NASBLA Roundtable

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  • 1.  E foils

    Posted 03-01-2024 08:06 AM

    Maryland has been approached by our first efoil livery. The question came up about placement of the registration numbers.  Are states having owners put the numbers on the deck of the efoil, wrapping them around the edges somewhere else? Also have any states done outreach work to let boaters know these are considered PWC's and must follow all PWC regulations.



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    Philip Hager
    Maryland Natural Resource Police
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  • 2.  RE: E foils

    Posted 03-02-2024 08:03 PM

    Hawaii has been requiring efoil owners to register as motorized vessels since September 2020 and has owners place registration numbers along the board rails.  Hawaii law treats PWCs differently, so we register efoils as Other.  Most numbers will need to wrap around the rail because of their shape and thickness, so the numbers may end up being placed partly on the deck and/or underside.

    As far as outreach, we sent letters to all known efoil manufacturers selling in Hawaii and posted a notice on our website.  Manufacturers were told they needed to obtain a MIC and issue a MSO/MCO with every efoil. Officers also enforce the registration requirement for efoils.



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    Todd Tashima
    Hawaii DLNR Boating
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  • 3.  RE: E foils

    Posted 03-03-2024 08:05 AM
      |   view attached

    I am assuming you've seen the policy linked to below already but just in case you need something to back you up. @Will Hillyer can speak to this topic more as well!  I know it doesn't fully answer your original questions though.

     USCG E-Foil Policy



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    Caroline Mantel
    Director of Business Development
    BoatHistoryReport.com
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  • 4.  RE: E foils

    Posted 03-04-2024 09:22 AM
    Good morning,
    This is very interesting since we are working with our very first person who wishes to start a rental company in Maryland.  We met with him Thursday, last week, and went over our current "PWC Rental Test". All persons who rent jet skis are required to take a short quiz/test prior to going out.  We tweaked the test to fit the eFoils with the livery owner.  He will be out with his renters (only will have two), they will be required to wear helmets, and in the helmets will be headsets so the guide can communicate with the riders.  This is his rules/regulations, and we agreed it was a good idea.   They will also be wearing either brightly colored life jackets or safety vests over the lifejackets.  This is so they are more visible to the local boating community.  
    We are treating eFoils as jet skis in Maryland, until we can create a separate classification for them.  

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    dnr.maryland.gov

    Donna Seymour

    Administrative Officer III, Boating Outreach Coordinator

    Maryland Department of Natural Resources

    Natural Resources Police Matapeake

    305 Marine Academy Dr. Suite 1

    Stevensville, MD  21666

    443-370-9169 (cell)

    donna.seymour@maryland.gov






  • 5.  RE: E foils

    Posted 03-04-2024 11:09 AM

    Philip,

    We are starting to see this in NJ as well. Do to the size of the letters required, they will start on the deck and wrap down onto the rail. As of now, we are treating efoils as PWCs. We have not received any formal requests yet for efoil livery, but I suspect that we will uncover some operations this summer. NJ also requires pre-rental instruction, and I agree with Donna that we are going to have to tweak it a bit to make it work.



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    Lt. Christopher Jones
    Operations Officer
    Marine Services Bureau
    New Jersey State Police
    New Jersey BLA
    christopher.jones@njsp.gov
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