Boat Talk: See what authorities have to say about safe towing practices

MICHIGAN -- Taking off on waterskis on a warm summer day can stir a rush of adrenaline many crave.

But as we’re out on the water this summer, it’s also important to consider the safety aspect of moving behind a boat—whether on a wakeboard, skis, or an inflatable tube.

Others on the water also should consider best safety practices to avoid causing a dangerous situation.

Welcome to another edition of Boat Talk, a weekly column aimed at addressing your water-related concerns and boating safety issues. Have a question you’d like to see answered? Please stay in touch and drop me a note at hfenton@mlive.com

RELATED: See more Boat Talk columns

This week, let’s take a look at how to keep your waterskiing/tubing/wakeboarding experience a safe one.

First, a look at what the Michigan Boater's Safety Handbook has to say about state laws for towing others behind a vessel.

A few guidelines:

• Those being towed must stay at least 100 feet away from a dock or raft, any moored or anchored vessel, and the shoreline (if operating in water less than 3 feet deep).

• It is illegal to tow others behind a boat between one hour after sunset and one hour before sunrise. This time frame is sunset until 8 a.m. for towing behind a personal watercraft.

• Anyone towed behind a PWC must have a U.S. Coast Guard-approved Type I, II, or II life preserver on at all times. Inflatable life jackets do not count. (Take a look at a previous column that better explains the various types).

I turned to Allegan Sheriff's Sgt. Cory Hunt this week for a few other pointers on safe water sports practices.

Hunt acknowledges a certain speed is necessary to keep a person on waterskis moving behind a boat. Still, he says, be on the lookout for others on the water.

“There is no maximum speed in the law that says, towing, you have to maintain under a certain speed,” Hunt said, adding that any boat on an inland lake must abide by a 55 mph speed limit in place for all vessels. “(Boaters) have to take into account the conditions around them— boat traffic and swimmer traffic, general traffic on the waters,” Hunt said.

“When you get multiple boats out there skiing in the same area or tubing in the same area there is that danger of somebody being struck.”

There is no minimum age in Michigan to be towed behind a boat, Hunt says. He asks that boaters use common sense to determine when someone is ready.

Hunt emphasizes the importance of determining useful hand signals for a boat operator and someone being towed behind to use, and making these determinations before taking off on the water.

Those that wait until the boat starts, he says, and try to work things out above the sound of a motor often are the ones that run into difficulties.

The person acting as a spotter not only should be stationed in the back of the boat, but needs to make sure he/she is solely occupied by that responsibility, Hunt says.

The driver must be looking forward. It’s in that split second when he or she turns around to check behind, that dangerous situations arise. Hunt emphasizes the separate and distinct jobs of the spotter and the driver.

“If you’re distracted, bad things can happen,” he says. “That spotter is there to watch who is being towed.”