Wake

The waves a moving boat drags behind it, which are legally the operator's responsibility.

Every hull writes its speed on the water behind it. Wake is biggest at plowing speeds, smallest at idle and on full plane, and it keeps doing damage long after you have gone: rocking rafted boats, slapping docks, swamping paddlers.

In South Carolina the law draws the line at 50 feet, idle speed near anchored boats, docks and people in the water, but the deeper rule is simpler: what your wake breaks, you bought.

Inside 50 feet of an anchored boat, a dock, a pier or a person in the water: idle speed, no wake. Your wake, your bill.

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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