Will new rental boat regulations make for a safer Lake Norman?
Oct. 13. By Dave Vieser. New regulations to control rental boat activity on Lake Norman will go into effect on Jan. 1, 2024.The new rules were driven by “an explosion” in rental activity over the past four years according to Kevin Frank, a member of the Lake Norman Marine Commission (LNMC).
“The accident figures from the past few years are truly alarming,” said Frank. In 2020, accidents increased by 26 percent; deaths by 25 percent and rental boat- related deaths nearly doubled. Over the same period, 75 percent of accident deaths were due to drowning. Frank said 85 percent of those who drowned were not wearing life jackets.
Frank said most operators involved in the incidents had no boating instruction.
“There’s virtually no rules for the rental boat owners right now, and we have a tremendous number of boaters who don’t know what they are doing,” Frank said.
That’s about to change.
Over the past year the commission worked on developing regulations to address rental boat issues. Officials from the LNMC visited local government officials to explain the details of the new regulations and urge enforcement by local authorities, since they will be responsible for enforcing the regulations.
Frank said that the focus of the new rental regulations will be on the companies which offer short-term rentals around the lake. “They often provide a boat and there is no current control for safety,” he said.
New regulations for rental boat owners
All rental boat owners will be responsible for registering their vehicles with the LNMC providing proof of the following:
1. Minimum $500,000 liability insurance (currently no insurance is required)
2. Rental fleets must pass safety inspections.
3. Require that a renter/operator is qualified.
4. Provide instructions on rules/regulations and boat operation.
5. Provide instructions on navigating Lake Norman, such as no wake zones or the shoals scattered throughout Lake Norman.
6. Utilize a pre-rental checklist during the rental process.
Frank also urged local officials to encourage state representatives to require boat operator training and company licensing. “It would be great to have support on the state level,” he said.
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Glad to see the new regulations..finally!
One of the things I see in this is that it says rental/ operator must be qualified to run the boat. What does qualified mean because if you’re asking people that rent boats to have boaters licenses most of them don’t. Most people that do have a license to operate a boat have their own boats, and that is why they go and get the qualification but you’re not gonna get a visitor that comes here and wants to rent a boat or someone who doesn’t own their own boat and just wants to rent the boat for the day is not going to go take a qualification course or get a boaters license Just to operate the boat for a day and that would kill a lot of business for these places that rent these boats. I believe that would put them under so I’m not picking size but I don’t think it’s fair to the operators of these rental places. literally you will put them out of business , that is if you require people that are going to rent these boats,take courses or have to get a license.