The sun., 1908-08-16
MOSQUITO MOTOR BOAT AHOY!.
COME ALONGSIDE AND HEAR
THE RULES YOU MUST OBEY.

20 Say II "the Government boat"
Men Try to Have Fun with You.
Weakfish are biting along the edges
a, the channels. and In few days bluefish
viii be jumping for the silvered lure little
wav Of shore. The floor Of tho adjacent
sea Ia tiled with fiuke; and ling. beneficent
scavengers Of the brine. are on the Job.
Hundreds Of owners OF small craft In
tho waters hereabouts have found, season
After season. recreation and pleasure In
the pursuit Of these and other varieties
OF salt water game, but this year scare
bas been thrown into the hearts Of all Of
those about nine out Of ten) who have
gasolene motors In their boats. with such.
serious effect that some Of them have offered
their boats for sale and others have begun
prepaIatons for laying them up.
The alarm has seized not only the owners
of the little craft whose recreation b fishing
but also the possessors Of small motor boats
used In running about the harbor for pleas
ure. and to some extent yacht owners In
these waters who have small gasolene
skiIs as tenders to their larger craft. The
cause OF the alarm IL the frequent holdups
of boats Of these descriptions by sthe
Government boat as any tug In the service
Of the Surveyor Of the Port 10 designated.
Whether 1t has been done In . spirit Of fun
or from q mistaken notion as TO their duties.
some Of the officials have turned their at
tention to these little craft with unwar-
ranted inquisitiveness. and they have done
much to mar the enjoyment Of small boat
users this season.
These holdupe by the Government
L., ka tvxaV,vx>nai0x1
that all the little private boats with gaso-
lene kicker in them are subject to nearly
tho same laws that govern steamboats,
and steamships. and some owners have
made efforts that are both pttiful and Iudi-
rous to seem to be willing to try to comply
with those laws. Others have given up
attempting to use their boats except on the
shoals and In the ooves and creeks, and as
previously said. have decided to abandon
their favorite recreation.
In tho ofioe Of the Surveyor Of the Port
the subjoined information was impaired
authoritatively to o Sun reporter. Il
refers to private undocunented motor
and auxiliary motor craft and to no others:
boat Boat viii Il o Be- explained later. The rsguis-
tons for dooumented motor and auxiliary
motor boats are different, a. are thoee for
boats that are not olassed as private. Among
the latter are the craft with motors In them
that carry sailing and fshing parties. and
requiring them to comply with such regu-
latfons as there are put down for the
safety Of their passengers.
II is not the purpose OF Gen. Clarkson
and his assistants to poster the ufsrs OF
wants to SEQ them get all the recreation
and fun that can be got out Of their favorite
sport. He knows that tho regulations a.
they now stand are not the best that could
be made. and these regulations are now
in process Of revision. But It p his duty
that his office requires him to enforce in
respect to all manner OF craft that fall
within his jurisdiction.
The regulations as to the 'use OF small
motor craft are q patchwork Of Federal
s, the nsS oondops abse %
come up with the spread Of motor boating.
They contain some requirements that do
not add TO the safety Of thoce using the
motor boata, or. of those on board other /
ignore most Of the dangers Of careless
motor boating.
AZ they now stand the requirements as
to private undocumented boats driven
wholly or In part by motors. Of the ex-
Psd SPs ars 9w w aad es pss Soas
10 one that DOES not carry passengers or
freight for pay. An undocumented boat
Is one too small to be required to take out
Custom House papers. The regulations
following apply to all private motor driven
They require that every such boat shall be
provided with
Bell
Whistle.
Fog horn.
Two printed copies OF the pilot rules.
The bell must be 'eficient' This is
explained to mean a bell Of which the eound
may be heard at a sufficient distance In q
fog to be Of material assistance to other
craft in avoiding a collision.
The whistle may be blown with com-
pressed air furnished by the motor or by
hand pump. A whistle blown with the
breath will not pass inspection.
The fog horn is just fog horn.
Few users OF small motor craft know
that the two copies OF the pilot rules arc
among the requirements. These may be
obtained free Of charge from the steamboat
inspection authorities. One copy must be
permanently f1xed In the boat, the other may
be carried anywhere on board.
Of the descriptions under consideration must
show side lights when running between
sunset aud sunrise and riding light when
at anchor within that period. These side
lights must be separate. The so-called
combination" light will not answer. There
is no rule as to the height above the water
at which the side lights must be carried or
the anchor light displayed. Strict oom-
pliance with regulations requires that both
side lights be shielded 90 that neither oau
be- seen across the bow from the opposite
side or from position more than two
points abaft the beam.
The riding or anchor light may be any
lantern OF ordinary power that 10 not easily
blown out by the wind. II may be shown
anywhere on the boat
boat hailed between sunrise and sunset
by vessel In the Surveyors service 10 not
compelled to have side lights or an anchor
light on board. The user may say that
his lights are ashore or that he does not
use the boat between sunset and sunrise
If those statements are the truth. But
unless he feels pretty sure that he will not
have to run after sunset some evening TO get
back to his tying up place or have to anchor
out at night he had better have his side lights
and his white lantern on board at all times
when going even few miles from his home
mooring.
In private motor boat or motor auxiliary
OF less than sixteen tons measurement there
no requirement as to
NOT REQUIRED.
Life preservers.