Rules and Regulations
Like everything in life there are Rules and Regs for boating.
Jet Boating is regulated by Maritime New Zealand, Regional Councils, Unitary Authorities and District Councils.
For a jet boater to be confident of complying with the navigational rules of a river, it is necessary to:
Identify the Regulatory Authority for the river to be boated
Obtain the relevant Navigation Safety Bylaw
Check the latest District Plan relating to the river concerned for rules regarding activities on the Surface of Water Bodies.
Jet Boating New Zealand does its best to keep up with the rules, regulations and local bylaws on a National basis and can be found in the Rivers Section of the current Safety Handbook, online here and the JBNZ Live App.
Note, under the Maritime Transport Act 2013, Maritime rules, Part 91:
No person may, without reasonable excuse, propel or navigate a vessel (including a vessel towing a person or object) at a proper speed exceeding 5 knots:
a) Within 50 metres of any other vessel, raft or person in the water, or
b) Within 200 metres of the shore or any structure;
These two rules only apply in a waterway where no uplifiting has been issued. They do not apply in a waterway (ie, rivers) where a speed uplifting has been issued.
Speed upliftings have been applied for, and granted, are detailed in our Rivers Information section of the Handbook
Noise
To comply with various Council Bylaws all recreational powered craft are to be silenced to 80dBa or below.
This “No Boating” flag, designed by the West Coast Branch, has been adopted by the National Executive as our official warning symbol that a narrow stream should not be entered because of the presence of other boats.