SESKStuff Everyone Should Know
SESK: Stuff Everyone Should Know · sesk.info/boat-low-head-dam

What makes a low-head dam especially dangerous for boaters heading downriver?

It is hard to see from upstream, and deadly below.

  1. It is hard to see from a small boat upstream ✔
  2. It is always marked by year-round buoys
  3. It only matters when the river is low

Why: Low-head, or fixed crest, dams can blend into the river until you are right on them. They are so dangerous to small boats and swimmers that they are nicknamed 'drowning machines'. Watch for 'Danger Dam' signs and check charts.

Huh, didn't know that: The Coast Guard warns buoys are not in the river year-round, and current can move them off station.

The dad joke
What did the beaver say to the tree? It's been nice gnawing you.
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Sources

  1. USCG, A Boater's Guide to the Federal Requirements for Recreational Boats (2023) https://www.uscgboating.org/assets/1/AssetManager/Boaters-Guide-to-Federal-Requirements-for-Receational-Boats-20231108.pdf
  2. USCG, A Boater's Guide to the Federal Requirements for Recreational Boats (2023) https://www.uscgboating.org/assets/1/AssetManager/Boaters-Guide-to-Federal-Requirements-for-Receational-Boats-20231108.pdf

Test yourself in the game

Boating & WaterSeparated from your kayak in a fast river, which way should your feet point as you float?Boating & WaterFederal rules say a recreational boat must carry how many wearable life jackets?Boating & WaterAt what boat length does federal law add a throwable flotation device to the wearable ones?

That's stuff everyone should know.