Boating under the influence (BUI)

Operating at or above 0.08, the same limit as driving, enforced on the water by SCDNR.

South Carolina's BUI line is 0.08, and SCDNR runs patrols and checkpoints all season to hold it. Convictions carry fines, jail exposure and the end of the boating privileges the day was supposed to be about.

The physiology is worse than the law: sun, wind, glare, dehydration and engine motion roughly double a drink's effect. The workable rule is the one the course teaches: the cooler is for the crew, and the helm stays dry until the lines are on.

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Put the words to work

Vocabulary is easier at the helm.

The free South Carolina boater safety course teaches all of this in twelve chapters with a sixty question practice exam, and when you are ready for the water itself, one form gets you rental quotes from local operators.

Take the Free Safety Course Check Pontoon Availability