Dinghy and Tender Rules: Lights, Registration, Capacity, Life Jackets and Kill Switch

Write down how you really use it: only rowing, a small electric motor, or a gas outboard that can get it on plane. Note whether you'll ever be out between sunset and sunrise (late dinners ashore count). And note whether it only shuttles between your boat and the dock, or also goes exploring, fishing or snorkeling. Every rule below hangs on these answers.

Under the Navigation Rules, a vessel under oars may show the same lights as a sailboat, but it doesn't have to. At minimum it must have a white electric torch (a flashlight) or a lit lantern ready at hand, and show it in time to prevent a collision. The U.S. Inland Rules add the option of showing an all-round white light instead.

In practice: keep a bright, waterproof white light in the dinghy, within reach of the rower, and shine it toward any boat approaching. A headlamp leaves both hands free for the oars.

Once the outboard is pushing the dinghy, it's a power-driven vessel. A power-driven vessel under 12 meters (about 39 feet) may show an all-round white light plus red and green sidelights in place of the usual masthead and stern lights.

Under the International Rules only, a power boat under 7 meters whose top speed is 7 knots or less may show just an all-round white light (and sidelights if practical). That small-boat shortcut is not in the U.S. Inland Rules, so on most inland and bay waters a motoring dinghy needs sidelights plus the all-round white light. You will see boating articles say a slow tender "only needs a white light"; that describes the international rule. The Inland version (33 CFR 83.23) gives boats under 12 meters only the white-light-plus-sidelights option.

Battery-powered sets made for dinghies and small boats usually include a combination red/green bow light and a pole-mounted all-round white light. A few points to check:

• Placement. The rules let small boats combine the sidelights in one lantern on the centerline, and move the white light off center if a centerline mount isn't practical. The white light must be high enough that you, the motor and passengers don't block it from any direction.
• Visibility. For boats under 12 meters, sidelights must be visible at 1 mile and the all-round white light at 2 miles. Look for lights marketed as meeting those ranges.
• Colors facing the right way. Red goes to port (left, facing forward), green to starboard.
• Batteries. Test at dusk before every night trip and carry spares. Cheap lights die faster in salt air.
• Nothing in the way. A marine surveyor writing in BoatUS estimates that as many as 30% of the boats he inspects fail their navigation-light requirements, mostly from fogged lenses, dead bulbs, broken wires, and lights blocked by a rail stanchion, canvas, fenders or tape used to hold them on. He has also found red and green lenses swapped after an owner replaced a light. Look at your lights from a little distance at dusk, from ahead and each side.
• LEDs need paperwork. BoatUS notes some LED lights aren't as bright as older bulbs; buy ones whose maker states in writing that they meet the USCG visibility requirements.

A flashlight held in your hand is not a substitute for proper lights once the motor is running.

A vessel under 7 meters at anchor doesn't need an anchor light, as long as it isn't in or near a narrow channel, fairway, or anywhere other boats normally travel. If you anchor the dinghy near a busy landing or in a channel at night, show an all-round white light.

If the dinghy is tied behind the big boat at anchor overnight, keep it close and on a short line so it doesn't drift into the path of passing boats.

Most states require you to register any boat with a motor, including electric trolling motors, according to Discover Boating. Rowed dinghies are often exempt, but some states register non-powered boats above a certain length. Search "[your state] boat registration" and open the official boating agency page (often the DMV, fish and wildlife, or natural resources department).

Look specifically for tender exemptions. Some states have them, with strict conditions. Washington, for example, exempts a ship's tender only if it is properly identified as the tender to a registered or documented parent vessel, is used only to go directly between that vessel and shore, and has less than 10 horsepower. Use it to go fishing or exploring and the exemption no longer applies. Washington also lists inflatable boats with motors as boats that must be registered. Other states have different rules, so don't assume one state's exemption applies where you are.

If you cruise to another state, its rules can apply once you stay past its visitor period. Check before you go.

If registration is required, the number goes on both sides of the bow, on the forward third of the hull. Discover Boating notes the characters must read left to right, contrast with the hull color, and usually be at least about 3 inches tall in block letters. The state's validation decal goes where the state says (often next to the number). Carry the registration card when you use the dinghy.

On an inflatable, clean the tube with rubbing alcohol before applying vinyl numbers, and apply them with the tube fully inflated so they don't wrinkle. Some states require a space or hyphen between the letter and number groups: copy the exact format printed on your card.

Federal rules require a capacity plate (maximum persons, maximum weight and maximum horsepower) on monohull boats under 20 feet, but they exclude inflatable boats, along with sailboats, canoes and kayaks. So:

• A hard dinghy, jon boat or small skiff under 20 feet should have a capacity plate. Don't exceed it.
• Most inflatables carry a builder's plate or label from the manufacturer with a maximum number of people, load and horsepower. Treat it the same way.

Overpowering a light dinghy makes it easy to flip at speed or in a sharp turn. Overloading it brings the tubes or gunwales close to the water, so a wake can swamp it. Put the heaviest person near the middle when you can.

The Coast Guard requires a USCG-approved wearable life jacket for each person aboard any recreational boat, and the dinghy is no exception. Jackets left aboard the big boat don't count. Boats under 16 feet don't need a throwable device; boats 16 feet and longer do (except canoes and kayaks).

Federal rules also require children under 13 to wear a life jacket while the boat is underway, unless they're in an enclosed cabin; many states set their own age, so check yours. For inflatable life jackets, the cylinder must be full and all indicators green, or the jacket doesn't count as one.

Dinghy rides are when many people fall in: stepping in or out at the dock, standing up to grab a line, or coming back after dark. Wearing the jacket is the easy fix.

The federal engine cut-off switch law applies to motorized boats under 26 feet with 3 horsepower or more. If the outboard has a cut-off switch, the operator must wear the lanyard (or wireless fob) while on plane or above displacement speed. Many dinghy outboards in the 10 to 30 horsepower range can plane a light tender easily.

Clip the lanyard to your life jacket or belt, not the tiller arm. On a tiller outboard, a sharp turn or a wave can throw you off the tube while the motor keeps going. Keep a spare lanyard in the dinghy so a passenger can restart the motor if you go overboard.

Boats under 12 meters must have some means of making an efficient sound signal; a whistle or small air horn does the job. Add a waterproof handheld VHF or a phone in a waterproof pouch, so you can call the mothership, a tow service or USCG if the motor quits or you get swept away by current. If you'll be out after dark on coastal waters, check whether night visual distress signals are required for your dinghy (see USCG safety equipment).

BoatUS suggests a small floating dinghy grab bag, tied to the boat, so the gear actually goes along every time: handheld VHF, whistle, waterproof flashlight, a signal mirror, a small first-aid kit, and a spare spark plug with its wrench. Always carry oars or at least a paddle, even with a motor.

Before leaving the big boat:

• Life jackets on, kill-switch lanyard clipped on, spare lanyard aboard.
• Lights tested if you'll come back after dark.
• Fuel, oars, bailer or pump, and a light aboard.
• Registration card aboard and numbers readable.
• Someone on the big boat or ashore knows where you're going and when you'll be back.

Log the registration renewal date in BoatMend so the decal never lapses.