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Sets For Small Craft: They include requirements for navigation lights and day shapes, steering and sailing rules, and sound signals. There are two sets for small craft of Rules of the Road of concern to boaters in the United States: the International Rules for use offshore, and the Inland Rules that must be followed on all waters within the demarcation lines that separate U.S. from International Rules waters (see "Demarcation Lines," below). The U.S. Inland Rules were derived from the
International Rules and are generally similar. The Rules apply to all vessels, from dinghies to supertankers, but there are different requirements for small craft and large ships. The Rules are numbered, and those that are identical, or nearly so, in the two sets for small craft carry the same number. Each set of Rules also has Annexes with additional technical details.
The National Weather Service (NWS) issues advisories and warnings for specific weather threats.
Small Craft Advisories are issued when winds are expected to reach speeds of up to 33 knots (38 mph) and/or sea conditions are deemed dangerous for small craft in the forecast area. Small craft are defined by NWS as "small boats, yachts, tugs, barges with little freeboard, or other low-powered craft."
Gale Warnings are issued when winds are forecast to be between 34 and 47 knots (39 to 54 mph).
Storm Warnings are broadcast for winds greater than 48 knots (55 mph) with no upper limit on speed. A Hurricane Warning is issued only for hurricanes, with winds of 64 knots (75 mph) or more. A Hurricane Watch may be issued as an early alert to the possible arrival of a hurricane in the watch area. The watch will be changed to a Hurricane Warning when the storm is within 24 to 36 hours of arrival in the specified watch area.
The Boat owner who does not have radar can still tap the power of other ships' radar to enhance the safety of his or her vessel. This is done by installing a passive radar reflector—a simple and inexpensive device consisting of thin, lightweight metal sheets arranged in mutually perpendicular planes. The sheets may fold for storage, but must remain rigid with respect to each other when opened for use. This relatively small reflector (each metal surface is only about a square foot in area) provides a radar reflection almost as strong as that from a medium-size steel ship. Without a reflector, the echo from the fiberglass (or wooden) hull of a small craft is so weak as to be easily overlooked among the echoes from the waves.
With a passive reflector hoisted as high as possible, the operator of a small craft can be sure that his Boat will be detected on the radar screens of passing ships. Often Coast Guard or other rescue craft searching for a Boat in distress are radar-equipped; the use of a passive radar reflector greatly increases a small craft's chances of being quickly spotted.
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