Prohibited operation
Wis. Stat. § 30.68
in effect(2) Negligent operation. No person may operate or use any boat, or manipulate any water skis, aquaplane or similar device upon the waters of this state in a careless, negligent or reckless manner so as to endanger that person’s life, property or person or the life, property or person of another.
(3) Operation by incapacitated person. No person in charge or control of a boat shall authorize or knowingly permit the boat to be operated by any person who by reason of physical or mental disability is incapable of operating such boat under the prevailing circumstances.
(4) Creating hazardous wake or wash.
(a) No person shall operate a motorboat so as to approach or pass another boat in such a manner as to create a hazardous wake or wash.
(b) An operator of a motorboat is liable for any damage caused to the person or property of another by the wake or wash from such motorboat unless the negligence of such other person was the primary cause of the damage.
(4m) Facing backwards. No person may operate a personal watercraft while facing backwards.
(5) Operating in circular course. No person may operate a motorboat repeatedly in a circuitous course around any other boat, or around any person who is swimming, if such circuitous course is within 200 feet of such boat or swimmer; nor shall any boat or water skier operate or approach closer than 100 feet to any skin diver’s flag or any swimmer unless the boat is part of the skin diving operation or is accompanying the swimmer, or unless physical conditions make compliance impossible.
(5m) Towing by a personal watercraft. A person may use a personal watercraft to tow a stranded or disabled boat if, during towing, the speed of the personal watercraft does not exceed slow-no-wake.
(6) Riding on decks and gunwales. No person operating a motorboat may ride or sit, or may allow any other person in the motorboat to ride or sit, on the gunwales, tops of seat backs or sides or on the decking over the bow of the boat in an unsafe manner while under way, unless such person is inboard of guards or railings provided on the boat to prevent persons from being lost overboard. Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit entry upon the decking over the bow of the boat for the purpose of anchoring, mooring or casting off or other necessary purpose.
(7) Restricted areas. No person shall operate a boat within a water area which has been clearly marked by buoys or some other distinguishing device as a bathing or swimming area; nor operate a boat in restricted use areas contrary to regulatory notice pursuant to s. 30.74 (2).
(8) Anchoring in traffic lanes. No person may anchor, place, affix or abandon any unattended boat, raft, float or similar structure in the traveled portion of any river or channel or in any traffic lane established and legally marked, so as to prevent, impede or interfere with the safe passage of any other boat through the same.
(8m) Mooring.
(a) No person may use a mooring or attach a boat to a mooring buoy if the mooring or mooring buoy violates s. 30.772 or 30.773.
(b) No person may use a piling for mooring a boat, except for mooring a boat in Lake Michigan or Lake Superior or on the Mississippi River.
(9) Overloading. No person may operate, and no owner of a boat may allow a person to operate, a boat that is loaded with passengers or cargo beyond its safe carrying capacity, taking into consideration weather and other existing operating conditions.
(11) Unnecessarily sounding whistles. No person shall unnecessarily sound a horn, whistle or other sound-producing device on any boat while at anchor or under way. The use of a siren on any boat except a patrol boat on patrol or rescue duty is prohibited.
(12) Molesting or destroying aids to navigation and regulatory markers. No unauthorized person shall move, remove, molest, tamper with, destroy or attempt to destroy, or moor or fasten a boat (except to mooring buoys) to any navigation aids or regulatory markers, signs or other devices established and maintained to aid boaters.
Source: WI Statutes (Official Site)URL: https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/document/statutes/30.68Fetched: 10/7/2026