at 12:00, give way to anything on the starboard side to about 3:30.

Overtaking boats must stay clear of boats they are passing. Usually, as on a freeway a boat will pass a slower boat to  the slower boat’s port side. The overtaking boat should sound the horn twice. If the privileged vessel responds with two blasts, then the overtaking boat may pass to left.

If the overtaking boat wants to pass to starboard of the slower boat, its should sound a single blast and pass to the right after getting a single blast in response.

Let’s say however that the slower boat is hugging the buoys near the exit lane for Marina del Rey because shoaling and low tide would make it it unsafe to proceed closer to shore. The privileged vessel should sound four blasts to warn the other boat passing. The burdened boat must reduce speed and not pass.

So what happens when you come across a boater who doesn’t know the rules? Most confusion seems to result in crossing situations. As a good rule of thumb, I tend to aim for a boat’s stern if I am in doubt, rather than gamble on outrunning another vessel.