What age would you let your kid take the boat out with their friends?

[cbryan70]

This hits home.....my boy is 11 I need to get him into boat safety class and have him start pulling me asap. I figure in a few years the boat will be a major part of the bonding experience.

[bturner2]

Kid by kid decision. Training, experience and maturity play a big factor in my book. My eldest daughter was loading my TriStar at 14 and my 200 MariStar at 16. She was pulling skiers at 14 (with us in the boat) as well and was taking the boat out by herself at 15 on Lake Erie. My younger daughter still doesn't drive and has no interest to do so. She's been out numerous times alone with her older sister and their friends but has zero interest in running the boat.

These days my oldest has keys to the boat and can take it out whenever she wants. At some time you decide to either let the kids use your toy or say that it's yours and for you only. The later typically ends up putting you in a situation where you have fewer and fewer people to go out with. At least that's been my experience. Don't get me wrong I love my boat and don't want to see it damaged but then again I do want to see it get used as well, even if it isn't by me all the time.

[Miss Rita]

My parents let me take the boat out alone when I was sixteen, because I took a strong interest in it, and, quite honestly, I could maneuver the boat better than my father.

I never let my kids go out alone, because they were never interested, and they never quite figured out how to put it in a slip.

[uplandbird]

Are there any insurance ramifications to consider on this? Just out of curiosity.

[lakedrum03]

I started in my grandpas aluminum fishing boat. Like others in here I was always into the boat thing. So I made it a priority to learn how and what to do. when I turned 12 and could go out by myself legally you couldn’t get me out of that thing.

Now I have a MasterCraft and even with my decades of boating experience I can admit that sometimes it’s a challenge to get this bus pointed in the right direction. So would I let a teenager operate by themselves? Maybe. With friends? Hell no! Kids only get dumber in groups.

[FoggyNogginz]

Are there any insurance ramifications to consider on this? Just out of curiosity.

Yes...and boating insurance is a flaky thing from one policy provider to another. It's a great idea to check your policy to see if it covers other drivers and what restrictions there might be regarding age, having a boaters license, etc. My policy covers all drivers as long as they are within the law of TN, which states that you must be at least 14 years old and you have to have had a boater safety class to obtain a license before you can operate the boat on your own without an adult.

[joes205]

When I was 12 my family started going to the lake multiple times each summer. My dad started me simply driving up a creek or into a cove, then it turned into being able to put it next to a dock, then putting it on the trailer, then pulling him skiing. Little by little he taught me the proper way to do things. I got the hang of it from pulling the trailer to pulling a skier. Then when I was 17 I got a jet ski. It was my responsibility to operate it/put it on the trailer. Taught me a lot. Now I'm 19 and I have free access to the boats.


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[mike koen]

We spend a lot of time at the lake from May to end of September. I put the kids into the boat license course at 8 yrs old. They can then go out on the lake in canoes , paddle boats , and the aluminum boat all they want as long as I am there with the M/C at the dock. They have always helped load and unload the boat and wash it down without me even asking. I let my girl Taya drive the mastercraft all she wants when we are out in it . Last summer I felt comfortable enough to let her take her friends out for a cruise around the lake at 15 years old. Course , they had the stereo blasting !!

[zsqure]

Both of my children were between their junior and senior year of high school. I have no problems with them taking their friends out, drivers have to have inboard driving experience on their own boat, I'm not running drivers ed out there. There is a pre-approved list. Zach and Ty, Ty and Fish. Thats about it. If Nate comes along he's allowed also since his dad lets him drive his baby...

[bret]

Nope, not happening.

He has a 3 person Sea Doo GTI SE 155 and takes out the party barge, no MC. Not to worried about him per say, his friends - he's had to scold a couple of them on the party barge. He can drive all day with me or his mom in the boat...

[rtw_travel]

I do think that your question is far better answered by considering the responsibility level of your kids instead of their age. Unfortunately maturity has very little to do with how long a person has been alive.

Agree 100%. If the kids are good at driving and docking, you still need to have ‘the conversation’ about responsibility. It doesn’t matter what their friends say or do, they are solely responsible for safety of everyone and the boat. It’s a great life lesson, and I’d rather they learn it on a boat than a car- much less risk of serious injury

[sp00ky]

NEVER! well maybe at 35....... definitely never under 25.

Ouch hate to be your kids

[agua4fun]

Lets be honest, this totally depends on the kid.
I had a summer job driving a MC when i was 18 pulling guests at a resort. They still have 18 year olds there doing the same thing. That being said, I have 40 year old friends who have their own boats and id never let them drive mine....

[gt23]

At an age when they can afford to pay for the probable mistakes of their friends. Now if responsible, respectful young adults, then 36 maybe. Lol.

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[slalomjunkie]

At an age when they can afford to pay for the probable mistakes of their friends

Bingo... Drives me nuts that Mrs SlalomJunkie lends out her car... never fails I get the blame even though my vehicles never have issues AND never get loaned out.