Extra Decal on PWC

[Pineedles]

I seem to remember reading that an extra registration decal is required for PWC vehicles. Anyone know of this?

[fatlazyless]

Marine Patrol leader Barrett squished that proposed bill at the committee level, or something, saying it's too difficult to visually check both a bow registration sticker plus a stern located out-of-state user sticker, plus in addition it would be a NH state statute that contradicts the intended purpose of the interstate reciprocity for boat registrations, or some legal thingy. User stickers are D.I.W, dead in the water. Thankyou Commander Barrett!

[SIKSUKR]

I'm not sure it is required but you can get one for the purpose of of letting people know that your PWC is a boat( 3 person) rather than a ski craft (2 or less).Ski craft are ban from many coves on the lake as well as many small lakes and ponds in NH.If this is the sticker you are refering to,this just shows that your PWC is allowed.

[Woodsy]

An extra decal is required....

http://boat-ed.com/nh/handbook/register.htm#pwcdecal

Personal Watercraft Access Decal
Personal watercraft with a carrying capacity of an operator and two or more other people must display a New Hampshire registered watercraft access decal. The decal is obtained by applying to the Department of Safety, Division of Motor Vehicles. The access decal must be placed directly above the first two letters of the registration number.

Woodsy

[jetskier]

An extra decal is required....

http://boat-ed.com/nh/handbook/register.htm#pwcdecal

Personal Watercraft Access Decal
Personal watercraft with a carrying capacity of an operator and two or more other people must display a New Hampshire registered watercraft access decal. The decal is obtained by applying to the Department of Safety, Division of Motor Vehicles. The access decal must be placed directly above the first two letters of the registration number.

Woodsy

I believe that you only need this decal when you are using a PWC in areas restricted to boats. Since a 3 or 4 person PWC is technically registered as a boat, they have the right to use restricted areas that a 1 or 2 person PWC can not. I don't know anyone who has an access decal and I don't believe that it is required for use in areas allowing PWCs.

Jetskier:cool:

[Woodsy]

Jetskier...

I suggest you & your friends check with Marine Patrol.... The way I read the RSA it is in fact required.... The MP officer I asked was also under the impression that the sticker was mandatory, not optional...

Whether the sticker requirement is strictly enforced or not probably depends on what body of water you operate on and the local MP officer's mood...

Woodsy

[gtxrider]

Is is included when you register the PWC? If not why? I will have to check the new registration package.

[codeman671]

I registered mine over the weekend and nothing was given or mentioned of this other sticker. This was at Gator Sign Shop.

[NightWing]

That sticker program is several years old and may not even be active any more.

[jetskier]

Jetskier...

I suggest you & your friends check with Marine Patrol.... The way I read the RSA it is in fact required.... The MP officer I asked was also under the impression that the sticker was mandatory, not optional...

Whether the sticker requirement is strictly enforced or not probably depends on what body of water you operate on and the local MP officer's mood...

Woodsy

Woodsy...the following is from the rules that govern registration. Please look at section D. It specifies that the decal indicates that the vessel is not classified as a ski craft. As such, it is a boat. Since no one I know operates their PWC in areas of the lake designated "no PWC", the sticker is superfluous. I think your MP contact needs a refresher course. :D

Jetskier :cool:

Saf-C 2302.05 Issuance of Vessel Registration Certificate.



(a) Upon completion of the procedures set forth in Saf-C 2302.03 and Saf-C 2302.04, the department shall assign the owner a vessel registration certificate on which the vessel number is printed, along with a decal.



(b) In addition to (a) above, vessels with a manufacturer’s specification of a 3 or more person capacity which use inboard motors powering a water jet pump as its primary source of motor power and which are designed to be operated by a person sitting, standing, or kneeling or being towed behind the vessel, rather than by a person sitting or standing inside of the vessel, shall be issued an access decal.



(c) Any request for an access decal pursuant to (b) above shall be submitted, in writing, to the division of motor vehicles, as set forth in Saf-C 2302.02(a)(1), along with a copy of the valid vessel registration certificate of the vessel.



(d) An access decal issued pursuant to (b) above shall indicate that the vessel is not classified as a ski craft as defined in RSA 270:73, V.

[SIKSUKR]

I don't know Woodsy.Can you show us what RSA said you had to have an access sticker?I've never read or heard that it was required,only something you requested to keep people off your back if your in a skicraft restricted zone.

[Woodsy]

The sticker definitely visually differentiates between a ski craft and a boat that may look like a ski craft. There is no legal definition of a PWC or a jetski... There is just ski craft and boat as far as NH laws are concerned. The purpose of the sticker is to end disputes as to what is considered ski craft and what is considered a boat. We all know ski craft are banned from certain ponds/lakes/coves.

As I understand Section B of the RSA listed above, this access decal is not optional, but required.... if your PWC has a 3 person or more capacity and inboard waterjet powered. The NH Boat Ed booklet that I have makes no mention of this access decal being "optional". The MP officer I talked to at Irwin's Open House also was not under the impression that the access decal was optional. (I was of the optional opinion until I talked to him).

Maybe Skip can chime in here??

Woodsy

[jetskier]

The sticker definitely visually differentiates between a ski craft and a boat that may look like a ski craft. There is no legal definition of a PWC or a jetski... There is just ski craft and boat as far as NH laws are concerned. The purpose of the sticker is to end disputes as to what is considered ski craft and what is considered a boat. We all know ski craft are banned from certain ponds/lakes/coves.

As I understand Section B of the RSA listed above, this access decal is not optional, but required.... if your PWC has a 3 person or more capacity and inboard waterjet powered. The NH Boat Ed booklet that I have makes no mention of this access decal being "optional". The MP officer I talked to at Irwin's Open House also was not under the impression that the access decal was optional. (I was of the optional opinion until I talked to him).

Maybe Skip can chime in here??

Woodsy

Hi Woodsy,

Section C indicates that you have to request an access decal. That does not make sense if this is a mandatory requirement. Section B seems to indicate that a craft meeting the qualifications described qualifies for an access decal. Simply, the whole thing does not make sense other than optional access to otherwise restricted areas.

Clearly, this could have been worded much better.

Personally, I have never seen a PWC with an access decal on the lake.

Jetskier :cool:

[Skip]

Yes, another one of those clearly worded Administrative Rules!

Sometimes it is necessary to go back and determine the intent of the legislation or rule rather that interpret the gobble-de-gook that finally gets penned in to law. :)

Anyway, the intent was to help differentiate a three or more person in-line jet craft which is for all intents and purposes a vessel in New Hampshire, vice the one & two seaters that are for all intents and purposes jet skis and thus subject to different inland waterway restricitons on (some occasions)!

That said, the sticker is optional and requires the registered owner to separately apply for same. It allows for authorities to visually determine the vessel's capacity from a distance rather than having to stop the vessel and ascertain its carrying capacity via the registration.

And has been previously noted by several posters it is a very little known regulation that is rarely employed.

Obviously it would have been much easier to simply issue the appropriate sticker at the time and place of registration if indeed the state was looking for mandatory and widespread implementation.

By the way, the key legalese that is missing from the quoted rule that would have made the decal clearly mandatory?

Two simple words: SHALL DISPLAY

Hope this helped explain it a little better.....:)

[Woodsy]

Thanks for clearing this up Skip....

too bad the Safe Boater Ed manual doesn't list the decal as optional.... LOL! Sorry for the mis-information!

Woodsy

[jetskier]

Thanks for clearing this up Skip....

too bad the Safe Boater Ed manual doesn't list the decal as optional.... LOL! Sorry for the mis-information!

Woodsy

Actually, the manual lists it as mandatory and it is wrong...gotta love it. :)

Woodsy - have your MP friend read this thread...I don't want to get pulled over for the magical mandatory er... optional access decal. :)

THANK YOU SKIP

Jetskier :cool:

[SIKSUKR]

Boy it's nice to be right all the time.That's what I keep telling myself.
As is so often the case,the regs are clear as pea soup!

[chipj29]

I have an identical PWC to my friend/neighbor. Both are 3-seaters. He has the "optional" sticker, I do not. We ride together all the time, and neither of us has been treated any differently by MP. We got "pulled over" one time on the Merrimack, and the sticker was not even discussed. Granted, ski craft are not limited in that area, but still no mention. Anyway, I have owned my ski for 5 years now, and have just been too lazy to get the sticker that I see no need to have.

[Gavia immer]

Boy it's nice to be right all the time.That's what I keep telling myself.
As is so often the case, the regs are clear as pea soup!
I'm starting a new tagline....."Clarity of the law is no excuse" ;)

[Pineedles]

The legislators in NH don't have an exclusive to the "clear as mud" award but I would have expected better of them!:confused:

[Gavia immer]

too bad the Safe Boater Ed manual doesn't list the decal as optional.... Sorry for the mis-information!
The only way to eliminate ignorant behavior is through going back to determine the intent of the legislation or rule rather that interpret the gobble-de-gook that finally gets penned in to law. ;)

[jetskier]

The only way to eliminate ignorant behavior is through going back to determine the intent of the legislation or rule rather that interpret the gobble-de-gook that finally gets penned in to law. ;)

That is all well and good, but what happens when the Marine Patrol references the incorrect wording in the manual and issues a ticket? This thread has mentioned misinterpretation on the part of the Marine Patrol...so, the correct thing is to word this stuff clearly. The public should not have to wonder what the intent of a statute is, rather, it should be clear. Isn't that the point of having statutes?

Jetskier:cool:

[SIKSUKR]

The bottom line is you DON'T have to have display that sticker.

Oh,by the way,I lost my registration stickers before applying them.I thought I would have to pay full registration costs again but only had to pay $3 to the state and $1.50 to the town to reissue new stickers.

[NHKathy]

Before i put this bright orange sticker on my 3-seater SeaDoo, any updates?

I plan on using my SeaDoo in small coves & inlets which I understand are restricted to others (2 seaters & smaller)...

[chipj29]

Before i put this bright orange sticker on my 3-seater SeaDoo, any updates?

I plan on using my SeaDoo in small coves & inlets which I understand are restricted to others (2 seaters & smaller)...

I don't think anything has changed. While you may not HAVE to have it (which is apparently subject for debate), it would probably be a good idea to have it. It's just a sticker...can't hurt and it doesn't cost anything.

[AC2717]

Do I need to go out and get my sticker for the jetski or not?
What is this thing again

[SIKSUKR]

I've never gotten one and never will unless it becomes mandatory.

[AC2717]

I've never gotten one and never will unless it becomes mandatory.

I am with you, this is getting ridiculous almost, and I mean almost:laugh: not worth running the boat and jetski anymore

Hey I was wondering do you think it will get out of hand enough that soon the state will start loosing money because they taxed themselves out of the market because boaters and jetskiers and the like will go elsewhere. I am starting to look into how much it will cost to register in my domicile state of MA next year, but probably can't because I remember seeing if the boat spends X amount of time on NH waters it needs to be registered in NH

[ronc4424]

On big Squam and little Squam only 3 seater pwcs are allowed. NHMP are always on the lookout for the 2 seaters. And our speed limit is 40 mph.

[BroadHopper]

I believe that you only need this decal when you are using a PWC in areas restricted to boats. Since a 3 or 4 person PWC is technically registered as a boat, they have the right to use restricted areas that a 1 or 2 person PWC can not. I don't know anyone who has an access decal and I don't believe that it is required for use in areas allowing PWCs.

Jetskier:cool:

I and memebers of my family were stop a number of times when we were in a restricted PWC area. When they saw the extra sticker, a safety check was in order and we were on our way. I would not leave it to chance.

[TiltonBB]

So if you have a 3 or more person PWC, and the optional sticker (and it is then considered a boat) are the occupants required to wear life jackets?

[SIKSUKR]

So if you have a 3 or more person PWC, and the optional sticker (and it is then considered a boat) are the occupants required to wear life jackets?

This question has come up here before and answer is a clear as mud yes.Kind of like if you outfitted the 3-up pwc with lights,shouldn't you be able to use it at night because it's a boat?Most of the responses I have seen in the past so no.

[EricP]

So if you have a 3 or more person PWC, and the optional sticker (and it is then considered a boat) are the occupants required to wear life jackets?

No, but you must have life jackets in the boat. It is registered as a boat and therefore follows boating rules. That said, no way I am riding without a vest on.

[NightWing]

No, but you must have life jackets in the boat. It is registered as a boat and therefore follows boating rules. That said, no way I am riding without a vest on.

That is kind of a slippery slope, because the PFDs have to be readily accessible, which is within arm's reach. If the vests are under the seat, then the passengers must get off the vessel, lift the seat and retrieve them. not exactly readily accessible.

The easy safe way is to just wear them.

[EricP]

That is kind of a slippery slope, because the PFDs have to be readily accessible, which is within arm's reach. If the vests are under the seat, then the passengers must get off the vessel, lift the seat and retrieve them. not exactly readily accessible.

The easy safe way is to just wear them.

I totally agree, I was just quoting what MP told me.

[chipj29]

I totally agree, I was just quoting what MP told me.
I believe that you (and MP) are correct. I have never NOT worn my PFD when on my PWC, and require the same of my passengers. Why risk it?

[NHKathy]

Do you have to get a new sticker every year - or once you got it - you're good??

[chipj29]

Do you have to get a new sticker every year - or once you got it - you're good??

The sticker has no expiry date on it, so I assume it is good for the life of the craft.

[NHKathy]

that's what i'm assuming too...

[SBC]

As of 2010 the issuance of these stickers has been discontinued by Dept of Safety. There may be some literature out there that still indicates the option of the use of the sticker and that lit was probably printed much in advance of the change. It was always an option, not a requirement.

Now, clean out those intake grates and lets go jet skiing!!!

[Aquadeziac]

I have two 3 seaters, a number of years ago I sustained cowl damage on one and needed it refinished. I even went to DOS and MP in Glendale and no one knew about replacing destroyed stickers. None of the places where I have registered my machines have ever had any at all. So now I have one machine with and one machine without.

[chipj29]

I have two 3 seaters, a number of years ago I sustained cowl damage on one and needed it refinished. I even went to DOS and MP in Glendale and no one knew about replacing destroyed stickers. None of the places where I have registered my machines have ever had any at all. So now I have one machine with and one machine without.

I believe that you had to go to Concord to get the sticker. I never bothered to get one for my last PWC, but went to DMV Concord with a friend who got one. He had to submit a written request, a letter to DMV. It was a very strange and archaic process. The previous owner of the PWC I bought last year had gotten the sticker, which is how I have one now.