Yamaha F250 Owner's Manual

Also see for F250: Maintenance Guide Owner's manual Owner's manual Owner's manual Owner's manual

Contents

General information7vessels, the operator should sound a pro-longed blast on the whistle (4 to 6 seconds). Ifanother vessel is around the bend, it tooshould sound the whistle. Even if no reply isheard, however, the vessel should still pro-ceed around the bend with caution. If you nav-igate such waters with your boat, you willneed to carry a portable air horn, availablefrom local marine supply stores.Fishing vessel right-of-wayAll vessels which are fishing with nets, lines ortrawls are considered to be “fishing vessels”under the International Rules. Vessels withtrolling lines are not considered fishing ves-sels. Fishing vessels have the right-of-way re-gardless of position. Fishing vessels cannot,however, impede the passage of other ves-sels in narrow channels.Sailing vessel right-of-waySailing vessels should normally be given theright-of-way. The exceptions to this are:1. When the sailing vessel is overtaking thepower-driven vessel, the power-drivenvessel has the right-of-way.2. Sailing vessels should keep clear of anyfishing vessel.3. In a narrow channel, a sailing vesselshould not hamper the safe passage of apower-driven vessel which can navigateonly in such a channel.Reading buoys and other markersThe waters of the United states are markedfor safe navigation by the lateral system ofbuoyage. Simply put, buoys and markershave an arrangement of shapes, colors, num-bers and lights to show which side of the buoya boater should pass on when navigating in aparticular direction. The markings on thesebuoys are oriented from the perspective of be-ing entered from seaward (the boater is goingtowards the port). This means that red buoysare passed on the starboard (right) side whenproceeding from open water into port, andblack buoys are to port (left) side. When navi-gating out of port, your position with respect tothe buoys should be reversed; red buoysshould be to port and black buoys to star-board.Many bodies of water used by boaters are en-tirely within the boundaries of a particularstate. The Uniform State Waterway MarkingSystem has been devised for these waters.This system uses buoys and signs with dis-tinctive shapes and colors to show regulatoryor advisory information. These markers arewhite with black letters and orange boarders.They signify speed zones, restricted areas,danger areas, and general information.Remember, markings may vary by geograph-ic location. Always consult local boating au-thorities before driving your boat in unfamiliarwaters.