Registration, Licence and a Borrowed Boat
A friend offers you the use of their 5.5 m fibreglass runabout with a 90 hp outboard for a weekend on a NSW coastal river. The boat has current registration stickers, but the friend says the registration certificate is 'somewhere at home'. You hold a current NSW general boat driving licence. Your 17-year-old nephew wants to drive the boat on his own while you fish from the bank. The river has a 4-knot speed limit within 30 m of the shore and moored boats, and a designated no-wash zone near a rowing club. The boat has a fire extinguisher, but you cannot find the bucket or the torch.
1. What are the registration and licensing issues you need to resolve before using the boat, and how?
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The boat is registered, but you should be able to produce or access the registration details if asked - the certificate should be on board or readily available. More importantly, confirm the registration is current and matches the hull, and that the vessel is the one the sticker belongs to. You hold a general licence, which covers you to drive this vessel. Your nephew does not: a 17-year-old without a licence cannot legally drive a registered powerboat on his own in NSW. The fix is to keep him supervised and not let him take the boat solo; if he wants to drive, he needs to meet the licensing requirements first. Resolve this before launching, not on the water.
2. The nephew asks to take the boat alone up the river. What is your answer and reasoning?
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The answer is no. He is unlicensed, and letting an unlicensed person take a registered powerboat out alone breaches NSW licensing requirements and puts him and others at risk. Even if he were licensed, a 17-year-old taking a 5.5 m boat out alone raises supervision and experience concerns. The lawful and safe option is that he may handle the boat only under your direct supervision, with you on board, in calm water and at low speed. If he wants independence, the path is to complete the licensing requirements, not to borrow the boat.
3. You are missing the bucket and torch. How does that affect your plan, and how do you handle the speed limits?
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Missing required safety equipment means the boat is not properly equipped, so the plan should be to obtain a bucket (for bailing) and a torch (for signalling and visibility) before departure rather than launch short. A fire extinguisher alone does not cover bailing or night signalling. On the water, respect the 4-knot limit within 30 m of shore and moored boats, and the no-wash zone near the rowing club: slow to a speed that creates no wash, keep well clear of the rowers, and remember that 'no wash' is about your wake, not just your speed. If you cannot meet the equipment requirement, do not launch.