(a) As used in this chapter, "watercraft" means any of the following when used or capable of being used for transportation on the water:
(1) A boat operated by machinery either permanently or temporarily affixed;
(2) A sailboat other than a sailboard;
(3) An inflatable, manually propelled boat having a hull identification number meeting the requirements of the United States Coast Guard;
(4) A canoe or row boat.
"Watercraft" does not include ferries as referred to in Ohio R.C. Chapter 4583.
Watercraft subject to Ohio R.C. 1547.54 shall be divided into five classes as follows:
Class A: Less than sixteen feet in length;
Class 1: At least sixteen feet, but less than twenty-six feet in length;
Class 2: At least twenty-six feet, but less than forty feet in length;
Class 3: At least forty feet, but less than sixty-five feet in length;
Class 4: At least sixty-five feet in length.
(b) As used in this chapter:
(1) "Vessel" includes every description of watercraft, including nondisplacement craft and seaplanes, used or capable of being used as a means of transportation on water.
(2) "Rowboat" means any vessel designed to be rowed and that is propelled by human muscular effort by oars or paddles and upon which no mechanical propulsion device, electric motor, internal combustion engine, or sail has been affixed or is used for the operation of the vessel.
(3) "Sailboat" means any vessel, equipped with mast and sails, dependent upon the wind to propel it in the normal course of operation.
A. Any sailboat equipped with an inboard engine is deemed a powercraft with auxiliary sail.
B. Any sailboat equipped with detachable motor is deemed a sailboat with auxiliary power.
C. Any sailboat being propelled by mechanical power, whether under sail or not, is deemed a powercraft and subject to all laws and rules governing powercraft operation.
(4) "Powercraft" means any vessel propelled by machinery, fuel, rockets, or similar device.
(5) "Person" includes any legal entity defined as a person in Ohio R.C. 1.59 and any body politic, except the United States and this State, and includes any agent, trustee, executor, receiver, assignee, or other representative thereof.
(6) "Owner" includes any person who claims lawful possession of a vessel by virtue of legal title or equitable interest therein that entitled the person to that possession.
(7) "Operator" includes any person who navigates or has under the person's control a vessel, or vessel and detachable motor on the waters in this Municipality.
(8) "Visible" means visible on a dark night with clear atmosphere.
(9) "Waters in this Municipality" means all streams, rivers, lakes, ponds, marshes, watercourses, waterways, and other bodies of water, natural or human made, that are situated wholly or partially within this Municipality or within its jurisdiction and are used for recreational boating.
(10) "Navigable waters" means waters that come under the jurisdiction of the Department of the Army of the United States and any waterways within or adjacent to this Municipality, except inland lakes having neither navigable inlet nor outlet.
(11) "In operation" in reference to a vessel means that the vessel is being navigated or otherwise used on the waters in this Municipality.
(12) "Sewage" means human body wastes and the wastes from toilets and other receptacles intended to receive or retain body waste.
(13) "Canoe" means a narrow vessel of shallow draft, pointed at both ends and propelled by human muscular effort and includes kayaks.
(14) ACoast Guard approved" means bearing an approval number assigned by the United States Coast Guard.
(15) "Type one personal flotation device" means a device that is designed to turn an unconscious person floating in water from a face downward position to a vertical or slightly face upward position and that has at least nine kilograms, approximately twenty pounds, of buoyancy.
(16) "Type two personal flotation device" means a device that is designed to turn an unconscious person in the water from a face downward position to a vertical or slightly face upward position and that has at least seven kilograms, approximately fifteen and four-tenths pounds, of buoyancy.
(17) "Type three personal flotation device" means a device that is designed to keep a conscious person in a vertical or slightly face upward position and that has at least seven kilograms, approximately fifteen and four-tenths pounds, of buoyancy.
(18) "Type four personal flotation device" means a device that is designed to be thrown to a person in the water and not worn and that has at least seven and five-tenths kilograms, approximately sixteen and five-tenths pounds, of buoyancy.
(19) "Type five personal flotation device" means a device that, unlike other personal flotation devices, has limitations on its approval by the United States Coast Guard, including, without limitation, all of the following:
1. The approval label on the type five personal flotation device indicates that the device is approved for the activity in which the vessel is being used or as a substitute for a personal flotation device of the type required on the vessel in use;
2. The personal flotation device is used in accordance with any requirements on the approval label;
3. The personal flotation device is used in accordance with requirements in its owner's manual if the approval label refers to such a manual.
(20) "Inflatable watercraft" means any vessel constructed of rubber, canvas, or other material that is designed to be inflated with any gaseous substance, constructed with two or more air cells, and operated as a vessel. Inflatable watercraft propelled by a motor shall be classified as powercraft and shall be registered by length.
(21) "Idle speed" means the slowest possible speed needed to maintain steerage or maneuverability.
(22) "Diver's flag" means a red flag not less than one foot square having a diagonal white stripe extending from the masthead to the opposite lower corner that when displayed indicates that divers are in the water.
(23) "Muffler" means an acoustical suppression device or system that is designed and installed to abate the sound of exhaust gases emitted from an internal combustion engine and that prevents excessive or unusual noise.
(24) "Law enforcement vessel" means any vessel used in law enforcement and under the command of a law enforcement officer.
(25) "Personal watercraft" means a vessel, less than sixteen feet in length, that is propelled by machinery and designed to be operated by an individual sitting, standing, or kneeling on the vessel rather than by an individual sitting or standing inside the vessel.
(26) "No wake" has the same meaning as "idle speed."
(27) " City" or "Municipality" means the entire territorial limits of the City of Port Clinton, Ohio.
(c) Unless otherwise provided, this chapter applies to all vessels operating on the waters in this Municipality. Nothing in this chapter shall be construed in contravention of any valid federal act or rule, but is in addition to the act or rule where not inconsistent.
(ORC 1547.01)