To keep your boating safe for your family and legal, you will want to consider the following ideas.

There are almost always legal boat registration requirements, safety regulations, and other boat traffic laws to follow. These keep it enjoyable for everyone, and often also help keep public recreation areas available.

In most jurisdictions, titles, registrations, vehicle taxes, and even personal property taxes will be required for your boat. You will want to go to your local regulating authority (often called the motor vehicle department in the United States), and find out the requirements in this area. They will almost always issue you a number, and probably an annual sticker that will be required on your boat as well. Some jurisdictions might further require liability insurance on your boat before it is launched into the water.

You will also want to check their boating traffic rules, as well as other mandatory safety regulations. It’s not going to be fun, if your great weekend turns into figuring out how to pay a fine.

One of the most important safety items that will be required are personal flotation devices (PFDs); in other words life jackets. You will need these onboard for each passenger you have. They need to be the correct size for each passenger. If your boat is 16 feet or longer you will also need a throwable Type IV PFD. Make sure all PFDs fit the ratings of your boat in terms of size, and speed.

There are a number of safety items you will want, even if they aren’t required, though often they will be. These include fire extinguishers, horns, navigational lights, flairs, and other visual distress signals. All of these will have approvals denoting they are good for proper boating safety and certified for marine use. Often these will have coast guard approvals, if they are acceptable for boating use.

It’s always wise to have charts and other information on the area you boat within. Especially in a storm, if you loose your bearings, they can help you find your way to safety.

There are a number of features on your boat to consider for safety and usually compliance as well. These will vary depending on the size of the boat. Even the smallest will require safe fuel handling if they utilize flammable fuels.

Inboard and other combinations of them (I/O) will require adequate ventilation to prevent fumes from building up and potentially causing an explosion. Boats built after 8/1/1978 should have a Certificate of Compliance designating this. This doesn’t guarantee its function however, so have it checked and serviced regularly. They also require a functioning Backfire Arrestor Control Device; otherwise you might have a dangerous situation on your hands.

Boats that are 26 feet or longer will require an Oil Discharge Pollution/Marine Pollution Placard (MARPOL) too. The Marine Sanitation Devices (MSD) must be Coast Guard approved, and all openings must be sealable.

For boats 39.4 feet and longer, you will also be required to carry a copy of the Coast Guard Navigation Rules (COLREG).