Pontoon vs. Jet Ski

[sunedog]

Saw this on the Bennington Owners Facebook page and it had been reposted from the Pontoon Junkies page. Happened on Indian Lake in Ohio over the Labor Day weekend. Reportedly the jet ski rider was injured but thankfully no injuries to the people on the pontoon. That is a huge amount of damage.

There have been a couple of hundred comments on the original post on the Pontoon Junkies page and at least 75% of them automatically blamed the jet ski rider. If the pontoon was underway (and I don't know if it was), they would likely be the give way vessel in this situation. There has been tons of misinformation posted with the common theme the jet ski never has the right of way because they are more maneuverable. I'd love to know the real circumstances. I Googled it but didn't find any news story about it.

 

[Vikingstaff]

I think a situation like this gets complicated as in the jet ski might have right of way, but the jet ski also has a minimum distance it is supposed to stay away from other boats I think either 50‘ or 100’. So right of way yes, but it’s their navigational responsibility legally to keep the distance too. Like power boats must avoid and stay clear of sail boats, regardless of technical right of way…right of way ceded to sailboat.

I think that puts liability and responsibility clearly on the jet ski. And honestly, given the extent of impact damage, the jet ski went wide open into the side of the pontoon…. Given their maneuverability v the pontoon, I think reckless or careless operation trumps it all. That said, you could have easily had two irresponsible operators. I agree it would be interesting to know the entire real story here.

 

[sunedog]

Good topic for discussion. It has caused me to refresh my understanding of my state's boating laws. That's a good thing.

I think a situation like this gets complicated as in the jet ski might have right of way, but the jet ski also has a minimum distance it is supposed to stay away from other boats I think either 50‘ or 100’. So right of way yes, but it’s their navigational responsibility legally to keep the distance too. Like power boats must avoid and stay clear of sail boats, regardless of technical right of way…right of way ceded to sailboat.

I can't speak to the laws in Ohio. But in my state (South Carolina), PWC's and power boats follow the same rules. When not at "idle speed," both have to keep a minimum of 50 feet from a moored or anchored vessel or person in the water and a minimum of 100 feet from a wharf, dock, bulkhead, or pier.

Now PWC's have some additional rules including mandatory wearing of PFD, using the lanyard, operating after sunset, etc. But the navigational rules are the same as for any other power driven vessel.

I think that puts liability and responsibility clearly on the jet ski. And honestly, given the extent of impact damage, the jet ski went wide open into the side of the pontoon…. Given their maneuverability v the pontoon, I think reckless or careless operation trumps it all. That said, you could have easily had two irresponsible operators. I agree it would be interesting to know the entire real story here.

I don't agree the liability and responsibility are clearly on the PWC. I don't know enough about what happened yet. There is no question the PWC was flying when it made contact. And it had a responsibility to avoid a collision even if it was the stand on vessel. So reckless or careless operation (including impaired drivers) is clearly what I speculate happened here. But was the PWC driver or the pontoon driver reckless? careless? impaired? Or were both?

 

[Jack M]

Another example of why we avoid going out on holidays . Any clue if a rental was involved?