Wisconsin Statutes & Annotations
Chapter 30 - Navigable waters, harbors and navigation.
30.50 - Definitions.

30.50 Definitions. In ss. 30.50 to 30.80:
(1e) “Alcohol beverage" has the meaning specified under s. 125.02 (1).
(1g) “Alcohol concentration" has the meaning given in s. 340.01 (1v).
(1j) “Application" includes the form designated by the department and any supporting document or other information that is submitted to the department.
(1m) “Approved public treatment facility" has the meaning specified under s. 51.45 (2) (c).
(1s) “Associated equipment" means any system, part or component of a boat as originally manufactured or any similar system, part or component manufactured or sold for replacement, repair or improvement of the system, part or component; any accessory or equipment for, or appurtenance to, a boat and any marine safety article, accessory or equipment intended for or used by a person on board a boat except radio equipment.
(2) “Boat" or “vessel" means every description of watercraft used or capable of being used as a means of transportation on water, except a seaplane on the water and a fishing raft.
(3) “Certificate of number" means the certificate of number card, certification decal, and identification number issued by the department under the federally approved numbering system unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.
(3b) “Certification or registration document" means a certificate of number card, certification decal, registration certificate, registration card, temporary operating receipt, or registration decal.
(3d) “Commercial motorboat" means a motorboat while it is being operated to transport property or passengers for hire or while it is being used by its operator or owner to earn a livelihood or to gain a profit or both.
(3g) “Controlled substance" has the meaning specified under s. 961.01 (4).
(3h) “Controlled substance analog" has the meaning given in s. 961.01 (4m).
(3r) “Drug" has the meaning specified under s. 450.01 (10).
(4) “Employ" means to make use of for any purpose other than maintenance.
(4b) “Great bodily harm" has the meaning given in s. 939.22 (14).
(4c) “Hazardous inhalant" means a substance that is ingested, inhaled, or otherwise introduced into the human body in a manner that does not comply with any cautionary labeling that is required for the substance under s. 100.37 or under federal law, or in a manner that is not intended by the manufacturer of the substance, and that is intended to induce intoxication or elation, to stupefy the central nervous system, or to change the human audio, visual, or mental processes.
(4e) “Intoxicant" means any alcohol beverage, hazardous inhalant, controlled substance, controlled substance analog or other drug, or any combination thereof.
(4m) “Intoxicated boating law" means s. 30.681 (1) or a local ordinance in conformity with that subsection, s. 30.681 (2) or, if the operation of a motorboat is involved, s. 940.09 or 940.25.
(4q) “Lake sanitary district" means a town sanitary district that has within its boundaries at least 60 percent of the footage of shoreline of a public inland lake, as defined in s. 60.782 (1), for which a public inland lake protection and rehabilitation district is not in effect.
(4s) “Law enforcement officer" has the meaning specified under s. 165.85 (2) (c) and includes a person appointed as a conservation warden by the department under s. 23.10 (1).
(5) “Manufacturer" means any person engaged in the manufacture, construction or assembly of boats or associated equipment; the manufacture or construction of components for boats and associated equipment to be sold for subsequent assembly and the importation into this state for sale of boats, associated equipment or components for boats.
(6) “Motorboat" means any boat equipped with propulsion machinery, whether or not the machinery is the principal source of propulsion.
(7) “Nonmotorized boat" means a boat which is not a motorboat but which is designed and constructed to be used as a boat for transportation of a person or persons on water. This term includes, but is not limited to, any canoe, sailboat, inflatable boat or similar device, row boat, raft and dinghy which is not a motorboat.
(8) “Operate" or “use" when used with reference to a motorboat, boat or vessel means to navigate or otherwise employ.
(8g) “Operation of a motorboat" means controlling the speed or direction of a motorboat, except a sailboat operating under sail alone.
(8r) “Operator" means a person who is engaged in the operation of a motorboat, who is responsible for the operation of a motorboat or who is supervising the operation of a motorboat.
(9) “Owner" means the person who has lawful possession of a boat by virtue of legal title or equitable interest therein which entitles the person to lawful possession.
(9b) “Patrol boat" means a boat authorized by this state or by a local governmental unit for the purpose of law enforcement, search and rescue, fire fighting, emergency response, or water safety operations, including a water safety patrol unit.
(9d) “Personal watercraft" means a motorboat that uses an inboard motor powering a water jet pump or a caged propeller as its primary source of motive power and that is designed to be operated by a person standing on, kneeling on or sitting astride the watercraft.
(9f) “Proof," when used in reference to evidence of a certification or registration document or safety certificate, means the original certification or registration document or safety certificate issued by the department or an agent appointed under s. 30.52 (1m) (a) 3. or any alternative form of proof designated by rule under s. 23.47 (1).
(9g) “Purpose of authorized analysis" means for the purpose of determining or obtaining evidence of the presence, quantity or concentration of alcohol or other intoxicant in a person's blood, breath or urine.
(9x) “Refusal law" means s. 30.684 (5) or a local ordinance in conformity with that subsection.
(10) “Registration" means the registration certificate, registration card, and registration decal issued by the department.
(10m) “Restricted controlled substance" means any of the following:
(a) A controlled substance included in schedule I under ch. 961 other than a tetrahydrocannabinol.
(b) A controlled substance analog, as defined in s. 961.01 (4m), of a controlled substance described in par. (a).
(c) Cocaine or any of its metabolites.
(d) Methamphetamine.
(e) Delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol, excluding its precursors or metabolites, at a concentration of one or more nanograms per milliliter of a person's blood.
(11) “Sailboard" means a sailboat with a hull resembling a surfboard which has little or no cockpit or seating area and which is designed to be sailed by a person in a standing position.
(12) “Slow-no-wake" means that speed at which a boat moves as slowly as possible while still maintaining steerage control.
(13) “State of principal use" means the state where the boat is used or is to be used most during the year.
(13d) “Temporary operating receipt" means a receipt issued by the department or an agent under s. 30.52 (1m) (ag) 1. a. that shows that an application and the required fees for a certificate of number or registration have been submitted to the department or an agent appointed under s. 30.52 (1m) (a) 3.
(13m) “Test facility" means a test facility or agency prepared to administer tests under s. 343.305 (2).
(14) “Waters of this state" means any waters within the territorial limits of this state, including the Wisconsin portion of boundary waters.
History: 1979 c. 275; 1983 a. 27, 100; 1985 a. 279, 331; 1987 a. 3, 374; 1989 a. 145; 1991 a. 39, 257, 316; 1995 a. 290, 349, 436, 448; 1997 a. 198; 1999 a. 9; 2001 a. 16; 2003 a. 97; 2005 a. 25, 308; 2013 a. 83; 2015 a. 89; 2019 a. 68.
Recreational boating law in Wisconsin. Whipple. 61 MLR 425.
Wisconsin's Boating Rules of the Road. Whipple. Wis. Law. June 2000.

Structure Wisconsin Statutes & Annotations

Wisconsin Statutes & Annotations

Chapter 30 - Navigable waters, harbors and navigation.

30.01 - Definitions.

30.025 - Permit procedure for utility facilities.

30.027 - Lower Wisconsin State Riverway.

30.03 - Enforcement of forfeitures; abatement of nuisances; infringement of public rights.

30.05 - Applicability of chapter to municipally-owned submerged shorelands.

30.053 - Applicability of chapter to artificial water bodies and certain impoundments.

30.056 - Exemption from certain permit requirements.

30.06 - Waiver of certain provisions of this chapter.

30.07 - Transportation of aquatic plants and animals; placement of objects in navigable waters.

30.10 - Declarations of navigability.

30.102 - Website information.

30.103 - Identification of ordinary high-water mark by town sanitary district.

30.105 - Determining footage of shoreline.

30.11 - Establishment of bulkhead lines.

30.12 - Structures and deposits in navigable waters.

30.121 - Regulation of boathouses and houseboats.

30.122 - Unauthorized structures.

30.123 - Bridges and culverts.

30.124 - Waterfowl habitat management.

30.125 - Shoreline maintenance in outlying waters.

30.1255 - Report on control of aquatic nuisance species.

30.126 - Regulation of fishing rafts.

30.13 - Regulation of wharves, piers and swimming rafts; establishment of pierhead lines.

30.131 - Wharves and piers placed and maintained by persons other than riparian owners.

30.132 - Riparian rights.

30.133 - Prohibition against conveyance of riparian rights.

30.1335 - Marina condominiums.

30.134 - Use of exposed shore areas along streams.

30.135 - Regulation of water ski platforms and jumps.

30.14 - Reports of and hearings on violations.

30.15 - Penalty for unlawful obstruction of navigable waters.

30.16 - Removal of obstructions to navigation.

30.18 - Withdrawal of water from lakes and streams.

30.19 - Enlargement and protection of waterways.

30.195 - Changing of stream courses.

30.196 - Enclosure of navigable waters; issuance of permits to municipalities.

30.20 - Removal of material from beds of navigable waters.

30.201 - Financial assurance for nonmetallic mining.

30.202 - Dredge disposal in and near the Mississippi, St. Croix and Black rivers by the U.S. corps of engineers.

30.2022 - Activities of department of transportation.

30.2023 - Seawalls; Wolf River and Fox River basins.

30.2025 - Lake Koshkonong comprehensive project.

30.2026 - Lake Belle View and Sugar River project.

30.203 - Lake Winnebago comprehensive project.

30.2035 - Shoreline protection study.

30.2037 - Big Silver Lake high-water mark.

30.2038 - Milwaukee shoreline established.

30.204 - Lake acidification experiment.

30.205 - Water resources development projects.

30.206 - General permits.

30.2065 - General permit for certain wetland restoration activities.

30.207 - General permit pilot program.

30.208 - Applications for individual permits and contracts; department determinations.

30.209 - Contracts and individual permits; administrative and judicial review.

30.2095 - Limits and conditions for permits and contracts.

30.21 - Use of beds of Great Lakes by public utilities.

30.24 - Bluff protection.

30.25 - Wolf River protection.

30.255 - Florence Wild Rivers Interpretive Center.

30.26 - Wild rivers.

30.265 - Adopt a river program.

30.27 - Lower St. Croix River preservation.

30.275 - Scenic urban waterways.

30.277 - Urban rivers grant program.

30.28 - Fees for permits, other approvals, and determinations.

30.285 - Records of exemptions and permitted activities.

30.29 - Operation of motor vehicles in waters prohibited.

30.291 - Inspections for certain exemptions and permitted activities.

30.292 - Parties to a violation.

30.294 - Nuisances, abatement.

30.298 - Penalties.

30.30 - Municipal authority to make harbor improvements.

30.31 - Procedural and other requirements to be followed in making harbor improvements.

30.32 - Contracts; competitive bidding; exceptions.

30.33 - Harbor railway belt lines.

30.34 - Financing harbor improvements and operations generally.

30.35 - Financing harbor improvements through bonds or notes.

30.37 - Boards of harbor commissioners authorized.

30.38 - Powers and duties of boards of harbor commissioners.

30.40 - Definitions.

30.41 - Creation.

30.42 - Departmental duties, powers, prohibitions.

30.43 - Board duties.

30.435 - Board powers.

30.44 - Permits and waivers; board procedures.

30.443 - Erosion prevention and control.

30.445 - Piers.

30.45 - Prohibited and restricted activities in the riverway.

30.452 - Prohibited activities in the river.

30.455 - Department of transportation activities.

30.46 - Agricultural use.

30.47 - Restrictions on recreational use.

30.48 - Applicability.

30.49 - Enforcement.

30.50 - Definitions.

30.501 - Capacity plates on boats.

30.505 - Certificate of number system to conform to federal system.

30.51 - Certificate of number and registration; requirements; exemptions.

30.52 - Certificate of number and registration; application; certification and registration period; fees; issuance.

30.523 - Certification or registration card to be on board; display of decals and identification number.

30.525 - Voluntary contributions for nonmotorized boats.

30.53 - Certificate of origin; requirements; contents; guaranteed asset protection waivers.

30.531 - Certificate of title; requirements; exemptions.

30.533 - Application for certificate of title; hull and engine identification numbers.

30.535 - Department to examine records.

30.537 - Certificate of title; issuance, records, fees.

30.539 - Contents of certificate of title.

30.54 - Lost, stolen or mutilated certificates.

30.541 - Transfers of boat titles.

30.543 - Report of stolen or abandoned boats.

30.544 - Inspection of boats purchased out-of-state.

30.547 - Alterations and falsifications prohibited.

30.549 - Transfer of ownership of boats with a certificate of title, certificate of number or registration.

30.55 - Notice of abandonment or destruction of boat or change of address.

30.553 - Sharing boat title records.

30.57 - Perfection of security interests.

30.571 - Notification of person who has perfected security interest.

30.572 - Duties on creation of security interest.

30.573 - Assignment of security interest.

30.574 - Release of security interest.

30.575 - Secured party's and owner's duties.

30.576 - Method of perfecting exclusive.

30.577 - Suspension or revocation of certificate of title, certificate of number, or registration.

30.578 - Grounds for refusing issuance of certificate of title.

30.60 - Classification of motorboats.

30.61 - Lighting equipment.

30.62 - Other equipment.

30.625 - Rental of motorboats.

30.63 - Sale and use of certain outboard motors restricted.

30.635 - Motorboat prohibition.

30.64 - Patrol boats.

30.65 - Traffic rules.

30.66 - Speed restrictions.

30.67 - Accidents and accident reports.

30.675 - Distress signal flag.

30.678 - Boating safety certificates; requirements; exemptions; operation by minors.

30.68 - Prohibited operation.

30.681 - Intoxicated boating.

30.682 - Preliminary breath screening test.

30.683 - Implied consent.

30.684 - Chemical tests.

30.686 - Report arrest to department.

30.687 - Officer's action after arrest for violating intoxicated boating law.

30.69 - Water skiing.

30.70 - Skin diving.

30.71 - Disposal of waste from boats equipped with toilets.

30.72 - Watercraft use rules, Lower St. Croix River.

30.73 - Use regulations, Brule River.

30.74 - Additional functions of department.

30.742 - Water exhibitions and races; rules.

30.745 - Limited jurisdiction for administration and enforcement of navigation aids by municipalities.

30.75 - Service of process on nonresident.

30.77 - Local regulation of boating.

30.772 - Placement and use of moorings; restrictions; permits.

30.773 - Designated mooring areas.

30.78 - Local regulation of seaplanes.

30.79 - Local water safety patrols; state aids.

30.80 - Penalties.

30.81 - Local regulations on icebound inland waters.

30.90 - Public access to Lake Lions.

30.92 - Recreational boating projects.

30.99 - Parties to a violation.