§ 29.1-744.3 Slacken speed and control wakes near structures
It shall be unlawful to operate any motorboat, except a personal watercraft, at a speed greater than the slowest possible speed required to maintain steerage and headway when within 50 feet or less of docks, piers, boathouses, boat ramps, or a person in the water, unless such person in the water (i) is being towed by the motorboat or (ii) is accompanying the motorboat, provided that such motorboat is propelled by an inboard motor or a means of propulsion that is below the water line and forward of (a) the transom or (b) an integrated swim platform.
History
This law was first created in 1998. The record of its establishment is cataloged in chapter 857 of that year’s edition of “Acts of Assembly,” the annual state publication listing all changes made to the Code of Virginia in that year. It has been modified 2 times. Those modifications are cataloged by “The Acts of Assembly,” a state publication, by year and chapter. Those modifications that can be read on the General Assembly’s website will be linked accordingly. Those modifications are as follows: in 2012, chapter 700; in 2018, chapters 117 and 637.
1998, c. 857; 2012, c. 700; 2018, cc. 117, 637.