Tennessee Code 69-9-506 – Leasing of personal watercraft by persons under sixteen (16) years of age prohibited
Terms Used In Tennessee Code 69-9-506
- Agency: means the wildlife resources agency. See Tennessee Code 69-9-204
- Lease: A contract transferring the use of property or occupancy of land, space, structures, or equipment in consideration of a payment (e.g., rent). Source: OCC
- Person: means an individual, partnership, firm, corporation, association, or other entity. See Tennessee Code 69-9-204
- personal watercraft: means a mechanically propelled vessel that is designed to be operated by a person sitting, standing or kneeling on the vessel rather than being operated in a conventional manner by a person sitting, standing, or kneeling inside the vessel. See Tennessee Code 69-9-501
- Record: means information that is inscribed on a tangible medium or that is stored in an electronic or other medium and is retrievable in a perceivable form. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
- Rules of the road: means statutory and regulatory rules governing navigation of vessels. See Tennessee Code 69-9-204
- State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the several territories of the United States. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
- Use: means to operate, navigate or employ. See Tennessee Code 69-9-204
No person under sixteen (16) years of age may rent or attempt to hire, lease, or rent a personal watercraft. It shall be illegal for any marina, livery, or rental operation to hire, lease, or rent a personal watercraft to any person under sixteen (16) years of age. Further, no marina, livery, or other rental operation may hire, lease, or rent a personal watercraft to any first-time renter until the rental operation at first provides an orientation, approved by the wildlife resources agency, to the renter containing at least the following information: basic operation of the craft, including steering capability when the power is decreased or at idle; required safety equipment and the use of the engine cutoff switch; rules of the road; meaning of the state uniform waterway marking system buoys; regulations regarding wake-jumping and other regulations specific to personal watercraft. Further, the renter must acknowledge in writing that the renter has received such instruction, the marina, livery, or other rental operation must keep on file such acknowledgment for a period of at least thirty (30) days, and such record shall be available for inspection by enforcement officers during regular business hours.