Wisconsin Legislature: Chapter NR 5

Chapter NR 5

BOAT RULES AND REGISTRATION

NR 5.001 Definitions.

NR 5.01 Application for boat certificate of number or registration.

NR 5.02 Application for transfer.

NR 5.03 Application for duplicate.

NR 5.04 Certificate of number.

NR 5.05 Numbering pattern to be used.

NR 5.06 Display of numbers or decals on boats.

NR 5.07 Transfer of ownership of numbered boat.

NR 5.08 Accident reports.

NR 5.09 Uniform aids to navigation.

NR 5.10 Carburetor flame arrestors.

NR 5.11 Fire extinguishers.

NR 5.12 Specifications for determination of horsepower and weight capacity and recommended number of persons.

NR 5.125 Noise level standards for motor boats.

NR 5.13 Personal flotation and life saving device requirements.

NR 5.14 Jurisdiction of municipal water safety patrols.

NR 5.15 Posting requirements.

NR 5.16 Instruction for rental or leased personal watercraft.

NR 5.17 Lighting requirements.

NR 5.18 Boating education certification program fee.

NR 5.19 Exemptions for water exhibitions and races.

NR 5.20 Modification or waiver of slow-no-wake speed restriction on certain lakes.

NR 5.21 Lakes upon which the slow-no-wake speed restriction is modified or waived.

NR 5.22 Refusal hearings.

NR 5.30 Lower St. Croix river preservation, purpose.

NR 5.31 Applicability.

NR 5.32 Definitions.

NR 5.33 Restricted speed zones.

NR 5.34 Water skiing.

NR 5.36 Effective date.

NR 5.001NR 5.001 Definitions.

NR 5.001(1)(1) “Accompanied”, for the purposes of s. 30.68 (3), Stats., means in the same boat.

NR 5.001(1m)(1m) “Boat”, for the purposes of s. 30.51, Stats., includes the definition of “boat” under s. 30.50 (2), Stats., and also includes fishing rafts which are equipped with propulsion machinery, whether or not the machinery is the principal source of propulsion. Registering a fishing raft as a boat does not exempt it from any state or local fishing raft regulations.

NR 5.001(2)(2) “Buoy” is any device designed to float which is anchored in the water and which is used to convey a message.

NR 5.001(2m)(2m) “Coastal waters” means all of the following:

NR 5.001(2m)(a)(a) The U.S. waters of the Great Lakes which include Lakes Erie, Huron, Michigan, Ontario, and Superior.

NR 5.001(2m)(b)(b) The territorial seas of the United States.

NR 5.001(2m)(c)(c) Those waters directly connected to the Great Lakes and territorial seas including bays, sounds, harbors, rivers, and inlets where any entrance exceeds 2 nautical miles between opposite shorelines to the first point where the largest distance between shorelines narrows to 2 miles, as shown on the National Ocean Service chart used for navigation. Shorelines of islands or points of land present within a waterway are considered when determining the distance between opposite shorelines.

NR 5.001(3)(3) “Dealer”, for the purpose of s. 30.52 (5) (a) 3., Stats., means a person engaged wholly or in part in the business of selling or distributing boats to customers for profit or commission and who has made a substantial financial investment in the business.

NR 5.001(4)(4) “Demonstrate”, for the purposes of s. 30.52 (5) (a) 3., Stats., means the showing of a boat, boat motor or boat trailer to a specific customer in an effort to sell or show the operation of the boat, boat motor or boat trailer with a paid employee of the manufacturer or dealer either operating or accompanying the operator.

NR 5.001(5)(5) “Display area” is the area on a sign or buoy needed for display of a waterway marker symbol.

NR 5.001(6)(6) “Fixed marker in the water” includes signs placed on permanent structures within the ordinary high water mark.

NR 5.001(7)(7) “Guardian”, for the purposes of s. 30.68 (3), Stats., means a person named by a court as having the duty and authority for the care and management of a minor.

NR 5.001(7g)(7g) “Lake”, for the purpose of s. 30.66, Stats., means a lake, reservoir, flowage or millpond, or portion thereof, that is listed by the department in the most current version of Wisconsin Lakes, Publ-FH-800, or any other body of water determined by the department to be a lake consistent with the test established in Ne-pee-nauk Club v. Wilson, 96 Wis. 290 (1897), with the exception of the Kilbourn flowage in Juneau and Adams counties.

NR 5.001(7r)(7r) “Lifeboat” means a boat or other vessel that is being used exclusively for the purpose of transporting a person from a vessel in distress.

NR 5.001(8)(8) “Manufacturer” means any individual, partnership, or corporation which manufactures, assembles, or imports any engine model for the propulsion of motorboats.

NR 5.001(9)(9) “Model” means a complete engine offered for sale.

NR 5.001(10)(10) “Model group” means 2 or more similar models that can reasonably be expected to have the same noise levels, but which differ in nonmaterial respects.

NR 5.001(11)(11) “Muffler” as referenced in s. 30.62 (2) (a), Stats., means a device or means to reduce noise, forming part of the exhaust system, and includes an underwater exhaust.

NR 5.001(11c)(11c) “Personal flotation device” or “PFD” means a device that is approved by the US Coast Guard under 46 CFR Part 160.

NR 5.001(11g)(11g) “Public access”, for the purposes of s. 30.635, Stats., and this chapter means any site through which the general public may gain legal access to a body of water by the process of launching a boat.

NR 5.001(11r)(11r) “Recommended number of persons”, for the purpose of ss. 30.501 (2) (a) 2. and 30.68 (9), Stats., means the maximum number of persons that may occupy a boat, as indicated on the boat’s capacity plate.

NR 5.001 NoteNote: “Recommended number of persons” is independent of any weight limits that apply to the boat; the term is applied regardless of whether the weight limits are not exceeded.

NR 5.001(12)(12) “Regulatory marker” is a waterway marker which has no equivalent in the U. S. coast guard aid to navigation.