SESKStuff Everyone Should Know
SESK: Stuff Everyone Should Know · sesk.info/boat-sail-and-engine-power-driven

A sailboat has its sails up but is also running its engine. Under the Navigation Rules, it counts as what?

A power-driven vessel.

  1. A sailing vessel
  2. A power-driven vessel ✔
  3. A vessel not under command

Why: Inland Rule 3 calls a boat a sailing vessel only when it's under sail and any engine is not being used. With the engine running, it's power-driven and follows the power-driven rules.

Huh, didn't know that: By day, a vessel under sail and power shows a cone, point down, though boats under 12 meters may skip it.

The dad joke
What do sea monsters eat? Fish and ships.
Like this card?
Play the game

Sources

  1. 33 CFR 83.03 General definitions, Inland Rule 3 (eCFR) https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-33/section-83.03
  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 & WaterA sailboat moving under sail alone at night shows which lights?Boating & WaterA powerboat and a sailboat under sail are on a collision course in open water. Which one generally gives way?Boating & WaterA boat under 12 meters (39.4 feet) needn't carry a regulation whistle. What must it have?

That's stuff everyone should know.