New regulations for boaties

There are new regulations that apply to Queensland boat owners from January 1, 2012.

The new regulations have not been widely published – however government officers are enforcing the law at boat ramps.

The following is copied from the MSQ website:

What are the new stowage requirements for safety equipment?

The owner or master must give each person on board information about where the safety equipment is kept.
Information may be given orally, in a demonstration or printed on a sign. Persons on board must know where the safety equipment is kept. Life jackets or PFDs must be clearly visible while a person is on board; or kept in a place readily accessible and indicated by a clearly visible sign with a white background marked with the word ‘life jackets’ in red letters or a red background with white letters.

The entire document can be found here

Essentially, this means that if your life jackets are out of sight, you need a sign showing where the life jackets are kept.  Similar rules apply to fire extinguishers and EPIRBS.

As a service to our customers, we have suitable stickers that you can affix to your boat.

These stickers are available from Townsville Marine – 943 Ingham Rd Bohle.

The stickers are red on white and are UV stabilised.

We are open all weekend – so if you would like to pop in, you can purchase these stickers for $5.95 each or 3 for $15.

You should do this before you go to the ramp!  There are no sunset provisions in the law and penalties apply.

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