2023

Recreational
Boating
Statistics

COMDTPUB P16754.37
U.S. Department of Homeland Security
U.S. Coast Guard
Office of Auxiliary and Boating Safety
Introduction & Executive Summary

Commandant 2703 Martin Luther King Jr Ave SE

United States Coast Guard Washington, DC 20593-7501
Staff Symbol: CG-BSX-21
Phone: (202) 372-1066
Email: SMB-COMDT-CG-BSX-
Data@[Link]

COMDTPUB P16754.37
22 May 2024
COMMANDANT PUBLICATION P16754.37

FOREWORD

Under the authority of Title 46, United States Code, the Inspections & Compliance Directorate has been
delegated the responsibility to collect, analyze, and annually publish statistical information obtained from
recreational boat numbering and casualty reporting systems. Within the Directorate, the Office of
Auxiliary and Boating Safety, Boating Safety Division has National Recreational Boating Safety Program
responsibility.

Recreational Boating Statistics 2023, the 65th annual report, contains statistics on recreational boating
accidents and state vessel registration. This publication is a result of the coordinated effort of the Coast
Guard and those states and territories that have Federally-approved boat numbering and casualty
reporting systems. These include all states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, the Virgin
Islands, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.

Recreational Boating Statistics 2023 may be copied and distributed freely in the interest of boating
safety. For questions and suggestions regarding content, use the address, telephone number, or email
address at the top of this page. For an electronic copy, visit the Boating Safety Division website at
[Link].

/A.M. Beach/
Captain, U.S. Coast Guard
Director of Inspections & Compliance

Recreational Boating Statistics 2023 2

Introduction & Executive Summary

Table of Contents
Introduction
2023 Executive Summary 6-7
Mission and Strategic Plan of the National Recreational Boating Safety Program 8
Overview of Statistics 8
Major Changes to the Publication 8-9
Accident Reporting as Required by Federal Law 9-10
Casualty and Accident Reporting Guidelines 10
“Reportable” Boating Accidents 10
“Non-Reportable” Boating Accidents 10-12
Use of Statistics 13-14

Accident Causes and Conditions Section with Explanation 16-17

Figure 1 Percent of Accidents that are Fatal by Month (graph) 18
Table 4 Percent of Accidents that are Fatal by Month 18
Figure 2 Percent of Accidents that are Fatal by Time Period 19
Table 4a Percent of Accidents that are Fatal by Time Period 19
Table 5 Primary Contributing Factor of Accidents & Casualties 20
Table 6 Machinery & Equipment Primary Contributing Factor of Accidents & Casualties 21
Figure 3 Primary Contributing Factor of Accidents 22
Figure 4 Primary Contributing Factor of Deaths 23
Figure 5 Primary Contributing Factor of Injuries 24
Table 7 Number of Vessels in Accidents by Vessel Type & Primary Contributing Factor 25
Table 8 Alcohol Use as a Contributing Factor in Accidents & Casualties by State 19-23 26
Table 9 Vessel Operation at the Time of Accident 27
Table 10 Vessel Activity at the Time of Accident 27
Table 11 Weather & Water Conditions 28
Table 12 Time Related Data 29
Table 13 Vessel Information 30
Table 14 Rental Status of Vessels Involved in Accidents 31
Figure 6 Number of Deaths by Vessel Length 32
Table 15 Number & Percent of Deaths by Vessel Length 32

Accident Types Section with Explanation 34-35

Table 16 Accident, Vessel & Casualty Numbers by Primary Accident Type 36
Table 17 Frequency of Accident Types in Accidents & Casualties Nationwide 37-40
Table 18 Number of Vessels in Accidents by Vessel Length & Primary Accident Type 41
Table 19 Number of Vessels in Accidents by Vessel Type & Primary Accident Type 42
Table 20 Number of Vessels in Accidents by Primary Accident Type & Propulsion Type 43
Table 21 Number of Vessels with Propellers by Primary Accident Type & Engine Type 43

Operator/Passenger Information Section with Explanation 45

Table 22 Operator Information 46
Table 23 Number of Deaths by Type of Operator Boating Instruction 47
Figure 7 Percent of Deaths by Known Operator Instruction 47
Table 24 Number of Deaths by Vessel Type 48
Figure 8 Number of Deaths by Vessel Type (graph) 48
Figure 9 Percent of Deaths by Vessel Type, 2009-2023 (graph) 49
Table 25 Percent of Deaths by Vessel Type, 2009-2023 49
Table 26 Number of Deceased Victims by Age & Vessel Type 50
Figure 9a Percent of Deceased Victims by Age and Vessel Type 51
Figure 9b Percent of Injured Victims by Age and Vessel Type 51
Table 27 Number of Injured Victims by Age & Vessel Type 52
Table 28 Nature of Primary Injury Type by Area of Injury 53
Figure 10 Number of Injured Victims under Age 18 by Age Group & Injury Type on PWCs 53

Casualty Summary Data Section with Explanation 55

Figure 11 Deaths, Injuries & Accidents by Year, 2004-2023 (graph) 56
Table 29 Deaths, Injuries, & Accidents by Year, 2004-2023 56

Recreational Boating Statistics 2023 3

Introduction & Executive Summary

Table 30 Accident, Casualty & Damage Data by State 57

Figure 12 Distribution of 2023 Deaths by State 58
Figure 12a Fatal Accidents by Location– Continental U.S. and U.S. Virgin Islands 59
Figure 12b Fatal Accidents by Location– Alaska 60
Figure 12c Fatal Accidents by Location– Hawaii 60
Figure 13 Annual Recreational Boating Fatality Rates 2004-2023 (graph) 61
Table 31 Annual Recreational Boating Fatality Rates 2004-2023 61
Figure 14 States Coded by their 2023 Fatality Rate 62
Table 32 Five-year Summary of Selected Accident Data by State 63
Table 33 Number of Accidents by Primary Accident Type & State 64-65
Table 34 Number of Injured Victims by Primary Injury & Vessel Type 66
Table 35 Number of Fatal Victims by Life Jacket Wear, Cause of Death, & Vessel Type 66

Registration Data Section with Explanation 68

Table 36 Recreational Vessels Registered by Year, 1988-2023 69
Figure 15 Recreational Vessels Registered by Year, 1988-2023 (graph) 69
Table 37 Recreational Vessel Registration by Length & Means of Propulsion 70
Table 38 Recreational Vessel Registration Data by State 71
Figure 16 Distribution of 2023 Recreational Vessel Registration by State 72

Boating Accident Report Form 73-78

Glossary of Terms 79-82
Glossary of State Codes 83

Recreational Boating Statistics 2023 4

Introduction & Executive Summary

List of Tables
Table 1 2023 Executive Summary 7
Table 2 News Media and Federally-sourced Accidents and Casualties 8
Table 3 Non-Reportable Scenarios with their Casualty Count 12
Table 4 Percent of Accidents that are Fatal by Month 18
Table 4a Percent of Accidents that are Fatal by Time Period 19
Table 5 Primary Contributing Factor of Accidents & Casualties 20
Table 6 Machinery & Equipment Primary Contributing Factor of Accidents & Casualties 21
Table 7 Number of Vessels in Accidents by Vessel Type & Primary Contributing Factor 25
Table 8 Alcohol Use as a Contributing Factor in Accidents & Casualties by State 19-23 26
Table 9 Vessel Operation at the Time of Accident 27
Table 10 Vessel Activity at the Time of Accident 27
Table 11 Weather & Water Conditions 28
Table 12 Time Related Data 29
Table 13 Vessel Information 30
Table 14 Rental Status of Vessels Involved in Accidents 31
Table 15 Number and Percent of Deaths by Vessel Length 32
Table 16 Accident, Vessel & Casualty Numbers by Primary Accident Type 36
Table 17 Frequency of Accident Types in Accidents & Casualties Nationwide 37-40
Table 18 Number of Vessels in Accidents by Vessel Length & Primary Accident Type 41
Table 19 Number of Vessels in Accidents by Vessel Type & Primary Accident Type 42
Table 20 Number of Vessels in Accidents by Primary Accident Type & Propulsion Type 43
Table 21 Number of Vessels with Propellers by Primary Accident Type & Engine Type 43
Table 22 Operator Information 46
Table 23 Number of Deaths by Type of Operator Boating Instruction 47
Table 24 Number of Deaths by Vessel Type 48
Table 25 Percent of Deaths by Vessel Type, 2009-2023 49
Table 26 Number of Deceased Victims by Age & Vessel Type 50
Table 27 Number of Injured Victims by Age & Vessel Type 52
Table 28 Nature of Primary Injury Type by Area of Injury 53
Table 29 Deaths, Injuries, & Accidents by Year, 2004-2023 56
Table 30 Accident, Casualty & Damage Data by State 57
Table 31 Annual Recreational Boating Fatality Rates 2004-2023 61
Table 32 Five-year Summary of Selected Accident Data by State 63
Table 33 Number of Accidents by Primary Accident Type & State 64-65
Table 34 Number of Injured Victims by Primary Injury & Vessel Type 66
Table 35 Number of Fatal Victims by Life Jacket Wear, Cause of Death & Vessel Type 66
Table 36 Recreational Vessels Registered by Year, 1988-2023 69
Table 37 Recreational Vessel Registration by Length & Means of Propulsion 70
Table 38 Recreational Vessel Registration Data by State 71

List of Figures
Figure 1 Percent of Accidents that are Fatal by Month 18
Figure 2 Percent of Accidents that are Fatal by Time Period 19
Figure 3 Primary Contributing Factor of Accidents 22
Figure 4 Primary Contributing Factor of Deaths 23
Figure 5 Primary Contributing Factor of Injuries 24
Figure 6 Number of Deaths by Vessel Length 32
Figure 7 Percent of Deaths by Known Operator Instruction 47
Figure 8 Number of Deaths by Vessel Type 48
Figure 9 Percent of Deaths by Vessel Type, 2009-2023 49
Figure 9a Percent of Deceased Victims by Age and Vessel Type 51
Figure 9b Percent of Injured Victims by Age and Vessel Type 51
Figure 10 Number of Injured Victims under Age 18 by Age Group & Injury Type on PWCs 53
Figure 11 Deaths, Injuries & Accidents by Year, 2004-2023 56
Figure 12 Distribution of 2023 Deaths by State 58
Figure 12a Fatal Accidents by Location– Continental U.S. and U.S. Virgin Islands 59
Figure 12b Fatal Accidents by Location– Alaska 60
Figure 12c Fatal Accidents by Location– Hawaii 60
Figure 13 Annual Recreational Boating Fatality Rates 2004-2023 61
Figure 14 States Coded by their 2023 Fatality Rate 62
Figure 15 Recreational Vessels Registered by Year, 1988-2023 69
Figure 16 Distribution of 2023 Recreational Vessel Registration by State 72

Recreational Boating Statistics 2023 5

Introduction & Executive Summary

2023 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

 In calendar year 2023, the Coast Guard counted 3,844 accidents that involved 564
deaths, 2,126 injuries and approximately $63 million dollars of damage to property as
a result of recreational boating accidents.

 The fatality rate was 4.9 deaths per 100,000 registered recreational vessels.
This rate represents a 9.3% decrease from the 2022 fatality rate of 5.4
deaths per 100,000 registered recreational vessels.

 Compared to 2022, the number of accidents decreased 4.9%, the number of

deaths decreased 11.3%, and the number of injuries decreased 4.3%.

 Where cause of death was known, 75% of fatal boating accident victims drowned. Of
those drowning victims with reported life jacket usage, 87% were not wearing a life
jacket.

 Where length was known, 4 of every 5 boaters who drowned were using vessels less
than 21 feet in length.

 Alcohol use is the leading known contributing factor in fatal boating accidents; where
the primary cause was known, it was listed as the leading factor in 17% of deaths.

 Where instruction was known, 75% of deaths occurred on boats where the operator
did not receive boating safety instruction. Only 15% percent of deaths occurred on
vessels where the operator had received a nationally-approved boating safety
education certificate.

 There were 145 accidents in which at least one person was struck by a propeller.
Collectively, these accidents resulted in 23 deaths and 133 injuries.

 Operator inattention, improper lookout, operator inexperience, excessive speed, and

machinery failure ranked as the top five primary contributing factors in accidents.

 Where data was known, navigation rules violations were a contributing factor in 53%
of accidents, 34% of deaths, and 60% of injuries.

 Collisions (with vessels, objects, groundings) were the most frequent first event in
accidents, attributing to 56% of accidents, 24% of deaths, and 53% of injuries.

 Where data was known, the most common vessel types involved in reported
accidents were open motorboats (45%), personal watercraft (19%), and cabin
motorboats (13%).

 Where data was known, the vessel types with the highest percentage of deaths were
open motorboats (44%), kayaks (17%), and personal watercraft (8%).

 The 11,546,512 recreational vessels registered by the states in 2023 represent a

1.9% decrease from last year when 11,770,383 recreational vessels were
registered.

Recreational Boating Statistics 2023 6

Introduction & Executive Summary

Table 1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

TOP FIVE PRIMARY ACCIDENT TYPES

Number of Number of
Accident Rank Accident Type Number of Accidents
Deaths Injuries
1 Collision with recreational vessel 1053 41 523
2 Collision with fixed object 449 54 288
3 Flooding/swamping 386 44 90
4 Grounding 359 15 206
5 Capsizing 234 132 103
VESSEL TYPES WITH THE TOP CASUALTY NUMBERS
Other Total
Casualty Rank Type of Boat Drownings Total Injuries Total Casualties
Deaths Deaths
1 Open motorboat 149 98 247 1117 1364
2 Personal watercraft 15 32 47 527 574
3 Canoe/kayak 108 30 138 64 202
4 Pontoon 35 6 41 140 181
5 Cabin motorboat 12 8 20 156 176
LIFE JACKET WEAR BY TOP FIVE KNOWN CAUSES OF DEATH
Life Jacket
Known Cause Number of
Cause of Death
of Death Rank Deaths Worn Not Worn Unknown if worn
1 Drowning 377 48 319 10
2 Trauma 93 39 50 4
3 Cardiac arrest 18 6 12 0
4 Hypothermia 3 0 3 0
5 Other 3 0 3 0

TOP TEN KNOWN PRIMARY CONTRIBUTING FACTORS OF ACCIDENTS

Number of Number of
Accident Rank Contributing Factor Number of Accidents
Deaths Injuries
1 Operator inattention 586 33 323
2 Improper lookout 421 30 284
3 Operator inexperience 414 44 200
4 Excessive speed 299 26 214
5 Machinery failure 291 9 80
6 Navigation rules violation 210 16 134
7 Alcohol 211 79 201
8 Weather 181 35 60
9 Hazardous waters 176 54 77
10 Force of wake/wave 134 5 99

Recreational Boating Statistics 2023 7

Introduction & Executive Summary

Mission and Strategic Plan of the National Recreational Boating Safety Program
The mission of the National Recreational Boating Safety (RBS) Program is “to ensure the public has a
safe, secure, and enjoyable recreational boating experience by implementing programs that minimize
the loss of life, personal injury, and property damage while cooperating with environmental and national
security efforts.”

The Coast Guard has released the Strategic Plan of the National Recreational Boating Safety Program
for 2022-2026 to address the following initiatives: 1) Positively influence recreational boater behavior; 2)
Positively influence recreational boat and accessory manufacturers; and 3) Leverage recreational boat-
ing data. To view the Strategic Plan of the Program, please visit the Division’s website at http://
[Link]/content/[Link].

Overview of Statistics
This report contains statistics on registered recreational vessels and boating accidents during calendar
year 2023. Data used to compile the recreational boating accident statistics come from four main
sources: State marine agencies; Federal agencies, including the Coast Guard, National Park Service,
Army Corps of Engineers, and Forest Service; the public, on a CG-3865 Recreational Boating Accident
Report (BAR) form; and the news media. The Coast Guard collects data from multiple sources in an
attempt to document all incidents that meet reporting requirements.

The data in this publication reflects a collaboration of state and Coast Guard efforts. After reports are
submitted, the Coast Guard reviews them and standardizes the data so that it can be used for national
comparison. The data in this publication reflects Coast Guard standardized values, which may be differ-
ent from the state’s original submission.

The following table reflects the number of accidents, deaths, injuries, and losses of vessels that were
captured from federal and news media sources that met reporting requirements and are included in this
report.
Table 2 NEWS MEDIA AND FEDERALLY-SOURCED ACCIDENTS AND CASUALTIES
Accidents Deaths Injuries Vessel losses Damages Notes
AL 4 3 0 1 $50,000.00
AT 4 5 0 1 $1,098,000.004 accidents offshore in the Atlantic Ocean
DE 1 0 4 1 $50,000.00
FL 12 4 5 5 $3,303,800.00
GA 2 0 2 0 $5,000.00
GU 1 0 2 1 $315,000.00
IN 1 1 0 0 $0.00
LA 1 0 0 0 $2,000,000.00
MA 2 0 5 2 $48,000.00
MI 2 0 4 1 $33,085.00
MS 2 1 1 1 $70,000.00
NC 3 1 1 1 $116,000.00
NH 1 1 0 0 $0.001 accident on private waters
PR 4 1 1 3 $110,000.00
SC 1 1 0 0 $0.00
TX 2 1 1 2 $90,000.00
WA 1 0 0 1 $500,000.00
Nation 44 19 26 20 $7,788,885.00

Major Changes to the Publication

In 2014, four of the statistics in the Executive Summary were changed to remove the records where val-
ues were unknown. To find information on the number of “unknown” cases excluded, please reference
Tables 35 (on page 66), 22 (on page 46), 5 (on page 20), and 7 (on page 25).

In 2017, Table 37 was rearranged due to a change in data collection. On 1 January 2017, changes in
regulation (33 CFR 174.19) necessitated revision to the Coast Guard’s data collection on registration,
which took place in early 2017. Due to delays in transitioning to a new form, the Coast Guard accepted
registration data on the previous registration collection form used and the proposed form. Since the
forms did not cover the same information, the publication table was amended.

The glossary was updated to reflect new definitions in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR).

Recreational Boating Statistics 2023 8

Introduction & Executive Summary

As a result of changes in 33 CFR 174.19 that took effect 1 January 2017, a new term “paddlecraft” was
introduced and defined as “a vessel powered only by its occupants, using a single or double bladed pad-
dle as a lever without the aid of a fulcrum provided by oarlocks, thole pins, crutches, or similar arrange-
ments”. As such, the definition limits the use of the term “paddlecraft” to non-motorized vessels. Conse-
quently, any canoe or kayak with a motor has been classified as an “open motorboat” for accident re-
porting and registration purposes. Though the term “paddlecraft” exists in regulation, for the purposes of
this publication, the subcategories of canoe, kayak, and standup paddleboard have been retained; these
represent non-motorized vessels, and data can be combined to represent paddlecraft.

In 2018, Table 10 was amended to provide a breakdown of the victim’s role (operator, occupant, other/
unknown). Examples of “other” include tuber, wakeboarder, water skier, kneeboarder, bystander, and
swimmer.

In 2020, Table 4a was added to provide detail related to Figure 2. Figures 9a and 9b were added to pro-
vide a graphical depiction of information in Tables 26 and 27. Figures 12 and 16 were color-coded.

The Coast Guard released policy that will impact data collection beginning in calendar year 2024. The
letter provides guidance on reporting thresholds, terms, and the scope of reporting. To view the policy,
please visit [Link]
[Link].

Accident Reporting as Required by Federal Law

Under federal regulations (33 CFR Part 173; Subpart C – Casualty and Accident Reporting) the operator
of any numbered vessel that was not required to be inspected or a vessel that was operated for
recreational purposes is required to file a BAR when, as a result of an occurrence that involves the
vessel or its equipment:

1. A person dies; or
2. A person disappears from the vessel under circumstances that indicate death or injury; or
3. A person is injured and requires medical treatment beyond first aid; or
4. Damage to vessels and other property totals $2,000 or more; or
5. There is a complete loss of any vessel.

If the above conditions are met, the federal regulations state that the operator or owner must report their
accident to a state reporting authority, abbreviated in this publication as “state.” The reporting authority
can be either the state where the accident occurred, the state in which the vessel was numbered, or, if
the vessel does not have a number, the state where the vessel was principally used. The owner must
submit the report if the operator is deceased or unable to make the report.

The regulations also state the acceptable length of time in which the accident report must be submitted
to the reporting authority. Boat operators or owners must submit:

1. Accident reports within 48 hours of an occurrence if:

a. A person dies within 24 hours of the occurrence; or
b. A person requires medical treatment beyond first aid; or
c. A person disappears from the vessel.
2. Accident reports within 10 days of an occurrence if there is damage to the vessel/property only.

The minimum reporting requirements are set by Federal regulation, but states are allowed to have more
stringent requirements. For example, some states have a lower threshold for reporting damage to
vessels and other property.

Federal Regulations (33 CFR 174.121) require accident report data to be forwarded to Coast Guard
Headquarters within 30 days of receipt by a state or its agent.

The statistics in this publication cover boating accidents reported on waters of joint federal and state
jurisdiction and exclusive state jurisdiction. Most states use BAR forms that are similar to the Coast
Guard form. A copy of the Coast Guard BAR form used for this report is on pages 73-78.

Recreational Boating Statistics 2023 9

Introduction & Executive Summary

Casualty and Accident Reporting Guidelines

Casualty and accident reporting applies to each “vessel” used by its operator for recreational purposes
or vessels that are required to be numbered and are not subject to inspection.

This publication reflects watercraft that have been deemed a “vessel.” Terms used to describe the
various types of watercraft are: airboat, auxiliary sailboat, cabin motorboat, canoe, houseboat, inflatable
boat, kayak, open motorboat, personal watercraft, pontoon, raft, rowboat, sailboat, and standup
paddleboard. Reports received involving watercraft that have not been determined to be “vessels” to
date, such as single unmodified innertubes, have not been included in the statistics in the main body of
this report.

“Reportable” Boating Accidents

A vessel is considered to be involved in a “boating accident” whenever a death, missing person,
personal injury, property damage, or total vessel loss results from the vessel's operation, construction,
seaworthiness, equipment, or machinery.

The following are examples of accident types that are used in this report:
 Grounding, capsizing, sinking, or flooding/swamping.
 Falls in or overboard a vessel.
 Persons ejected from a vessel.
 Fire or explosions that occur while underway and while anchored, moored or docked if the fire
resulted from the vessel or vessel equipment.
 Water-skiing or other mishap involving a towable device.
 Collision with another vessel or object.
 Striking a submerged object.
 A person struck by a vessel, propeller, propulsion unit, or steering machinery.
 Carbon monoxide exposure.
 Electrocution due to stray current related to a vessel.
 Casualties while swimming from a vessel that is not anchored, moored or docked.
 Casualties where natural causes served as a contributing factor in the death of an individual but the
determined cause of death was drowning.
 Casualties from natural phenomena such as interaction with marine life (i.e. carp causes casualty to
person) and interaction with nature (i.e. mountain side falls onto vessel causing casualties).
 Casualties where a person falls off an anchored vessel.
 Casualties that result when a person departs an anchored, disabled vessel to make repairs, such as
unfouling an anchor or cleaning out the intake of a jet-propelled vessel.

“Non-Reportable” Boating Accidents

Not every occurrence involving a vessel is considered within the scope of the National Recreational
Boating Safety Program. The following occurrences involving a vessel may be required to be reported to
the state, but for statistical purposes are excluded from this report and are considered “non-reportable”
boating accidents:

 A person dies, is injured, or is missing as a result of self-inflicted wounds, alcohol poisoning,

gunshot wounds, or the ingestion of drugs, controlled substances or poison.
 A person dies, is injured, or is missing as a result of assault by another person or persons while
aboard a vessel.
 A person dies or is injured from natural causes while aboard a vessel where the vessel did not
contribute to the casualty.
 A person dies, is injured, or is missing as a result of jumping, diving, or swimming for pleasure from
an anchored, moored or docked vessel.
 A person dies, is injured, or is missing as a result of swimming to retrieve an object or a vessel that
is adrift from its mooring or dock, having departed from a place of inherent safety, such as the shore
or pier.
 Property damage occurs or a person dies, is injured, or is missing while preparing a vessel for
launching or retrieving and the vessel is not on the water and capable / ready for its intended use.
 Property damage occurs or a person dies, is injured, or is missing as a result of a fire on shore or a

Recreational Boating Statistics 2023 10

Introduction & Executive Summary

pier that spreads to a vessel or vessels.

 Property damage occurs to a docked or moored vessel or a person dies, is injured, or is missing
from such a vessel as a result of storms, or unusual tidal or sea conditions; or when a vessel gets
underway in those conditions in an attempt to rescue persons or vessels.
 Property damage occurs to a docked or moored vessel due to lack of maintenance on the vessel or
the structure to which it was moored.
 Property damage occurs to a docked or moored vessel due to theft or vandalism.
 Property damage occurs to, a person dies or is injured on, or a person is missing from a
non-propelled residential platform or other watercraft used primarily as a residence that is not
underway.
 Casualties that result from falls from or on docked vessels or vessels that are moored to a
permanent structure.
 Casualties that result from a person climbing aboard an anchored vessel from the water or
swimming near an anchored vessel (unless the casualty was related to carbon monoxide exposure
or stray electric current).
 Fire or explosions on anchored, docked or moored boats where the cause of the fire was not
attributed to the vessel or vessel equipment.
 Casualty or damage that results when the vehicle used for trailering the vessel fails.
 Casualties or damage that occur during accidents that only involve watercraft that have not been
deemed a vessel.
 Casualties or damage that occur when the only vessel(s) involved are being used solely for
governmental, commercial or criminal activity.
 Casualties or damage that occur when the only vessel(s) involved are not required to be numbered
and are being used exclusively for racing (exclusion in 33 CFR 173.13(a)).
 Casualties or damage that occur when the only vessel(s) involved are foreign vessels and thus not
subject to U.S. federal reporting requirements.

A list of “non-reportable” scenarios reported by the states and their associated casualty counts can be
found in Table 3.

Recreational Boating Statistics 2023 11

Introduction & Executive Summary

Table 3 NON-REPORTABLE SCENARIOS WITH THEIR CASUALTY COUNT

Accidents Deaths Injuries Vessels Damages
Does not meet Coast Guard policy Losses
 A person dies or is injured from natural causes while aboard a 6 5 1 0 $500.00
vessel where the vessel did not contribute to the casualty.

 A person dies, is injured, or is missing as a result of jumping, 4 2 3 0 $0.00

diving, or swimming for pleasure from an anchored, moored or
docked vessel.
 A person dies, is injured, or is missing as a result of swimming 2 2 0 0 $0.00
to retrieve an object or a vessel that is adrift from its mooring
or dock, having departed from a place of inherent safety, such
as the shore or pier.
 Casualties or damage that occur during accidents that only 4 5 0 0 $0.00
involve watercraft that have not been deemed a vessel.
 Casualties or damage that occur when the only vessel(s) in- 90 14 49 7 $1,258,106.54
volved are being used solely for governmental, commercial or
criminal activity.
 Casualties or damage that occur when the only vessel(s) in- 1 0 0 0 $200,000.00
volved are foreign vessels and thus not subject to U.S. federal
reporting requirements.

 Casualties or damage that occur when the only vessel(s) in- 1 1 0 0 $20,000.00
volved are not required to be numbered and are being used
exclusively for racing.
 Casualties that result from falls from or on docked vessels or 3 1 2 0 $0.00
vessels that are moored to a permanent structure.
 Fire or explosions on anchored, docked or moored boats 2 0 3 1 $4,200.00
where the cause of the fire was not attributed to the vessel or
vessel equipment.
 Property damage occurs or a person dies, is injured, or is 2 0 0 6 $610,000.00
missing as a result of a fire on shore or a pier that spreads to a
vessel or vessels.

 Property damage occurs or a person dies, is injured, or is 4 0 1 1 $50,000.00

missing while preparing a vessel for launching or retrieving
and the vessel is not on the water and capable/ready for its
intended use.
 Property damage occurs to a docked or moored vessel due to 24 0 0 9 $271,500.00
lack of maintenance on the vessel or the structure to which it
was moored.
 Property damage occurs to a docked or moored vessel or a 17 0 0 7 $314,000.00
person dies, is injured, or is missing from such a vessel as a
result of storms, or unusual tidal or sea conditions; or when a
vessel gets underway in those conditions in an attempt to res-
cue persons.
Does not meet federal reporting requirements 330 0 61 0 $218,022.35
Total 490 30 120 31 $2,946,328.89

Recreational Boating Statistics 2023 12

Introduction & Executive Summary

Use of Statistics
The following are notes on using data on recreational boating accidents.

1) Normalizing data.
When analyzing recreational boating accident data, it is recommended that any researcher nor-
malize it with a denominator.

The Coast Guard frequently uses recreational vessel registration as a denominator because of
the availability of the data. The Coast Guard calculates a fatality rate expressed as the number
of deaths per 100,000 registered recreational vessels. This measure is representative of the
entire program (motorized and non-motorized activity) but necessitates a caveat that not all
states register the same types of vessels (many do not register non-motorized vessels, which
are represented in fatal accident data) and some states have longer boating seasons than oth-
ers. Further, when examining a state fatality rate, it is important to note that the state fatality
rate may include deaths from vessels that were registered by another state.

The Coast Guard also calculates a motorized fatality rate expressed as the number of deaths on
motorized vessels per 100,000 registered motorized recreational vessels. While this measure is
sound, it doesn’t reflect all of recreational boating because it does not represent non-motorized
activity.

The 2018 National Recreational Boating Safety Survey (NRBSS) estimated, by state, recreation-
al boating exposure. These are expressed as: number of outings, boat days, boat hours, person
boat days and person boat hours. Risk ratios were calculated by state in the NRBSS Exposure
report and were expressed as the number of deaths per 100,000,000 person boat hours. The
reports can be found on the Coast Guard’s Boating Safety website at [Link]
statistics/[Link]

The Coast Guard intends to conduct a National Recreational Boating Safety Survey in 2026.

2) Limitations on collection.
It is recommended that any researcher focus on fatal data since the confidence of this data is
very high. The Coast Guard works with state marine agencies, other federal agencies, and
news media aggregating services to identify boating incidents. Despite best efforts to document
incidents, the Coast Guard is only confident in its capture of deceased victims since fatal acci-
dents undoubtedly involve state or government oversight, and garner more attention in the news
media.

Data on non-fatal accidents have a much lower confidence level. Non-fatal accidents are se-
verely under-reported because boaters are unaware of reporting requirements or are unwilling to
report. A 2006 study, “Recent Research on Recreational Boating Accidents and the Contribu-
tion of Boating Under the Influence,” suggest that 20% of hospital-admitted injuries were not
captured, and upwards of 93% of non-fatal, non-hospital admitted injuries were not captured in
the data collection on boating accidents. The study is posted on the Coast Guard’s website at
[Link]

There has been discussion about adjusting numbers to account for non-reporting, but results
have not been published yet. The Coast Guard has studied alternate data sources including
insurance claims to better gauge the gap between reported and unreported accidents. A May
2023 analysis of two states using data for years 2015-2018 suggested a significant degree of
underreported damages and damage accidents. For every $1 of damage in the Coast Guard’s
database, the data suggested that $7.27-$21.77 actually occurred. For every property damage
accident in the Coast Guard’s database, the data suggested that 12-21 accidents actually oc-
curred. The data indicated a degree of variability among the two states investigated, which sug-
gests that a wider study would be necessary to understand the full extent of underreporting in
the nation. The authors also examined the degree of injury underreporting in one state. They
found that for every moderate injury reported, there were likely 30.4 that actually occurred; for
every more severe injury, likely 1.65 actually occurred.

Recreational Boating Statistics 2023 13

Introduction & Executive Summary

In a collaborative project between the Washington State Department of Health, Washington

State Parks, National Association of State Boating Law Administrators, and the Safe States Alli-
ance, researchers concluded that 95% of non-fatal recreational boating injuries identified by
syndromic surveillance were unable to be linked to reports to the Coast Guard.

3) Comparisons with other sources.

The data in this publication may differ from other sources due to a number of factors, including:

a. Time period. The statistics in this publication are based on calendar year 2023 accident
data submitted by states as of 8 March 2024 with subsequent updates as information is
reviewed and standardized. This publication covers only accidents meeting the afore-
mentioned reporting requirements.

b. Geographic location. This publication reflects accidents that occurred on waters subject
to the jurisdiction of the United States and on the high seas.
Although the reporting of accidents that occur on private waters (such as a pond on a
private property) are not required to be reported since states do not have jurisdiction,
the Coast Guard includes data on private waters if the accidents satisfy the other re-
quirements for inclusion. The rationale for doing so is that the National Recreational
Boating Safety program could still impact individuals who boat on private waters. For
those accidents that occur on private waters, the Coast Guard attributes the data to a
state. For instance, if an accident occurred on a private pond in Georgia, the Coast
Guard attributes the accident to Georgia.

Similarly, although the reporting of accidents that occur on federal waters within the
boundaries of a state (for instance, Aberdeen Proving Grounds in Maryland), are not
required to be reported by the states since state officials do not have jurisdiction, the
Coast Guard includes data on federal waters if the accidents satisfy the other require-
ments for inclusion. The rationale for doing so is the same; the National Recreational
Boating Safety program could still impact individuals who boat on federal waters. For
those accidents that occur on federal waters, the Coast Guard attributes the data to a
state. For instance, if an accident occurred on Aberdeen Proving Grounds, the Coast
Guard attributes the accident to Maryland.

c. Different reporting requirements. Some states have more stringent reporting require-
ments than the federal government. For instance, some states may require a person to
report an accident that involved at least $500 damage, whereas the federal threshold for
reporting damage is $2,000 or more. The data represented in the remaining tables in
this report represent accidents that met federal reporting requirements.

4) Fatal accidents are accidents that involve at least one death.

An example of a fatal accident is a capsizing that resulted in three deaths. It was an
accident that involved at least one death.

5) Disappearances.
Victims who have disappeared and are presumed dead are represented in the tallies of deaths.

Recreational Boating Statistics 2023 14

Accident causes &
conditions
Accident Causes & Conditions

Explanation of Accident Causes and Conditions Section

The following nineteen tables and figures focus on the causes of accidents with a special focus on
alcohol use, the operation and activity at the time of accident, weather and water conditions, vessel
information, and the time of accidents.

Percent of Accidents that are Fatal by Month (Figure 1 & Table 4, Page 18)
This table provides information about total accidents, fatal accidents, non-fatal accidents, and deaths.
The figure focuses on the percent of fatal accidents by month.

Percent of Accidents that are Fatal by Time Period (Figure 2 & Table 4a, Page 19)
This table and figure reflect the percent of accidents that are fatal by time period. Where data was
known, the category in which accidents are more frequently fatal span the hours between 12:00 am and
2:30 am.

Primary Contributing Factor of Accidents & Casualties (Table 5, Page 20)

The "contributing factors" of an accident are the causes of the accident. In the Coast Guard's national
accident reporting database, there are allowances for up to four causes. This table reflects the first
cause listed for all accidents, deaths, and injuries nationwide.

For the purposes of displaying information in a simplified manner, the Coast Guard divided the
contributing factor categories into five larger categories: operation of vessel, loading of passengers or
gear, failure of vessel or vessel equipment, environment, and miscellaneous. These five categories are
situated in the leftmost column of the table and have the total number of accidents, deaths, and injuries
associated with each category under the category name.

Machinery & Equipment Primary Contributing Factor of Accidents & Casualties (Table 6, Page
21)
This table reflects the number of accidents, deaths, and injuries where machinery or equipment failure
was listed as a first cause of the accident. The table also delineates the different types of failure that
were listed.

Primary Contributing Factor of Accidents (Figure 3, Page 22)

This figure reflects the first cause of accidents for all accidents nationwide.

Primary Contributing Factor of Deaths (Figure 4, Page 23)

This figure reflects the first cause listed for all deaths.

Primary Contributing Factor of Injuries (Figure 5, Page 24)

This figure reflects the first cause listed for all injuries.

Number of Vessels in Accidents by Vessel Type & Primary Contributing Factor (Table 7, Page 25)
This table looks at the number of vessels involved in accidents by vessel type and the primary cause of
the accident.

Alcohol Use as a Contributing Factor in Accidents & Casualties by State 2019-2023 (Table 8,
Page 26)
This table reflects a tally of all four causes of accidents listed for all national accidents, deaths, and
injuries.

This table lists accidents where alcohol use by the vessel’s occupants was listed as a direct or indirect
cause of the accident. There are other cases in the national database where alcohol use is listed as
being involved in the accident but it was not determined to be a cause of the accident.

Recreational Boating Statistics 2023 16

Accident Causes & Conditions

Vessel Operation at the Time of Accident (Table 9, Page 27)

This table focuses on the vessel operation at the time of the accident. The table lists information about
the number of vessels involved, the resulting number of deaths, and the resulting number of injuries.

Vessel Activity at the Time of Accident (Table 10, Page 27)

This table examines the vessel and victim activity at the time of the accident. The table provides
information about the number of vessels involved, the resulting number of deaths, and the resulting
number of injuries.

Please note that vessels used for commercial or government activity were included in this recreational
boating statistics publication if they were involved in a multi-vessel accident that involved at least one
recreational vessel.

Also note that racing was included as an activity because either the vessels involved in racing were not
exempted from reporting requirements, or the vessels were involved in a multi-vessel accident that
involved at least one recreational vessel.

Weather & Water Conditions (Table 11, Page 28)

This table documents some of the environmental characteristics of accidents. It focuses on accidents,
deaths, and injuries by type of body of water, water conditions, wind level, visibility, and water
temperature.

Time Related Data (Table 12, Page 29)

These three sections independently examine time-related information for accidents, deaths, and injuries.
The top section documents the number of accidents, deaths, and injuries that occurred during a time
frame. The middle section documents the number of accidents, deaths, and injuries that occurred
during a given month. Finally, the bottom section documents the number of accidents, deaths, and
injuries that occurred during a given day of the week.

Each section examines the national data separately and should not be combined to draw conclusions.
For instance, one cannot use them to deduce that the majority of accidents occur from 4:31 pm to 6:30
pm in July on the weekends. However, you could deduce that 4:31 pm to 6:30 pm was the time frame
during which the highest number of accidents occurred in calendar year 2023. Furthermore, the month
with the highest number of accidents was July. Finally, the two days of the week with the greatest num-
ber of accidents were Saturday and Sunday.

Vessel Information (Table 13, Page 30)

This table documents some of the characteristics of vessels involved in accidents. It provides
information about the number of accidents, deaths, and injuries by horsepower, year built, length, and
hull material.

Rental Status of Vessels Involved in Accidents (Table 14, Page 31)

This table examines whether a vessel involved in an accident was rented. It also provides information
on whether deaths and injuries occurred on rented vessels. Please note that some states only docu-
ment if a vessel was rented; they do not indicate whether a vessel was “not rented”. As a result, the
rental status of many vessels is “unknown”.

Number & Percent of Deaths by Vessel Length (Figure 6 & Table 15, Page 32)
This table focuses on the number of deaths by vessel length. Deaths are categorized into drownings
and non-drownings. The table also provides a percentage of all deaths that were caused by drowning.

Recreational Boating Statistics 2023 17

Accident Causes & Conditions

Table 4 PERCENT OF ACCIDENTS THAT ARE FATAL BY MONTH

Percent of
Accidents
Fatal Non-Fatal Total Resulting in
Month Accidents Accidents Accidents Deaths Total Deaths
January 27 65 92 29% 30
February 9 73 82 11% 9
March 33 108 141 23% 35
April 34 197 231 15% 38
May 56 406 462 12% 57
June 63 498 561 11% 64
July 110 826 936 12% 114
August 72 502 574 13% 78
September 47 321 368 13% 53
October 42 146 188 22% 47
November 24 94 118 20% 27
December 12 79 91 13% 12
Total 529 3315 3844 14% 564

Recreational Boating Statistics 2023 18

Accident Causes & Conditions

Table 4a PERCENT OF ACCIDENTS THAT ARE FATAL BY TIME PERIOD

Percent of
Accidents
Fatal Non-Fatal Total Resulting in
Time period Accidents Accidents Accidents Deaths Total Deaths
12:00 AM to 2:30 AM 17 57 74 23% 18
2:31 AM to 4:30 AM 4 23 27 15% 4
4:31 AM to 6:30 AM 5 48 53 9% 5
6:31 AM to 8:30 AM 14 90 104 13% 14
8:31 AM to 10:30 AM 35 185 220 16% 42
10:31 AM 12:30 PM 61 387 448 14% 63
12:31 PM to 2:30 PM 71 542 613 12% 75
2:31 PM to 4:30 PM 92 702 794 12% 97
4:31 PM to 6:30 PM 101 635 736 14% 105
6:31 PM to 8:30 PM 67 360 427 16% 72
8:31 PM to 10:30 PM 27 184 211 13% 29
10:31 PM to 11:59 PM 14 59 73 19% 15
Unknown 21 43 64 33% 25
All time periods 529 3315 3844 14% 564

Recreational Boating Statistics 2023 19

Accident Causes & Conditions

Table 5 PRIMARY CONTRIBUTING FACTOR OF ACCIDENTS & CASUALTIES 2023

Accidents Deaths Injuries

Operation of Vessel Alcohol use 211 79 201
2296 Accidents
250 Deaths Drug use 14 11 2
1492 Injuries
Excessive speed 299 26 214
Failure to vent 31 2 49
Improper lookout 421 30 284
Inadequate onboard navigation lights 18 1 14
Navigation rules violation 210 16 134
Operator inattention 586 33 323
Operator inexperience 414 44 200
Restricted vision 44 3 34
Sharp turn 44 5 36
Starting in gear 4 0 1
Loading of Passengers or Gear Improper anchoring 35 2 1
180 Accidents
55 Deaths Improper loading 58 26 31
90 Injuries
Overloading 49 18 28
People on gunwale, bow or transom 38 9 30
Failure of Boat or Boat Equipment Equipment failure 61 1 20
405 Accidents
18 Deaths Hull failure 53 8 5
105 Injuries
Machinery failure 291 9 80
Environment Congested waters 35 0 12
558 Accidents
100 Deaths Dam/lock 6 5 5
257 Injuries
Force of wave/wake 134 5 99
Hazardous waters 176 54 77
Missing/inadequate navigation aid 26 1 4
Weather 181 35 60
Miscellaneous Carbon monoxide exposure 0 0 0
405 Accidents
141 Deaths Ignition of fuel or vapor 34 3 35
182 Injuries
Sudden medical condition 29 18 8
Other 166 28 94
Unknown 176 92 45
All categories combined 3844 564 2126

Recreational Boating Statistics 2023 20

Accident Causes & Conditions

Table 6 MACHINERY & EQUIPMENT PRIMARY

CONTRIBUTING FACTOR OF ACCIDENTS & CASUALTIES 2023

Accidents Deaths Injuries

Electrical system failure 45 1 5
Engine failure 148 6 32
Exhaust system failure 3 0 5
Fuel system failure 10 0 12
Machinery Shift failure 17 0 3
Failure
Steering system failure 25 1 10
Throttle failure 23 1 4
Ventilation system failure 2 0 2
Not specified 18 0 7
Auxiliary equipment failure 43 1 9
Onboard navigation aid 0 0 0
Equipment Sail dismasting 1 0 0
Failure Seat broke loose 5 0 6
Other 6 0 5
Not specified 6 0 0

Recreational Boating Statistics 2023 21

Accident Causes & Conditions

Number of Accidents

Recreational Boating Statistics 2023 22

Accident Causes & Conditions

Number of Deaths

Recreational Boating Statistics 2023 23

Accident Causes & Conditions

Number of Injuries

Recreational Boating Statistics 2023 24

Table 7 NUMBER OF VESSELS IN ACCIDENTS BY VESSEL TYPE & PRIMARY CONTRIBUTING FACTOR 2023 Other

Weather

Drug use
Unknown

Dam/lock
Sharp turn

Hull failure

Alcohol use
Overloading

Failure to vent
Starting in gear

Restricted vision

Improper lookout
Improper loading

Excessive speed
Machinery failure

Equipment failure

Congested waters
Hazardous waters
Improper anchoring
Operator inattention

Force of wave/wake

All contributing factors

Operator inexperience

Ignition of fuel or vapor

Accident Causes & Conditions

Navigation rules violation

Sudden medical condition

Carbon monoxide exposure

Recreational Boating Statistics 2023

Missing/inadequate navigation aid
People on gunwale, bow or transom

Inadequate onboard navigation lights

All vessels 5330 276 55 0 6 18 74 471 31 156 190 54 34 49 61 657 34 397 27 376 881 620 50 38 64 53 6 31 220 173 228
Airboat 27 2 0 0 0 0 0 6 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 3 4 2 0 0 2 1 0 0 1 1 0
Auxiliary sailboat 230 5 1 0 0 0 4 3 0 2 3 0 2 16 1 29 1 27 4 13 53 22 1 1 7 1 0 0 17 3 14
Cabin motorboat 689 22 9 0 0 0 17 45 7 9 14 10 9 15 4 88 2 105 6 34 132 62 1 3 6 3 2 0 32 15 37
Canoe 56 3 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 8 0 0 1 6 3 0 0 0 2 2 7 4 1 0 0 0 1 6 2 9
Houseboat 69 0 0 0 0 3 2 3 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 17 0 5 7 7 0 0 2 0 0 0 6 1 12
Inflatable 32 3 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 16 0 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 2 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1
Kayak 144 9 0 0 1 4 0 1 0 1 31 1 0 0 7 1 2 0 0 2 8 22 6 0 1 0 0 8 15 3 21
Open motorboat 2411 138 27 0 3 5 45 191 19 81 88 36 20 12 30 309 24 174 16 146 399 207 33 23 31 29 4 16 112 117 76
Personal watercraft 995 37 5 0 1 4 2 167 4 37 14 2 2 0 4 157 0 28 0 114 179 183 0 0 4 15 0 1 7 12 16
Pontoon 470 44 12 0 0 0 3 37 0 13 5 3 1 1 7 50 3 29 0 32 79 83 2 10 6 3 0 3 16 16 12
Rowboat 25 3 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 1 1 0 0 1 3 0 0 0 2 3 4 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 2
Sail (only) 30 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 3 0 0 2 1 2 0 1 0 2 2 4 0 0 1 0 0 0 5 0 5
Sail (unknown) 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 2
Standup paddleboard 17 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 3
Other 33 3 0 0 0 1 0 3 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 5 0 3 1 1 5 4 0 0 4 0 0 0 1 0 0

25
Unknown 97 5 1 0 0 0 0 13 0 6 4 0 0 1 0 7 1 10 0 18 4 6 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 18
Accident Causes & Conditions

Table 8 ALCOHOL USE AS A CONTRIBUTING FACTOR IN ACCIDENTS &

CASUALTIES BY STATE 2019-2023

Accidents Deaths Injuries

2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
USA 330 353 330 270 262 128 130 110 108 97 279 315 280 204 242
AK 1 5 2 2 5 1 6 2 3 5 0 0 0 0 2
AL 12 11 7 9 7 8 2 1 1 3 12 4 6 4 6
AR 3 4 8 6 5 1 2 6 3 4 0 2 0 1 6
AZ 8 7 7 3 4 0 0 0 1 1 6 5 7 0 0
CA 16 21 18 13 16 6 10 3 2 2 18 24 15 11 11
CO 1 4 5 4 3 0 3 4 1 0 1 2 1 2 3
CT 6 0 1 2 2 1 0 1 2 1 1 0 0 1 0
DE 0 1 0 4 1 0 0 0 2 1 0 1 0 3 0
DC 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
FL 40 36 39 29 30 18 13 13 9 11 26 27 17 18 31
GA 7 11 9 7 4 3 0 4 6 2 2 27 16 12 3
HI 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
IA 4 8 5 4 8 1 2 0 1 3 6 4 2 1 5
ID 4 6 8 10 8 1 0 3 10 0 3 9 6 4 7
IL 9 6 6 2 7 8 4 4 0 2 6 2 1 4 11
IN 5 4 5 8 3 4 2 3 1 0 2 1 4 11 3
KS 2 0 1 1 2 1 0 0 0 0 3 0 1 2 7
KY 8 9 6 5 8 1 1 2 1 3 6 7 5 5 4
LA 8 10 16 9 5 3 2 8 5 2 8 21 20 7 4
MA 6 6 4 3 4 0 2 2 1 3 8 3 7 4 7
MD 14 17 13 10 2 9 3 1 2 1 10 21 14 13 7
ME 3 3 1 5 4 2 1 1 3 1 0 1 0 1 2
MI 17 14 10 8 12 5 4 3 2 6 13 12 4 3 5
MN 10 12 14 10 11 2 5 6 5 1 4 5 9 5 9
MO 14 13 10 6 5 4 2 2 4 1 18 20 9 4 17
MS 0 4 4 2 3 0 1 0 1 2 0 4 7 1 2
MT 1 1 2 3 2 1 0 2 2 1 0 1 0 2 2
NC 11 22 11 12 5 4 10 1 4 2 9 18 7 3 7
ND 0 2 2 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 3 0 2
NE 3 1 3 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 3 2 3 1 2
NH 1 1 2 2 0 0 0 2 0 0 1 1 0 0 0
NJ 2 1 5 4 5 2 0 1 1 1 0 0 15 7 4
NM 0 2 3 1 3 0 1 1 1 2 0 1 0 0 1
NV 1 1 1 2 2 0 1 0 1 2 0 0 1 1 2
NY 11 9 13 10 5 2 3 4 3 1 17 7 17 7 3
OH 11 12 12 10 4 2 9 4 2 1 11 9 9 7 2
OK 4 4 2 3 9 2 2 1 2 3 2 3 1 2 6
OR 5 4 3 3 2 4 2 1 1 1 3 1 2 2 1
PA 3 3 3 5 3 1 2 2 3 1 4 0 0 2 11
RI 0 2 2 2 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 3 4 1 1
SC 9 6 14 6 11 2 3 3 4 6 9 4 15 4 4
SD 1 1 0 2 1 0 1 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 0
TN 9 7 12 8 9 1 6 6 3 3 7 8 10 6 10
TX 27 29 18 14 11 11 8 7 2 4 33 35 21 18 20
UT 5 6 0 2 6 2 5 0 1 0 6 1 0 0 3
VA 6 7 1 4 3 4 4 0 3 0 1 4 1 1 2
VT 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
WA 17 6 8 5 3 9 3 2 3 2 14 6 5 4 1
WI 4 12 14 9 12 1 4 4 5 12 2 6 15 19 3
WV 1 2 0 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
WY 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2
AS 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
CNMI 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
GU 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
PR 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
VI 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
AT 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
GM 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
PC 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Recreational Boating Statistics 2023 26

Accident Causes & Conditions

Table 9 VESSEL OPERATION AT THE TIME OF ACCIDENT 2023

Vessels Involved Deaths Injuries

Totals 5330 564 2126
At anchor 173 19 48
Being towed 34 0 3
Changing direction 596 37 290
Changing speed 449 29 211
Cruising 2214 152 1150
Docking/undocking 173 2 27
Drifting 500 151 180
Idling 39 0 24
Launching/loading 25 1 8
Rowing/paddling 182 117 59
Sailing 37 4 19
Tied to dock/moored 699 2 58
Towing 35 0 6
Trolling 18 1 8
Other 18 0 2
Unknown 138 49 33

Table 10 VESSEL ACTIVITY AT THE TIME OF ACCIDENT 2023

Deaths Injuries
Other/ Other/
Vessels unknown unknown
Involved Total Operator Occupant role Total Operator Occupant role
Totals 5330 564 365 167 32 2126 836 1018 272
Boating/relaxation 3514 322 228 83 11 1466 653 771 42
Commercial 52 0 0 0 0 3 0 2 1
Fishing 576 145 91 50 4 251 115 123 13
Fueling 19 0 0 0 0 28 7 19 2
Government 7 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Hunting 40 10 8 2 0 30 14 16 0
Racing 21 0 0 0 0 8 4 4 0
Repairs 56 4 3 1 0 26 15 9 2
Starting engine 48 3 1 2 0 39 10 21 8
Swimming/snorkeling 72 37 17 15 5 34 5 25 4
Towed watersports 250 18 2 6 10 224 3 22 199
Towing 50 0 0 0 0 9 4 5 0
Whitewater 25 20 11 7 2 6 4 1 1
Other 14 5 4 1 0 2 2 0 0
None; not in operation 563 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Unknown 23 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Recreational Boating Statistics 2023 27
Accident Causes & Conditions

Table 11 WEATHER AND WATER CONDITIONS 2023

Accidents Deaths Injuries
3844 564 2126
Lakes, Ponds, Reservoirs, Dams, Gravel Pits 1726 271 1038
Rivers, Streams, Creeks, Swamps, Bayous 933 198 511
TYPE OF BODY Bays, Inlets, Marinas, Sounds, Harbors,
OF WATER Channels, Canals, Sloughs, Coves 798 54 406
Ocean/Gulf 282 31 130
Great Lakes (not tributaries) 105 10 41
Calm (waves less than 6") 2387 331 1355
Choppy (waves >6" to 2') 986 108 553
WATER
CONDITIONS Rough (waves >2' to 6') 265 53 110
Very Rough (waves larger than 6') 38 14 20
Unknown 168 58 88
None 320 52 214
Light (1 - 6 mph) 2266 304 1337
Moderate (7 - 14 mph) 895 135 422
WIND
Strong (15 - 25 mph) 219 36 91
Storm (over 25 mph) 35 6 8
Unknown 109 31 54
Poor - Day 52 11 31
Poor - Night 94 14 63
Poor - Unknown if day or night 2 1 1
Fair - Day 196 42 77
Fair - Night 124 29 92
Fair– Unknown if day or night 2 1 0
VISIBILITY
Good - Day 2862 366 1579
Good - Night 349 55 205
Good- Unknown if day or night 8 9 4
Unknown - Day 105 23 48
Unknown - Night 28 6 14
Unknown - Unknown if day or night 22 7 12
39 degrees F and below 22 8 9
40 - 49 degrees F 91 44 36
50 - 59 degrees F 303 79 140
WATER 60 - 69 degrees F 699 102 328
TEMPERATURE 70 - 79 degrees F 1232 124 682
80 - 89 degrees F 912 99 581
90 degrees F and above 52 8 35
Unknown 533 100 315

Recreational Boating Statistics 2023 28

Accident Causes & Conditions

Table 12 TIME RELATED DATA 2023

Accidents Deaths Injuries
3844 564 2126
12:00 AM to 2:30 AM 74 18 46
2:31 AM to 4:30 AM 27 4 19
4:31 AM to 6:30 AM 53 5 32
6:31 AM to 8:30 AM 104 14 40
8:31 AM to 10:30 AM 220 42 122
10:31 AM 12:30 PM 448 63 209
Time of Day 12:31 PM to 2:30 PM 613 75 322
2:31 PM to 4:30 PM 794 97 442
4:31 PM to 6:30 PM 736 105 423
6:31 PM to 8:30 PM 427 72 256
8:31 PM to 10:30 PM 211 29 143
10:31 PM to 11:59 PM 73 15 46
Unknown 64 25 26
January 92 30 43
February 82 9 54
March 141 35 74
April 231 38 115
May 462 57 216
June 561 64 317
Month of Year
July 936 114 568
August 574 78 363
September 368 53 200
October 188 47 82
November 118 27 54
December 91 12 40
Sunday 892 128 531
Monday 400 56 190
Tuesday 351 57 180
Day of Week Wednesday 277 57 107
Thursday 305 49 154
Friday 469 81 259
Saturday 1150 136 705

Recreational Boating Statistics 2023 29

Accident Causes & Conditions

Table 13 - VESSEL INFORMATION 2023

Vessels
Involved Deaths Injuries
5330 564 2126
Aluminum 1040 156 434
Fiberglass 3760 229 1555
Plastic 205 102 84
Rubber/Vinyl/Canvas 58 40 16
Hull Material
Steel 45 1 6
Wood 39 5 3
Other 7 2 7
Unknown 176 29 21
No Engine 304 189 99
10 hp or less 92 26 42
11 - 25 hp 109 16 51
26 - 75 hp 411 50 165
Horsepower
76 - 150 hp 1109 86 504
151 - 250 hp 794 52 359
Over 250 hp 1063 37 381
Unknown 1448 108 525
2023 346 29 141
2022 394 28 176
2020 - 2021 498 51 209
2018- 2019 351 18 138
Year Built
2016 - 2017 275 31 100
2010 - 2015 480 34 237
Prior to 2010 2516 231 1016
Unknown 470 142 109
Less than 16 feet 1411 244 708
16 feet to <26 feet 2373 223 1029
26 feet to <40 feet 765 29 253
Length
40 feet to 65 feet 356 3 54
More than 65 feet 93 0 4
Unknown 332 65 78

Recreational Boating Statistics 2023 30

Table 14 RENTAL STATUS OF VESSELS INVOLVED IN ACCIDENTS
Vessels Deaths Injuries
# of Not Unknown # of Not Unknown # of Not Unknown
Vessels Rented Rented if rented Deaths Rented rented if rented Injuries Rented rented if rented
Accident Causes & Conditions

All Vessels 5330 607 3902 821 564 50 407 107 2126 289 1557 280
Airboat 27 0 25 2 3 0 3 0 16 0 15 1

Recreational Boating Statistics 2023

Auxiliary sailboat 230 5 194 31 9 0 7 2 34 2 19 13
Cabin motorboat 689 9 596 84 20 0 18 2 156 0 138 18
Canoe 56 5 44 7 43 5 33 5 20 1 16 3
Houseboat 69 12 45 12 1 1 0 0 20 6 14 0
Inflatable 32 1 21 10 23 0 14 9 7 1 6 0
Kayak 144 16 94 34 95 8 63 24 44 7 28 9
Open motorboat 2411 132 1964 315 247 10 193 44 1117 76 900 141
Personal watercraft 995 286 584 125 47 9 31 7 527 143 322 62
Pontoon 470 134 243 93 41 16 21 4 140 48 74 18
Rowboat 25 1 21 3 11 0 10 1 5 1 4 0
Sailboat (only) 30 2 24 4 3 0 2 1 18 2 15 1
Sailboat (unknown) 5 0 0 5 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1
Standup paddleboard 17 1 11 5 11 0 9 2 5 1 2 2
Other 33 2 18 13 3 1 2 0 3 0 2 1
Unknown 97 1 18 78 7 0 1 6 13 1 2 10

31
Accident Causes & Conditions

Table 15 NUMBER & PERCENT OF DEATHS BY VESSEL LENGTH

Deaths by Causes Percent of Deaths
Length Drownings other than Drowning Total Deaths from Drowning
<16' 169 75 244 69%
16-<26' 145 78 223 65%
26-<40' 13 16 29 45%
40-65' 2 1 3 67%
>65' 0 0 0 0%
Unknown 48 17 65 74%
Total 377 187 564 67%

Recreational Boating Statistics 2023 32

Accident types
Accident Types

Explanation of Accident Types Section

The following section contains six tables that examine data related to the events in accidents (termed
“accident types”). The tables focus on these events and break down information by state, vessel type,
vessel length, engine type, and propulsion.

In the Coast Guard's national database, there are four fields that can be used to define the series of
events in an accident. By events, we mean the series of occurrences during an accident. If a wave
broke over a vessel causing it to take on water, capsize, and eject its occupant, the Coast Guard would
categorize this accident by three events. First, there was a flooding/swamping. Second, there was a
capsizing. Third, there was an ejection.

With the exception of one table, the tables and figures in this report focus only on the first event in the
sequence. The rationale for providing only the first accident type is to keep the tables simplistic; if we
added the second, third, and fourth events in the boating sequence, our accident, casualty, and damage
totals would not match up because they would be double-counting the accidents, casualties, and
damages for cases that had more than one event.

Accident, Vessel & Casualty Numbers by Primary Accident Type (Table 16, Page 36)
This table focuses on the first event in a boating accident and provides information on the number of
accidents, vessels, and casualties attributed to that first event. The deaths section is also separated by
the categories drownings and non-drownings.

Five-year Summary of Frequency of Events in Accidents & Casualties Nationwide (Table 17,
Pages 37-40)
As mentioned in the second paragraph, there are four fields that can be used to define the series of
events in an accident. This table focuses on the first three events in an accident and the number of cas-
ualties associated with each event. The Coast Guard leaves out the fourth because it is not a
standardized field.

Using the example in the opening paragraphs, the flooding/swamping would fall under the intersection of
the column "First Event in an Accident" and the row "Flooding/swamping”. The capsizing would be
marked under the column "Second Event in an Accident" and the row "Capsizing". Finally, the ejection
would be marked under the column "Third Event in an Accident" and the row "Ejected from Vessel”.

This table focuses on the frequency that these events occurred nationally and the total number of deaths
that were associated with each accident type. If we turn back to our example and focus on deaths as a
result of flooding/swamping, we see that there were 386 accidents where flooding/swamping was the
first event in the boating accident. There were 44 deaths associated with this first event type. However,
there were other accidents that involved a flooding/swamping as a second or third occurrence. There
were 255 accidents and 14 deaths associated with flooding/swamping as a second event and 60
accidents and 9 deaths associated with flooding/swamping as a third event. All combined, you get the
sixth column of the table that looks at how many deaths were associated with an event that occurred
either as the first, second, or third occurrence in an accident. Please note that in this table deaths are
not separated by first, second and third event. In the example, there were 701 accidents and 67 deaths
associated with flooding/swamping as a first, second, or third event.

This table can be difficult to understand, especially when the reader is under the expectation that the
tallies of the casualty columns will equal the numbers published at the front of this report that reference
the number of reportable accidents and deaths.

Number of Vessels in Accidents by Vessel Length & Primary Accident Type (Table 18, Page 41)
This table displays the types of accidents by the length of vessel. The table lists vessel length by foot
for vessels of lengths 4 ft-39 ft. After 39 ft, information is categorized in ranges. This table also provides
information about the number of casualties and vessels associated by length of vessel.

Recreational Boating Statistics 2023 34

Accident Types

Number of Vessels in Accidents by Vessel Type & Primary Accident Type (Table 19, Page 42)
This table examines the first event of a boating accident for all vessels involved in an accident. It also
provides information about the casualties associated with each vessel type.

Number of Vessels in Accidents by Primary Accident Type & Propulsion Type (Table 20, Page 43)
This table provides information about the number of vessels involved in accidents by primary accident
type and propulsion type.

Number of Vessels with Propellers by Primary Accident Type & Engine Type (Table 21, Page 43)
This table provides information about the number of casualties and vessels associated by primary acci-
dent type and engine type. This table is a subset of information from Table 20 and represents all ves-
sels propelled by a propeller.

Recreational Boating Statistics 2023 35

Table 16 ACCIDENT, VESSEL & CASUALTY NUMBERS BY PRIMARY ACCIDENT TYPE 2023
Accident Types

Accidents Vessels Drowning Other Deaths Total Deaths Total Injuries Damages
Involved Deaths
All Accident Types 3844 5330 377 187 564 2126 $63,418,453.41
Capsizing 234 249 105 27 132 103 $1,727,082.00
Carbon monoxide poisoning 4 4 0 2 2 13 $0.00
Collision with fixed object 449 539 27 27 54 288 $11,038,460.11
Collision with floating object 51 53 3 2 5 16 $812,505.06

Recreational Boating Statistics 2023

Collision with commercial vessel 31 63 4 4 8 39 $643,120.00
Collision with governmental vessel 6 12 0 0 0 0 $69,620.00
Collision with recreational vessel 1053 2216 7 34 41 523 $11,423,152.84
Collision with submerged object 187 189 10 2 12 53 $5,532,340.40
Departed vessel 113 124 53 4 57 56 $117,700.00
Ejected from vessel 150 166 21 9 30 132 $665,850.00
Electrocution 3 3 0 1 1 3 $150.00
Fall in vessel 134 151 1 2 3 143 $544,363.00
Falls overboard 227 242 95 44 139 92 $87,359.00
Fire/explosion (fuel) 117 121 1 2 3 113 $4,035,964.23
Fire/explosion (non-fuel) 73 85 0 0 0 8 $4,930,273.00
Fire/explosion (unknown origin) 33 81 0 0 0 7 $6,645,725.00
Flooding/swamping 386 412 34 10 44 90 $7,159,849.80
Grounding 359 366 4 11 15 206 $7,835,088.97
Person struck by propeller 35 38 0 2 2 33 $0.00
Person struck by vessel 18 20 0 0 0 18 $380.00
Sinking 0 0 0 0 0 0 $0.00
Skier mishap 157 167 12 3 15 165 $9,350.00
Sudden medical condition 0 0 0 0 0 0 $0.00
Other 24 29 0 1 1 25 $140,120.00

36
Accident Types

Table 17 FREQUENCY OF EVENTS IN ACCIDENTS & CASUALTIES NATIONWIDE

Injuries Associated with Event

Deaths Associated with Event
Second Event in an Accident

Third Event in an Accident

Damages Associated with

First Event in an Accident

Occurred in all Accidents

Event in all Accidents

Total Times Event

in all Accidents

in all Accidents
2023
Capsizing 234 229 49 512 190 230 $6,048,938.00
Carbon monoxide poisoning 4 1 0 5 2 18 $0.00
Collision with fixed object 449 89 10 548 61 345 $12,921,092.33
Collision with floating object 51 2 1 54 5 19 $849,939.06
Collision with commercial vessel 31 0 0 31 8 39 $643,120.00
Collision with governmental vessel 6 1 0 7 0 0 $73,580.00
Collision with recreational vessel 1053 62 5 1120 43 562 $12,851,480.84
Collision with submerged object 187 1 1 189 12 53 $5,576,340.40
Departed vessel 113 47 27 187 69 84 $3,147,977.00
Ejected from vessel 150 533 249 932 286 786 $9,379,573.91
Electrocution 3 3 0 6 1 8 $5,350.00
Fall in vessel 134 221 34 389 21 531 $5,271,639.38
Falls overboard 227 36 12 275 149 124 $1,016,149.00
Fire/explosion (fuel) 117 3 0 120 3 114 $6,661,964.23
Fire/explosion (non-fuel) 73 4 1 78 0 8 $5,079,273.00
Fire/explosion (unknown origin) 33 1 0 34 0 7 $6,647,725.00
Flooding/swamping 386 255 60 701 67 186 $22,369,100.76
Grounding 359 55 13 427 21 248 $9,802,359.77
Person struck by propeller 35 83 27 145 23 133 $120,150.00
Person struck by vessel 18 167 31 216 32 263 $1,515,005.00
Sinking 0 120 85 205 9 55 $7,009,901.00
Skier mishap 157 10 3 170 16 183 $33,050.00
Sudden medical condition 0 3 0 3 2 2 $0.00
Other 24 8 1 33 2 33 $155,120.00
Unknown 0 0 0 0 0 0 $0.00

2022
Capsizing 234 197 52 483 178 212 $4,369,238.01
Carbon monoxide poisoning 3 1 0 4 1 5 $0.00
Collision with fixed object 477 95 13 585 59 366 $11,531,388.91
Collision with floating object 57 1 1 59 9 29 $1,110,007.45
Collision with commercial vessel 22 0 2 24 7 37 $719,267.00
Collision with governmental vessel 10 5 0 15 1 4 $135,815.55
Collision with recreational vessel 1085 75 2 1162 42 531 $17,721,991.61
Collision with submerged object 203 2 0 205 10 74 $4,535,212.55

Recreational Boating Statistics 2023 37

Accident Types

Table 17 Continued - FREQUENCY OF EVENTS IN ACCIDENTS & CASUALTIES NATIONWIDE

Injuries Associated with Event

Deaths Associated with Event
Second Event in an Accident

Third Event in an Accident

Damages Associated with

First Event in an Accident

Occurred in all Accidents

Event in all Accidents

Total Times Event

in all Accidents

in all Accidents
2022 continued
Departed vessel 116 78 18 212 97 96 $4,312,791.00
Ejected from vessel 172 580 232 984 294 883 $10,139,037.16
Electrocution 0 0 0 0 0 0 $0.00
Fall in vessel 126 217 53 396 25 566 $7,620,353.09
Falls overboard 260 33 5 298 187 125 $664,085.00
Fire/explosion (fuel) 130 2 1 133 3 113 $6,627,421.00
Fire/explosion (non-fuel) 66 2 1 69 0 11 $4,237,594.00
Fire/explosion (unknown origin) 36 0 0 36 2 10 $4,332,258.00
Flooding/swamping 422 184 43 649 98 182 $14,198,552.00
Grounding 350 77 22 449 24 270 $10,245,390.50
Person struck by propeller 33 110 30 173 41 182 $662,416.68
Person struck by vessel 24 181 23 228 30 264 $1,821,244.02
Sinking 0 117 55 172 27 30 $9,659,246.00
Skier mishap 183 3 0 186 17 199 $71,509.00
Sudden medical condition 0 0 0 0 0 0 $0.00
Other 31 9 1 41 4 38 $858,100.00
Unknown 0 0 0 0 0 0 $0

2021
Capsizing 264 279 55 598 210 226 $5,264,097.00
Carbon monoxide poisoning 8 0 0 8 6 13 $15,000.00
Collision with fixed object 508 79 9 596 46 447 $9,087,710.10
Collision with floating object 49 4 0 53 7 26 $813,450.00
Collision with commercial vessel 18 0 0 18 9 21 $160,545.00
Collision with governmental vessel 10 3 0 13 0 4 $170,001.00
Collision with recreational vessel 1226 64 5 1295 33 768 $14,259,172.64
Collision with submerged object 209 3 0 212 11 80 $3,772,330.49
Departed vessel 158 114 47 319 130 134 $3,428,406.00
Ejected from vessel 189 568 229 986 280 927 $8,836,437.81
Electrocution 0 1 0 1 1 0 $1,000.00
Fall in vessel 149 226 47 422 16 597 $5,285,969.39
Falls overboard 273 47 11 331 188 137 $430,254.00
Fire/explosion (fuel) 138 2 0 140 1 117 $6,386,889.38
Fire/explosion (non-fuel) 93 1 1 95 5 18 $6,085,373.00
Fire/explosion (unknown origin) 38 1 0 39 2 4 $5,417,050.00
Flooding/swamping 461 222 84 767 81 235 $26,484,046.00

Recreational Boating Statistics 2023 38

Accident Types

Table 17 Continued - FREQUENCY OF EVENTS IN ACCIDENTS & CASUALTIES NATIONWIDE

Injuries Associated with Event

Deaths Associated with Event
Second Event in an Accident

Third Event in an Accident

Damages Associated with

First Event in an Accident

Occurred in all Accidents

Event in all Accidents

Total Times Event

in all Accidents

in all Accidents
2021 continued
Grounding 308 72 26 406 23 242 $13,613,056.42
Person struck by propeller 45 112 31 188 24 191 $141,670.00
Person struck by vessel 30 201 30 261 20 328 $1,296,933.91
Sinking 0 132 114 246 16 41 $9,299,622.00
Skier mishap 213 13 1 227 11 257 $26,050.00
Sudden medical condition 3 2 1 6 1 5 $0.00
Other 49 11 0 60 2 51 $1,491,335.00
Unknown 0 0 0 0 0 0 $0.00

2020
Capsizing 309 315 72 696 226 284 $6,195,036.34
Carbon monoxide poisoning 15 0 0 15 5 41 $2,000.00
Collision with fixed object 542 93 19 654 69 445 $7,027,142.79
Collision with floating object 82 4 0 86 5 28 $966,005.00
Collision with commercial vessel 15 1 1 17 2 10 $195,005.00
Collision with governmental vessel 10 2 0 12 0 3 $92,600.00
Collision with recreational vessel 1379 89 10 1478 68 854 $14,437,120.93
Collision with submerged object 149 1 0 150 6 51 $2,810,220.14
Departed vessel 171 97 19 287 119 130 $2,153,967.00
Ejected from vessel 248 717 475 1440 351 1186 $9,893,195.46
Electrocution 3 1 0 4 2 5 $20,950.00
Fall in vessel 169 259 54 482 22 691 $4,360,490.00
Falls overboard 335 49 5 389 200 189 $408,911.00
Fire/explosion (fuel) 176 1 2 179 3 171 $7,505,475.00
Fire/explosion (non-fuel) 87 3 1 91 8 24 $6,350,364.88
Fire/explosion (unknown origin) 53 0 0 53 0 21 $5,323,450.00
Flooding/swamping 589 343 75 1007 117 284 $24,329,920.03
Grounding 484 80 34 598 34 319 $12,528,222.55
Person struck by propeller 55 148 44 247 39 241 $511,850.00
Person struck by vessel 30 314 26 370 54 442 $1,717,942.00
Sinking 0 112 99 211 40 62 $7,737,499.00
Skier mishap 303 28 2 333 22 353 $142,285.00
Sudden medical condition 0 0 0 0 0 0 $0.00
Other 61 12 1 74 4 60 $557,601.00
Unknown 0 0 0 0 0 0 $0.00

Recreational Boating Statistics 2023 39

Accident Types

Table 17 Continued - FREQUENCY OF EVENTS IN ACCIDENTS & CASUALTIES NATIONWIDE

Damages Associated with Event

Injuries Associated with Event in
Deaths Associated with Event in
Second Event in an Accident

Third Event in an Accident

First Event in an Accident

Occurred in all Accidents

Total Times Event

in all Accidents
all Accidents

all Accidents
2019
Capsizing 242 240 50 532 185 234 $6,672,595.09
Carbon monoxide poisoning 12 1 0 13 5 32 $650.00
Collision with fixed object 493 101 13 607 53 380 $11,611,781.57
Collision with floating object 68 7 3 78 14 30 $1,124,094.75
Collision with commercial vessel 21 3 2 26 2 19 $381,306.78
Collision with governmental vessel 8 0 0 8 0 4 $56,200.00
Collision with recreational vessel 1071 83 15 1169 47 690 $12,097,263.60
Collision with submerged object 134 1 0 135 9 59 $1,675,134.20
Departed vessel 97 41 7 145 73 69 $333,423.01
Ejected from vessel 181 555 347 1083 277 910 $10,425,432.09
Electrocution 0 2 0 2 0 5 $30,000.00
Fall in vessel 131 252 43 426 26 637 $7,903,634.68
Falls overboard 299 27 7 333 194 151 $143,451.19
Fire/explosion (fuel) 134 5 0 139 0 107 $4,123,621.71
Fire/explosion (non-fuel) 59 3 2 64 2 16 $6,496,195.00
Fire/explosion (unknown origin) 46 0 0 46 3 9 $6,499,679.00
Flooding/swamping 399 246 58 703 76 206 $16,930,794.83
Grounding 413 56 20 489 25 294 $6,792,155.24
Person struck by propeller 39 101 31 171 35 155 $100,402.19
Person struck by vessel 19 225 25 269 34 338 $956,315.00
Sinking 0 86 70 156 18 37 $7,901,198.44
Skier mishap 259 13 0 272 13 301 $33,833.01
Sudden medical condition 0 2 0 2 1 1 $0.00
Other 43 11 3 57 5 55 $68,550.00
Unknown 0 0 0 0 0 0 $0.00

Recreational Boating Statistics 2023 40

Accident Types

Table 18 NUMBER OF VESSELS IN ACCIDENTS BY VESSEL LENGTH & PRIMARY

ACCIDENT TYPE

Total vessels involved

Capsizing
Carbon monoxide poisoning

Collision with fixed object

Collision with floating object

Collision with commercial vessel

Collision with governmental vessel

Collision with recreational vessel

Collision with submerged object

Departed vessel

Ejected from vessel

Electrocution
Fall in vessel
Falls overboard

Fire/explosion (fuel)

Fire/explosion (non-fuel)

Fire/explosion (unknown)

Flooding/ swamping

Grounding
Person struck by propeller
Person struck by vessel
Sinking

Skier mishap

Sudden medical condition

Other
Unknown
Drownings

Other Deaths
Total Deaths

Injuries
All lengths 5330 249 4 539 53 63 12 2216 189 124 166 3 151 242 121 85 81 412 366 38 20 0 167 0 29 0 377 187 5642126
3 feet 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
4 feet 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2
5 feet 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 2
6 feet 5 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 2 4
7 feet 15 2 0 3 0 0 0 4 0 3 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 4 6
8 feet 55 6 0 2 0 0 0 24 0 2 3 0 2 8 1 0 0 5 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 10 3 13 22
9 feet 62 3 0 6 0 0 0 35 3 0 5 0 2 4 0 0 0 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 11 2 13 35
10 feet 373 36 0 28 0 2 0 199 4 6 26 0 8 25 4 1 1 10 10 1 3 0 8 0 1 0 47 16 63 201
11 feet 489 17 0 26 3 5 0 281 8 8 45 1 15 31 1 3 1 15 14 1 3 0 11 0 0 0 15 19 34 243
12 feet 146 26 0 9 0 2 0 50 7 1 9 0 4 23 1 0 0 10 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 34 14 48 70
13 feet 32 5 0 4 1 0 0 8 1 0 3 0 1 4 0 0 0 4 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 8 2 10 16
14 feet 111 11 0 9 2 1 0 14 7 4 5 0 1 14 1 1 0 32 7 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 25 9 34 49
15 feet 116 12 0 6 3 0 0 25 16 0 5 0 2 9 2 0 0 26 7 0 0 0 2 0 1 0 14 8 22 58
Under 16 ft 1411 119 0 93 9 10 0 644 46 24 102 1 36 121 10 5 2 109 44 4 6 0 21 0 5 0 169 75 244 708
16 feet 194 21 0 32 6 0 0 35 14 6 3 1 4 14 3 2 0 26 19 1 1 0 6 0 0 0 28 10 38 96
17 feet 225 9 0 18 2 3 0 72 20 3 10 0 5 9 6 2 1 40 15 2 1 0 6 0 1 0 24 11 35 103
18 feet 258 10 0 29 7 1 2 77 6 6 9 0 7 15 6 4 2 30 31 3 0 0 13 0 0 0 20 14 34 112
19 feet 201 6 0 22 3 0 0 74 8 5 7 0 9 7 8 3 1 18 14 0 0 0 15 0 1 0 10 6 16 99
20 feet 329 10 1 40 3 2 0 118 15 17 6 1 9 11 11 4 3 33 22 3 1 0 18 0 1 0 25 13 38 107
21 feet 289 1 1 22 4 2 2 117 11 9 3 0 11 8 7 7 12 21 29 2 1 0 17 0 2 0 11 3 14 126
22 feet 277 4 0 28 1 1 3 116 11 7 2 0 9 3 10 6 2 16 27 6 0 0 23 0 2 0 11 4 15 128
23 feet 214 3 0 28 2 1 0 87 10 9 1 0 15 8 3 1 2 13 19 2 1 0 8 0 1 0 5 7 12 99
24 feet 221 3 0 19 2 0 0 104 5 8 2 0 6 6 8 4 2 11 17 5 3 0 14 0 2 0 5 4 9 83
25 feet 165 1 0 18 2 5 1 64 4 5 2 0 3 7 2 5 0 10 19 4 1 0 9 0 3 0 6 6 12 76
16 ft to less 2373 68 2 256 32 15 8 864 104 75 45 2 78 88 64 38 25 218 212 28 9 0 129 0 13 0 145 78 2231029
than 26 ft
26 feet 116 3 1 11 1 1 0 53 3 4 1 0 1 3 7 2 0 8 10 1 1 0 4 0 1 0 4 3 7 42
27 feet 89 2 0 13 0 2 2 32 5 1 0 0 4 4 2 1 2 5 9 1 1 0 3 0 0 0 4 1 5 19
28 feet 70 0 0 6 0 0 0 32 4 1 0 0 3 1 3 2 2 6 8 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 2 2 35
29 feet 47 1 0 8 1 0 0 20 1 1 0 0 2 0 2 3 1 2 4 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 1 17
30 feet 79 1 0 15 2 0 0 30 2 0 0 0 4 1 3 3 2 6 8 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 1 24
31 feet 39 0 0 4 0 0 0 20 2 0 0 0 1 1 4 2 1 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 2 12
32 feet 59 1 0 11 0 1 0 21 2 1 0 0 3 1 2 2 2 5 7 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 3 22
33 feet 32 1 0 1 1 1 0 16 0 0 1 0 1 0 2 1 0 3 3 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 2 2 4
34 feet 43 0 0 4 0 3 1 19 3 0 0 0 1 0 3 2 2 0 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 4 12
35 feet 41 0 0 1 1 1 0 23 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 4 3 0 4 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 5
36 feet 34 0 0 8 0 0 0 12 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 1 4 2 2 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 19
37 feet 43 0 0 7 0 1 0 23 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 2 0 2 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 12
38 feet 50 0 0 3 0 1 0 26 2 0 2 0 0 0 1 2 3 3 6 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 27
39 feet 23 0 0 4 1 0 1 8 1 0 1 0 0 1 0 1 2 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 1 3
26 ft to less 765 9 1 96 7 11 4 335 27 10 5 0 20 12 34 28 24 45 74 4 2 0 11 0 6 0 13 16 29 253
than 40 ft
40 ft to 65 ft 356 2 1 50 3 9 0 197 9 2 0 0 5 3 9 13 16 14 22 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 2 1 3 54

93 0 0 16 0 12 0 46 3 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 6 2 4 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 4
Over 65 ft
Unknown 332 51 0 28 2 6 0 130 0 13 14 0 11 18 3 1 8 24 10 2 3 0 6 0 2 0 48 17 65 78

Recreational Boating Statistics 2023 41

Table 19 NUMBER OF VESSELS IN ACCIDENTS BY VESSEL TYPE & PRIMARY ACCIDENT TYPE WITH
NUMBER OF CASUALTIES BY CASUALTY TYPE & VESSEL TYPE 2023

Other
Accident Types
Injuries

Sinking
Unknown

Capsizing
Grounding
Drownings
Total deaths

Electrocution
Fall in vessel
Skier mishap

Falls overboard

Departed vessel

All accident types

Flooding/swamping

Ejected from vessel

Fire/explosion (fuel)
Person struck by vessel

Fire/explosion (non-fuel)

Collision with fixed object

Sudden medical condition

Person struck by propeller

Recreational Boating Statistics 2023

Collision with floating object

Carbon monoxide exposure

Fire/explosion (unknown origin)

Collision with submerged object

Collision with commercial vessel

Collision with recreational vessel

Collision with governmental vessel

Deaths by causes other than drowning

All vessels 5330 249 4 539 53 63 12 2216 189 124 166 3 151 242 121 85 81 412 366 38 20 0 167 0 29 0 377 187 564 2126
Airboat 27 2 0 4 0 2 0 9 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 3 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 3 0 3 16
Auxiliary sailboat 230 5 0 29 2 4 0 115 4 2 1 0 4 8 6 8 5 4 29 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 6 3 9 34
Cabin motorboat 689 4 1 90 11 12 3 325 26 8 4 0 11 6 35 24 22 46 56 1 0 0 2 0 2 0 12 8 20 156
Canoe 56 32 0 2 3 0 0 2 3 2 0 0 0 6 0 0 0 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 36 7 43 20
Houseboat 69 0 1 5 1 0 0 26 0 1 0 0 0 1 2 2 16 7 4 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 1 0 1 20
Inflatable 32 12 0 4 0 0 0 4 1 4 2 0 1 1 0 0 0 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 21 2 23 7
Kayak 144 68 0 11 0 1 0 4 3 3 7 0 1 31 0 0 0 11 1 0 2 0 0 0 1 0 72 23 95 44
Open motorboat 2411 70 2 252 28 16 8 831 125 51 51 2 85 102 68 39 22 288 212 22 10 0 116 0 11 0 149 98 247 1117
Personal watercraft 995 22 0 64 4 8 0 614 13 14 89 1 28 46 7 4 4 18 29 4 6 0 18 0 2 0 15 32 47 527
Pontoon 470 9 0 62 4 2 1 212 9 32 5 0 13 20 3 8 8 13 24 10 2 0 30 0 3 0 35 6 41 140
Rowboat 25 6 0 3 0 0 0 6 0 1 0 0 1 2 0 0 0 3 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 8 3 11 5
Sailboat (only) 30 11 0 1 0 0 0 9 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 1 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 2 3 18
Sailboat (unknown) 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
Standup paddleboard 17 0 0 1 0 0 0 3 2 1 0 0 1 8 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 10 1 11 5
Other 33 3 0 2 0 17 0 4 0 0 1 0 1 2 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 3 0 3 3

42
Unknown 97 5 0 9 0 1 0 50 1 5 5 0 4 6 0 0 2 6 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 5 2 7 13
Accident Types
Injuries Injuries

10
9 12 21 209
0 10 15 25 303
0 3 16

2 3 19

0 176 80 256 878

0
4 9 11
36 186 80

34 52 600
111 311 1400
187 564 2126
Total deaths

0 0 0

9
Total deaths
Other deaths

4
Other deaths
Table 20 NUMBER OF VESSELS IN ACCIDENTS BY PRIMARY ACCIDENT TYPE & PROPULSION TYPE

Table 21 NUMBER OF VESSELS WITH PROPELLERS BY PRIMARY ACCIDENT TYPE & ENGINE TYPE
Drownings

5
Drownings

150

18
200
377
3

0 5
Unknown

0
0

0
0
0
Unknown

0
0
Other

0 11
0 0

0
0 5

0 5
Other

29
2

21
1

0
2

3
Sudden medical condition

0
0

0
0
0
Sudden medical condition

0
Skier mishap Skier mishap

0 54

0 21
0 65
0

0
0 26
0 140
0 167
0

1
0
Sinking

0
Sinking

0
0
0
Person struck by vessel

10
0

0
1
0
Person struck by vessel

11
20
0

0
2

7
Person struck by propeller
81 412 366 38

72 343 303 34
3 0

2 0

3 0
4 0

4 31 51 4
Person struck by propeller

0
25

0
5
4
Grounding Grounding

6 25 43
35 29 66 95
21 28 242 156
0 0 0

9
Flooding/swamping
4 11
0 22
3

2
Flooding/swamping

9 10
Fire/explosion (unknown origin)
0

Fire/explosion (unknown origin)

Fire/explosion (non-fuel)

18
0

2
Fire/explosion (non-fuel)
85
0

0
0
76

Fire/explosion (fuel)

27
58
17
0

5
Fire/explosion (fuel)
47 14
242 121

136 107
0

0
0

Falls overboard

2 68 117
0

3
8

8
Falls overboard
50
0

Fall in vessel
3 151

1 33
2 107
0 0

0 1

0 7
0 3

Fall in vessel

0 22

0 15
0 0

2
Electrocution Electrocution

0
Ejected from vessel
12 2216 189 124 166

1 660 16 16 91
11 1458 161 93 61
1

4
9

Ejected from vessel

48
0
4
0
9
Departed vessel
9 11
0

Departed vessel

17
13
62
0

1
Collision with submerged object
2

Collision with submerged object

8 847 104
2 421 36

1 156 18
0

3
Collision with recreational vessel
0 17

0 63
9

Collision with recreational vessel

34
0
Collision with governmental vessel
0

0
Collision with governmental vessel
0

Collision with commercial vessel

20
18

0
2
0
Collision with commercial vessel
63

12
40
2
1

0
8

Collision with floating object

11
24
0
6
Collision with floating object 1
53

42
0

0
3

Collision with fixed object

4 110
0 269

0 38
10

Collision with fixed object

0
4 539

0 20
4 427

0 78
4

Carbon monoxide
0

Carbon monoxide
0

Capsizing
5330 249

273 120
3733 84
31 11
1134 26
2

Capsizing
2215 71
6

0
3
4

Total vessels involved

28

131

Total vessels involved

1006

419
93
0
Engine Type

Sterndrive
All Types
Air Thrust

Water Jet

Pod drive
Outboard
Unknown

Unknown
Propeller

Inboard
Manual

Sail

Recreational Boating Statistics 2023 43

Operator &
passenger
information
Operator/Passenger Information

Explanation of Operator/Passenger Information Section

The following section contains eleven tables and figures that examine data relating to the operators and
passengers in accidents. Information is displayed by age, boating safety instruction, type of injury, and
cause of death.

Operator Information (Table 22, Page 46)

This table provides information about the operator. Information covers a variety of topics including age,
operator’s experience, number of people onboard the vessel, and the boating safety instruction level of
the operator.

Examples of “other” boating safety instruction include licenses issued by the Coast Guard, military train-
ing, police academy training, rental operator training, commercially-available courses, and camp train-
ing. Informal training signifies that the operator did not receive formal instruction, but rather learned
from experience.

Number of Deaths by Type of Operator Boating Instruction (Table 23 & Figure 7, Page 47)
This table and accompanying figure focus on boating safety instruction for those operators who had a
person die on their vessel. The table and figure both focus on instruction provided by the U.S. Coast
Guard Auxiliary, U.S. Power Squadrons, American Red Cross, and state sources. The figure examines
only deaths where the operator instruction was known.

Number of Deaths by Vessel Type (Table 24 & Figure 8, Page 48)

This table documents deaths by vessel type with a focus on drownings. It also provides the percentage
of deaths by drowning by type of vessel.

Percentage of Deaths by Vessel Type, 2009-2023 (Figure 9 & Table 25, Page 49)
This table and accompanying figure focus on the percentage of deaths that occurred on each vessel
type over the years. The figure may be interpreted by measuring the upper and lower bounds of the
color-coded vessel type to obtain the percentage of deaths attributed to that vessel type within the year.

Please note that the percentages in the table have been rounded up.

Number of Deceased Victims by Age & Vessel Type (Table 26 and Figure 9a, Pages 50 and 51)
This table documents the age of fatal accident victims by vessel type, and delineates the number of
drownings, non-drownings, and total deaths by age. The accompanying figure charts the percent of de-
ceased victims by age group and vessel type.

Percent of Injured Victims by Age & Vessel Type (Figure 9b and Table 27, Pages 51 and 52)
This figure charts the percent of injured victims by age group and vessel type, and the accompanying
table documents the age of injured victims by vessel type.

Nature of Primary Injury Type by Area of Injury 2023 (Table 28, Page 53)
This table focuses on the nature and area of the primary injury of injured victims.

Number of Injured Victims under Age 18 by Age Group and Injury Type on Personal Watercraft,
2023 (Figure 10, Page 53)
This figure focuses on the number of injured victims from personal watercraft for specific age groups and
by type of injury.

Recreational Boating Statistics 2023 45

Operator/Passenger Information

Table 22 OPERATOR INFORMATION 2023

Vessels
Involved Deaths Injuries
5330 564 2126
12 years and under 26 1 18
13 to 18 years 310 30 158
19 to 25 years 484 53 277
Age of Operator 26 to 35 years 625 60 339
36 to 55 years 1527 184 715
Over 55 years 1282 204 491
Unknown 307 25 92
No operator 769 7 36
No Experience 61 6 34
Under 10 hours 487 59 222
10 to 100 hours 1003 81 496
Operator's Experience 101 to 500 hours 1443 114 703
Over 500 Hours 458 28 211
Unknown 1109 269 424
No Operator 769 7 36
None 418 0 0
One 1693 240 499
Two 1355 183 615
Three 508 56 272
Four 367 31 198
Five 190 15 135
Number of Persons on
Six 143 6 95
Board
Seven 108 10 74
Eight 85 4 65
Nine 52 4 56
Ten 31 1 32
More than 10 70 11 60
Unknown 310 3 25
American Red Cross 1 0 0
Informal 127 13 55
Internet Course 96 5 50
State Course 924 38 459
US Power Squadrons 31 1 6
Education of Operator
USCG Auxiliary 76 1 20
Other 94 2 39
No Education 1743 202 850
Unknown 1469 295 611
No Operator 769 7 36

Recreational Boating Statistics 2023 46

Operator/Passenger Information

BOATING SAFETY INSTRUCTION

Table 23 NUMBER OF DEATHS BY TYPE OF OPERATOR

BOATING INSTRUCTION 2023
Type of Boating Instruction Deaths
American Red Cross 0
Informal 13
Internet Course 5
State Course 38
US Power Squadrons 1
USCG Auxiliary 1
Other 2
No Education 202
Total Deaths - Known Operator Instruction 262
Total Deaths - Unknown Operator Instruction 295
Total Deaths - No Operator 7
Total Deaths - Known & Unknown Operator Instruction 564

Recreational Boating Statistics 2023 47

Operator/Passenger Information

Table 24 NUMBER OF DEATHS BY VESSEL TYPE 2023

Percentage of
Deaths by Causes Deaths from
Vessel type Drownings other than Drowning Total Deaths Drowning
Airboat 3 0 3 100%
Auxiliary Sailboat 6 3 9 67%
Cabin Motorboat 12 8 20 60%
Canoe 36 7 43 84%
Houseboat 1 0 1 100%
Inflatable 21 2 23 91%
Kayak 72 23 95 76%
Open Motorboat 149 98 247 60%
Personal Watercraft 15 32 47 32%
Pontoon 35 6 41 85%
Rowboat 8 3 11 73%
Sailboat (only) 1 2 3 33%
Sailboat (unknown) 0 0 0 0%
Standup paddleboard 10 1 11 91%
Other 3 0 3 100%
Unknown 5 2 7 71%
Total 377 187 564 67%

Recreational Boating Statistics 2023 48

Operator/Passenger Information

Table 25 PERCENT OF DEATHS BY VESSEL TYPE, 2009-2023

2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
Airboat 0% 0% 0% 0% 1% 0% 0% 0% 1% 1% 0% 0% 0% 1% 1%
Auxiliary sailboat 1% 2% 2% 2% 1% 3% 3% 2% 1% 2% 2% 0% 2% 1% 2%
Cabin motorboat 6% 5% 6% 8% 4% 6% 6% 6% 5% 5% 6% 4% 5% 4% 4%
Canoe/kayak 18% 21% 18% 16% 19% 22% 22% 22% 21% 20% 20% 20% 22% 21% 24%
Houseboat 0% 1% 0% 1% 1% 0% 0% 0% 1% 0% 0% 0% 1% 0% 0%
Inflatable 4% 3% 3% 5% 3% 3% 4% 3% 3% 3% 2% 2% 1% 2% 4%
Open motorboat 53% 48% 49% 44% 49% 46% 46% 46% 46% 49% 47% 49% 44% 46% 44%
Personal watercraft 6% 6% 6% 9% 6% 6% 5% 7% 7% 7% 8% 9% 8% 8% 8%
Pontoon 2% 4% 4% 7% 6% 3% 7% 7% 5% 6% 7% 9% 10% 8% 7%
Rowboat 6% 5% 7% 4% 5% 5% 3% 2% 3% 3% 3% 3% 3% 2% 2%
Sailboat (only) 1% 1% 1% 2% 1% 1% 0% 0% 2% 1% 1% 1% 1% 1% 1%
Sailboat (unknown) 0% 0% 0% 1% 1% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0%
Standup paddleboard 0% 0% 0% 0% 1% 0% 1% 2% 2% 1% 2% 1% 3% 3% 2%
Other 1% 2% 1% 1% 0% 0% 0% 1% 1% 1% 1% 0% 0% 1% 1%
Unknown 1% 1% 2% 2% 1% 2% 1% 2% 2% 1% 1% 1% 1% 2% 1%

Recreational Boating Statistics 2023 49

Operator/Passenger Information

Table 26 NUMBER OF DECEASED VICTIMS BY AGE AND VESSEL TYPE 2023

Drownings
Other deaths
Total deaths
Type of Vessel

Airboat
Auxiliary sailboat
Cabin motorboat
Canoe
Houseboat
Inflatable
Kayak
Open motorboat
Personal watercraft
Pontoon
Rowboat
Sailboat (only)
Sailboat (unknown)
Standup paddleboard
Other
Unknown
Age of
Deceased
Victim
Total 3 9 20 43 1 23 95 247 47 41 11 3 0 11 3 7 377 187 564
1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1
4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1
7 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1
8 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 2
9 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
10 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
11 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 3
12 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 3 3
0-12 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 7 1 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 2 9 11
13 - 19 0 2 0 2 0 0 5 13 13 4 3 0 0 2 0 0 28 16 44
20 - 29 0 0 4 10 0 3 26 26 8 3 1 0 0 0 0 1 61 21 82
30 - 39 1 0 3 4 1 3 18 27 6 8 1 0 0 1 1 2 60 16 76
40 - 49 0 1 0 7 0 3 15 40 5 7 2 1 0 4 1 0 57 29 86
50 - 59 0 4 4 3 0 2 9 38 8 8 0 0 0 2 0 0 48 30 78
60 - 69 1 1 6 9 0 9 15 47 5 7 2 2 0 1 0 1 71 35 106
70 - 79 1 1 3 6 0 1 4 40 0 4 0 0 0 0 1 2 39 24 63
80 and Over 0 0 0 2 0 1 1 8 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 11 4 15
Unknown 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 3

Recreational Boating Statistics 2023 50

Operator/Passenger Information

Recreational Boating Statistics 2023 51

Operator/Passenger Information

Table 27 NUMBER OF INJURED VICTIMS BY AGE AND VESSEL TYPE 2023

Total injuries
Airboat
Auxiliary sailboat
Cabin motorboat
Canoe
Houseboat
Inflatable
Kayak

Open motorboat
Personal watercraft

Pontoon
Rowboat
Sailboat (only)
Sailboat (unknown)
Standup paddleboard
Other
Unknown
Age of
Injured Victim
Total 2126 16 34 156 20 20 7 44 1117 527 140 5 18 1 5 3 13
0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
1 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
3 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
4 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0
5 7 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 5 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
6 10 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 9 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
7 10 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 1
8 18 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 10 5 2 0 0 0 0 1 0
9 17 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 8 5 4 0 0 0 0 0 0
10 13 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 6 4 1 0 0 0 0 0 0
11 23 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 10 6 4 0 1 0 0 0 0
12 26 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 9 10 4 0 1 0 0 0 0
0 - 12 140 0 0 1 3 2 0 1 76 35 17 0 2 0 0 2 1
13 - 19 310 0 0 9 2 2 0 2 121 153 17 1 1 0 2 0 0
20 - 29 443 3 2 21 7 2 0 12 224 143 24 1 2 0 2 0 0
30 - 39 282 2 4 26 0 4 1 9 154 69 9 0 1 0 1 1 1
40 - 49 243 3 1 23 5 1 1 4 129 51 22 1 0 0 0 0 2
50 - 59 280 4 3 26 1 1 2 4 167 55 15 0 2 0 0 0 0
60 - 69 214 3 10 24 1 3 1 7 122 18 20 0 4 1 0 0 0
70 - 79 93 0 5 10 0 1 1 1 64 0 8 1 1 0 0 0 1
80 and Over 19 1 1 3 0 0 0 0 14 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Unknown 102 0 8 13 1 4 1 4 46 3 8 1 5 0 0 0 8

Recreational Boating Statistics 2023 52

Operator/Passenger Information

Table 28 - NATURE OF PRIMARY INJURY TYPE BY AREA OF INJURY 2023

All Areas Arm Body Foot Hand Head Leg Neck Trunk Unknown
All primary injury types 2126 179 214 89 79 536 437 43 384 165
Amputation 27 3 0 5 13 0 5 0 0 1
Broken bone 383 34 0 26 21 51 135 5 98 13
Burn 91 12 19 2 4 7 25 0 4 18
Carbon monoxide 18 0 18 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Concussion 223 0 0 0 0 223 0 0 0 0
Dislocation 41 28 0 1 1 0 10 0 1 0
Electric shock 2 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Hypothermia 128 0 128 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Internal organ injury 92 0 0 0 0 6 0 0 85 1
Laceration 486 46 7 25 26 178 149 4 24 27
Scrape/bruise 295 31 20 10 5 56 68 10 45 50
Shock 12 0 12 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Spinal cord Injury 54 0 0 0 0 0 0 7 47 0
Sprain/strain 93 14 7 14 8 2 17 12 17 2
Other 3 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 2
Unknown 178 11 1 6 1 12 28 5 63 51

Recreational Boating Statistics 2023 53

Casualty data
Casualty Data

Explanation of Casualty Data Section

This section contains fifteen tables and figures that examine data relating to the victims in boating
accidents. The following pages focus on historical casualty information, casualty-vessel information,
and state-specific casualty information.

Deaths, Injuries & Accidents by Year, 2004-2023 (Figure 11 & Table 29, Page 56)
This figure and table document the number of accidents and casualties from 2004-2023.

Accident, Casualty & Damage Data by State (Table 30, Page 57)
This table provides accident, casualty, and damage information by state for the year 2023. Accidents
are broken down into three levels of severity– fatal accidents, non-fatal injury accidents, and property
damage only accidents. Please note that under this categorization, accidents are represented by their
greatest severity. If an accident resulted in one death, two injured victims, and $5,000 damages, the
accident would be represented under the fatal accident column under the greater “Number of Accidents”
heading. The death, injured victims, and damages would be represented in the totals under the
“Persons Involved” and “Damages” headings.

Distribution of Recreational Boating Deaths by State (Figure 12, Page 58)

This figure provides the percentage that each state contributed to the national death count. So, for
instance, Michigan had 21 deaths. Out of the total national death count of 564, Michigan contributed
3.7% ((21/564) × 100) of deaths to the national count. Please note that percentages have been round-
ed.

Fatal Accidents by Location (Figures 12a-c, Pages 59-60)

These figures plot the location of fatal accidents in four different regions. 12a represents the continental
United States and Puerto Rico. 12b represents Alaska. 12c represents Hawaii. In many cases, the
location was plotted using coordinates. When coordinates were not available, other fields such as the
name of body of water, nearest city or town, county, and the narrative were used to approximate the lo-
cation. The size of the plot correlates to the number of deaths in the fatal accident.

Annual Recreational Boating Fatality Rates, 2004-2023 (Figure 13 & Table 31, Page 61)
This table and accompanying figure provide two fatality rates for years 2004-2023. The fatality rate is
calculated by dividing the number of fatalities by the total national vessel registration. The Coast Guard
then multiplied by a factor of 100,000 to arrive at the number of deaths per 100,000 registered vessels.
The fatality rate takes into account all fatalities and all recreational registration data collected. The
motorized fatality rate takes into account only fatalities that occurred on motorized vessels and only
motorized recreational vessels registered.

States Coded by their 2023 Fatality Rate (Figure 14, Page 62)
This figure displays states that are color-coded depending on their fatality rate which is expressed as the
number of deaths that occurred in that state per 100,000 vessels that the state registered. It is
important to note that not all states register the same types of vessels which could skew the fatality rates
provided. Please see Table 38, Recreational Registration Data by State 2022-2023 to view the Scope
of each state’s registration system. Further, when examining a state fatality rate, it is important to note
that the state fatality rate may include deaths from vessels that were registered in another state.

Five-year Summary of Selected Accident Data by State, 2019-2023 (Table 32, Page 63)
This table examines the number of accidents, fatal accidents, and fatalities by state for years 2019-
2023.

Number of Accidents by Primary Accident Type & State (Table 33, Page 64-65)
This table documents the first accident event by state. It also provides information about the total
number of accidents and casualties by state.

Number of Injured Victims by Primary Injury & Vessel Type (Table 34, Page 66)
This table displays the number of injured victims by primary injury and vessel type.

Number of Fatal Victims by Life Jacket Wear, Cause of Death, & Vessel Type (Table 35, Page 66)
This table displays the number of fatal victims by vessel type and cause of death. The table also
provides information on whether the deceased victim was wearing a life jacket.

Recreational Boating Statistics 2023 55

Casualty Data

Table 29 DEATHS, INJURIES, & ACCIDENTS BY YEAR,

2004-2023
Year Deaths Injuries Accidents
2004 676 3363 4904
2005 697 3451 4969
2006 710 3474 4967
2007 685 3673 5191
2008 709 3331 4789
2009 736 3358 4730
2010 672 3153 4604
2011 758 3081 4588
2012 651 3000 4515
2013 560 2620 4062
2014 610 2678 4064
2015 626 2613 4158
2016 701 2903 4463
2017 658 2629 4291
2018 633 2511 4145
2019 613 2559 4168
2020 767 3191 5265
2021 658 2641 4439
2022 636 2222 4040
2023 564 2126 3844

Recreational Boating Statistics 2023 56

Casualty Data

Table 30 ACCIDENT, CASUALTY & DAMAGE DATA BY STATE 2023

Number of Accidents Persons Involved
Total Fatal Non-Fatal Injury Property Damage Deaths Injured Damages
Totals 3844 529 1455 1860 564 2126 $63,418,453.41
AK 26 18 5 3 21 13 $128,600.00
AL 58 11 21 26 12 32 $560,272.00
AR 61 8 24 29 9 35 $1,037,475.00
AZ 95 7 42 46 9 55 $1,104,600.00
CA 339 30 111 198 33 164 $4,633,627.00
CO 35 15 10 10 15 14 $108,794.50
CT 28 5 12 11 6 20 $975,705.79
DC 4 1 0 3 1 0 $87,200.00
DE 19 1 3 15 1 7 $537,440.00
FL 619 54 243 322 56 368 $14,872,216.00
GA 101 16 46 39 16 58 $2,257,347.95
HI 14 3 1 10 3 1 $171,950.00
IA 37 6 16 15 7 20 $189,928.00
ID 48 7 23 18 7 34 $444,370.88
IL 70 11 23 36 13 40 $707,704.00
IN 37 4 14 19 4 20 $280,467.00
KS 27 2 16 9 2 26 $246,402.00
KY 45 7 12 26 8 22 $1,512,593.72
LA 94 7 46 41 7 69 $4,332,039.89
MA 41 9 14 18 9 25 $590,830.00
MD 116 10 47 59 10 70 $1,833,016.52
ME 25 4 10 11 4 11 $2,220,920.78
MI 82 20 20 42 21 26 $939,354.00
MN 68 9 33 26 9 46 $642,112.52
MO 122 6 50 66 6 88 $1,419,880.00
MS 31 7 14 10 7 26 $434,885.00
MT 10 3 3 4 3 7 $54,100.00
NC 155 19 57 79 20 80 $1,781,755.72
ND 16 2 6 8 2 7 $31,800.00
NE 8 1 4 3 1 5 $47,500.00
NH 40 5 16 19 5 19 $198,842.48
NJ 131 7 41 83 7 53 $2,759,086.09
NM 17 8 5 4 8 7 $102,050.00
NV 34 6 18 10 8 22 $128,300.00
NY 105 17 27 61 18 40 $1,074,722.00
OH 92 10 31 51 10 39 $864,426.00
OK 58 11 30 17 11 43 $502,000.00
OR 60 11 24 25 13 35 $480,671.00
PA 48 7 27 14 8 41 $208,599.00
RI 31 1 14 16 1 15 $570,757.53
SC 156 23 44 89 24 65 $1,399,217.90
SD 23 2 10 11 2 12 $118,541.13
TN 117 21 45 51 22 68 $2,974,609.00
TX 189 33 86 70 33 132 $1,398,271.65
UT 51 3 23 25 3 28 $1,600,500.00
VA 58 7 24 27 8 35 $332,733.83
VT 5 1 2 2 1 2 $28,300.00
WA 52 23 11 18 23 14 $723,050.00
WI 116 24 40 52 28 49 $1,971,037.53
WV 8 2 3 3 2 5 $67,150.00
WY 7 1 5 1 1 8 $57,500.00
AS 0 0 0 0 0 0 $0.00
CNMI 4 0 0 4 0 0 $82,000.00
GU 2 0 1 1 0 2 $318,200.00
PR 4 1 1 2 1 1 $110,000.00
VI 0 0 0 0 0 0 $0.00
Atlantic Ocean* 4 2 0 2 5 0 $1,098,000.00
Gulf of Mexico* 0 0 0 0 0 0 $0.00
Pacific Ocean* 1 0 1 0 0 2 $65,000.00
*1997 was the first year statistics were compiled for accidents that occurred three or more miles offshore in the Atlantic Ocean and Pacific Ocean and nine or more miles in the Gulf of Mexico.

Recreational Boating Statistics 2023 57

Casualty Data

Figure 12 DISTRIBUTION OF 2023 DEATHS BY STATE

Recreational Boating Statistics 2023 58

Figure 12a FATAL ACCIDENTS BY LOCATION– CONTINENTAL U.S. AND PUERTO RICO
Casualty Data

Recreational Boating Statistics 2023

Plots represent fatal accidents; the size of the plot correlates to the number of deaths in a fatal accident. The largest
plot represents four deaths.

59
Casualty Data

Figure 12b FATAL ACCIDENTS BY LOCATION– ALASKA

Figure 12c FATAL ACCIDENTS BY LOCATION– HAWAII

Plots represent fatal accidents; the size of the plot correlates to the number of deaths in
a fatal accident. The largest plot represents two deaths.

Recreational Boating Statistics 2023 60

Casualty Data

Table 31 ANNUAL RECREATIONAL BOATING FATALITY RATES 2004-2023

Motorized
Motorized Registered
All Registered Fatality Vessel
All Deaths Vessel Motorized
Vessels Rate Fatality
Deaths Vessels
Rate
2004 676 12,781,476 5.3 515 11,878,783 4.3
2005 697 12,942,414 5.4 528 11,998,728 4.4
2006 710 12,746,126 5.6 535 11,802,419 4.5
2007 685 12,875,568 5.3 515 11,966,627 4.3
2008 709 12,692,892 5.6 518 11,841,281 4.4
2009 736 12,721,541 5.8 522 11,834,872 4.4
2010 672 12,438,926 5.4 469 11,597,326 4.0
2011 758 12,173,935 6.2 527 11,326,848 4.7
2012 651 12,101,936 5.4 476 11,226,268 4.2
2013 560 12,013,496 4.7 391 11,128,052 3.5
2014 610 11,804,002 5.2 411 10,960,861 3.7
2015 626 11,867,049 5.3 434 11,034,479 3.9
2016 701 11,861,811 5.9 481 11,005,841 4.4
2017 658 11,961,568 5.5 440 11,090,600 4.0
2018 633 11,852,969 5.3 441 10,994,900 4.0
2019 613 11,878,542 5.2 426 11,052,684 3.9
2020 767 11,838,188 6.5 556 10,987,619 5.1
2021 658 11,957,886 5.5 458 11,064,813 4.1
2022 636 11,770,383 5.4 442 10,889,031 4.1
2023 564 11,546,512 4.9 370 10,728,774 3.4

Recreational Boating Statistics 2023 61

Casualty Data

Figure 14 STATES CODED BY THEIR 2023 FATALITY RATE

Recreational Boating Statistics 2023

Note: The fatality rate is calculated using the number of deaths in each state and the number of recreational registered vessels in
each state. Please be aware that, for some states, the fatality rate includes deaths that occurred on vessels that were not registered.
Further, it is important to note that the state fatality rate may include deaths from vessels that were registered in another state.

62
Casualty Data

Table 32 FIVE YEAR SUMMARY OF SELECTED ACCIDENT DATA BY STATE 2019-2023

Total Number of Accidents Fatal Accidents Deaths
2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
Totals 4168 5265 4439 4040 3844 556 692 602 589 529 613 767 658 636 564
Alabama 101 96 69 72 58 25 12 10 11 11 28 19 10 11 12
Alaska 14 22 14 16 26 8 15 12 7 18 11 24 14 10 21
Arizona 96 162 118 124 95 7 7 12 12 7 7 10 13 13 9
Arkansas 37 75 54 60 61 10 13 9 13 8 10 13 11 15 9
California 324 493 454 387 339 37 37 37 42 30 39 39 39 43 33
Colorado 44 46 30 31 35 12 16 8 13 15 12 17 8 14 15
Connecticut 40 54 43 34 28 2 3 7 7 5 2 3 7 9 6
Delaware 13 19 17 23 19 1 5 2 2 1 1 6 2 2 1
DC 2 3 1 1 4 0 1 0 0 1 0 3 0 0 1
Florida 679 804 723 712 619 55 70 60 65 54 62 72 61 66 56
Georgia 109 107 91 97 101 22 10 15 18 16 23 11 17 23 16
Hawaii 15 10 15 11 14 3 1 5 4 3 4 1 5 4 3
Idaho 50 77 57 42 48 7 5 10 12 7 8 5 10 15 7
Illinois 75 85 88 53 70 13 16 14 5 11 18 19 15 5 13
Indiana 40 52 40 46 37 11 8 6 10 4 16 8 7 11 4
Iowa 21 38 33 28 37 5 7 2 4 6 5 8 3 4 7
Kansas 13 32 25 16 27 2 8 2 1 2 2 8 4 1 2
Kentucky 39 44 48 33 45 9 7 14 4 7 9 9 17 4 8
Louisiana 105 124 111 103 94 18 23 23 24 7 20 24 27 29 7
Maine 35 41 23 31 25 4 11 3 8 4 4 11 4 9 4
Maryland 130 148 138 126 116 12 6 6 11 10 16 7 6 11 10
Massachusetts 79 75 65 68 41 4 7 6 5 9 5 8 6 5 9
Michigan 128 159 110 88 82 21 29 18 17 20 22 31 21 17 21
Minnesota 100 105 87 90 68 10 16 18 14 9 10 16 18 15 9
Mississippi 20 25 20 27 31 4 4 4 2 7 5 6 4 2 7
Missouri 145 152 159 114 122 18 13 28 16 6 18 14 28 17 6
Montana 13 25 16 21 10 4 7 4 8 3 5 7 5 8 3
Nebraska 19 13 14 14 8 2 2 1 2 1 2 2 1 2 1
Nevada 44 66 32 21 34 4 3 3 5 6 5 3 3 5 8
New Hampshire 37 59 34 38 40 3 2 3 4 5 4 2 3 4 5
New Jersey 110 135 100 110 131 4 9 7 4 7 4 9 8 4 7
New Mexico 13 18 16 12 17 2 4 1 2 8 2 4 1 2 8
New York 165 175 162 154 105 17 25 15 24 17 17 28 17 24 18
North Carolina 128 183 171 143 155 15 23 20 20 19 16 27 20 20 20
North Dakota 16 18 13 10 16 2 1 2 1 2 2 1 2 1 2
Ohio 128 163 140 119 92 12 20 16 17 10 13 25 19 17 10
Oklahoma 24 59 49 38 58 8 17 11 11 11 8 17 12 14 11
Oregon 62 91 42 52 60 16 24 15 16 11 18 26 18 16 13
Pennsylvania 58 58 56 41 48 8 9 9 9 7 8 11 9 9 8
Rhode Island 42 57 33 33 31 1 2 1 3 1 1 2 2 3 1
South Carolina 141 153 184 152 156 15 21 16 22 23 15 25 18 22 24
South Dakota 23 25 16 11 23 4 3 2 0 2 5 3 2 0 2
Tennessee 107 155 123 116 117 9 27 20 24 21 9 30 21 27 22
Texas 184 281 238 201 189 38 55 52 30 33 43 59 58 34 33
Utah 86 90 43 43 51 6 10 9 4 3 7 10 11 4 3
Vermont 4 6 6 2 5 3 3 5 1 1 4 4 7 2 1
Virginia 84 102 89 85 58 18 18 16 13 7 20 21 18 16 8
Washington 106 114 81 53 52 26 26 13 15 23 27 28 14 18 23
West Virginia 9 16 4 11 8 2 5 1 3 2 2 5 1 3 2
Wisconsin 82 133 111 108 116 9 22 21 20 24 9 22 23 20 28
Wyoming 11 4 5 5 7 3 1 1 1 1 3 1 1 1 1
AS 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
CNMI 0 1 1 0 4 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0
Guam 2 0 2 2 2 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 1 1 0
Puerto Rico 4 0 0 2 4 1 0 0 2 1 2 0 0 4 1
Virgin Islands 0 1 3 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 1 1 0 0
*AT 5 7 13 7 4 2 0 2 0 2 2 0 2 0 5
*GM 3 5 3 3 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0
*PC 4 4 6 0 1 2 1 2 0 0 3 1 2 0 0
*1997 was the first year statistics were compiled for accidents that occurred three or more miles offshore in the Atlantic Ocean and Pacific Ocean and nine or more
miles in the Gulf of Mexico.

Recreational Boating Statistics 2023 63

Table 33 NUMBER OF ACCIDENTS BY PRIMARY ACCIDENT TYPE & STATE 2023

Other

object

vessel
vessel
vessel
Injuries

Sinking

Capsizing
Grounding
Drownings
Total deaths

Electrocution
Fall in vessel
Skier mishap
Other deaths

Total accidents
Falls overboard

Departed vessel
Casualty Data

Carbon monoxide
Flooding/swamping

Ejected from vessel

Fire/explosion (fuel)
Person struck by vessel

Fire/explosion (non-fuel)

Collision with submerged

Collision with fixed object

Collision with commercial
Collision with recreational
Sudden medical condition

Person struck by propeller

Collision with governmental

Collision with floating object

Fire/explosion (unknown origin)
Totals 3844 234 4 449 51 31 6 1053 187 113 150 3 134 227 117 73 33 386 359 35 18 0 157 0 24 377 187 564 2126
26 7 0 2 2 1 0 2 1 1 1 0 0 2 0 0 0 4 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 13 8 21 13

Recreational Boating Statistics 2023

AK
AL 58 3 0 9 1 2 1 19 4 3 0 0 1 0 1 1 0 7 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 10 2 12 32
AR 61 5 0 10 1 0 0 9 6 0 2 0 2 5 1 1 1 5 10 1 1 0 1 0 06 3 9 35
AZ 95 4 0 8 0 0 0 38 2 4 4 0 5 2 0 3 0 9 6 0 1 0 9 0 05 4 9 55
CA 339 17 0 19 3 3 2 109 11 14 12 0 6 12 15 9 5 38 41 5 3 0 14 0 1 23 10 33 164
CO 35 6 0 1 0 0 0 9 0 0 3 0 1 5 1 0 0 6 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 13 2 15 14
CT 28 3 0 2 0 0 0 5 1 1 2 0 2 2 0 2 0 4 4 0 0 0 0 0 03 3 6 20
DC 4 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 01 0 1 0
DE 19 1 0 3 0 1 0 4 2 0 0 0 0 2 0 2 0 0 4 0 0 0 0 0 01 0 1 7
FL 619 16 0 115 4 8 0 197 19 13 31 2 26 30 14 13 2 72 42 6 3 0 4 0 2 30 26 56 368
GA 101 6 0 13 3 0 0 18 3 3 5 0 6 9 1 3 1 9 12 0 0 0 9 0 08 8 16 58
HI 14 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 1 8 0 0 0 0 0 01 2 3 1
IA 37 4 0 3 1 0 0 7 2 3 2 0 1 3 3 2 0 1 2 0 0 0 3 0 06 1 7 20
ID 48 0 0 8 2 0 0 10 0 4 2 0 3 5 2 0 0 2 5 1 0 0 4 0 06 1 7 34
IL 70 3 0 9 1 0 0 31 3 2 1 0 3 5 1 0 1 1 7 0 0 0 2 0 0 10 3 13 40
IN 37 5 0 4 0 0 0 9 2 0 1 0 1 3 2 0 0 5 3 0 0 0 2 0 02 2 4 20
KS 27 3 0 2 0 0 0 7 1 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 1 2 2 0 0 0 5 0 10 2 2 26
KY 45 1 1 3 2 0 1 7 5 2 0 0 0 3 0 0 2 7 8 0 0 0 3 0 05 3 8 22
LA 94 1 0 19 4 2 0 12 18 0 3 1 3 3 4 0 0 12 8 0 1 0 2 0 14 3 7 69
MA 41 5 0 3 0 0 0 19 0 1 0 0 1 4 2 0 0 3 3 0 0 0 0 0 08 1 9 25
MD 116 6 0 15 2 1 0 30 7 1 6 0 9 7 3 4 2 8 9 0 1 0 5 0 06 4 10 70
ME 25 7 0 1 0 0 0 5 3 0 1 0 0 0 3 0 0 3 1 0 0 0 1 0 02 2 4 11
MI 82 6 0 4 0 0 1 27 1 4 2 0 1 9 4 3 2 9 2 4 0 0 3 0 0 18 3 21 26
MN 68 11 0 3 0 0 0 25 3 0 1 0 1 4 2 4 0 1 4 1 0 0 7 0 18 1 9 46

64
MO 122 1 0 16 3 0 0 34 5 1 6 0 9 3 4 6 2 7 18 1 1 0 3 0 25 1 6 88
MS 31 0 0 8 0 0 0 4 5 0 2 0 0 4 2 0 0 2 1 0 1 0 2 0 05 2 7 26
MT 10 3 0 3 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 03 0 3 7
NC 155 9 0 18 2 0 1 52 6 3 9 0 4 10 1 0 0 19 9 0 0 0 8 0 4 12 8 20 80
ND 16 0 0 3 0 0 0 4 0 1 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 3 0 1 0 0 2 0 02 0 2 7
Table 33 Continued NUMBER OF ACCIDENTS BY PRIMARY ACCIDENT TYPE & STATE 2023

Other

object

vessel
vessel
vessel
Injuries

Sinking

Capsizing
Grounding
Drownings
Total deaths

Electrocution
Fall in vessel
Other deaths

Skier mishap

Total accidents
Falls overboard

Departed vessel

Carbon monoxide
Casualty Data

Flooding/swamping

Ejected from vessel

Fire/explosion (fuel)
Person struck by vessel

Fire/explosion (non-fuel)

Collision with submerged

Collision with fixed object

Collision with commercial
Collision with recreational
Sudden medical condition

Person struck by propeller

Collision with governmental

Collision with floating object

Fire/explosion (unknown origin)
NE 8 0 0 2 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 2 0 0 0 0 00 1 1 5
40 4 0 2 0 0 0 12 2 0 0 0 1 3 1 0 0 2 8 0 0 0 5 0 04 1 5 19
NH
131 5 0 21 1 0 0 47 7 2 5 0 5 4 4 4 1 11 11 2 0 0 1 0

Recreational Boating Statistics 2023

NJ 04 3 7 53
NM 17 2 0 2 1 0 0 2 0 4 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 2 0 05 3 8 7
NV 34 0 0 3 0 1 0 11 1 2 1 0 2 5 0 0 0 5 1 0 0 0 2 0 05 3 8 22
NY 105 7 0 9 1 0 0 37 1 4 0 0 2 5 7 1 2 5 19 0 1 0 3 0 1 14 4 18 40
OH 92 7 0 8 3 0 0 19 5 7 2 0 2 4 7 1 1 11 11 0 0 0 4 0 0 10 0 10 39
OK 58 3 0 4 3 0 0 12 2 1 4 0 0 3 3 0 0 5 8 0 1 0 9 0 08 3 11 43
60 8 2 7 2 2 0 6 7 2 0 0 1 4 0 1 0 9 6 0 0 0 2 0 1 10 3 13 35
OR
PA 48 10 0 5 0 0 0 9 3 0 4 0 2 3 1 0 1 3 1 0 0 0 6 0 08 0 8 41
RI 31 1 0 1 0 1 0 7 4 0 0 0 2 3 2 0 0 2 4 0 0 0 1 0 30 1 1 15
SC 156 4 0 22 3 1 0 48 5 6 5 0 4 12 2 3 1 20 13 2 0 0 4 0 1 16 8 24 65
23 1 1 2 0 0 0 8 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 3 0 1 0 1 0 01 1 2 12
SD
TN 117 5 0 9 0 1 0 28 9 3 7 0 7 7 8 1 2 13 12 0 0 0 4 0 1 10 12 22 68
TX 189 17 0 21 1 3 0 41 17 6 11 0 10 9 4 5 0 17 13 5 0 0 7 0 2 18 15 33 132
UT 51 1 0 2 1 0 0 10 1 2 2 0 2 3 3 0 1 5 8 1 0 0 8 0 11 2 3 28
VA 58 6 0 10 0 0 0 17 2 1 1 0 3 2 4 0 0 4 5 1 1 0 1 0 04 4 8 35
VT 5 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 01 0 1 2
WA 52 8 0 1 1 0 0 10 6 1 2 0 1 7 1 0 2 8 2 0 1 0 0 0 1 15 8 23 14
WI 116 6 0 12 2 1 0 26 1 10 7 0 1 12 3 4 2 11 11 1 1 0 5 0 0 25 3 28 49
WV 8 1 0 2 0 1 0 2 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 01 1 2 5
WY 7 1 0 0 1 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 01 0 1 8
AS 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 00 0 0 0
CNMI 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 00 0 0 0
GU 2 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 00 0 0 2
PR 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 00 1 1 1

65
VI 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 00 0 0 0
AT 4 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 00 5 5 0
GM 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 00 0 0 0
PC 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 10 0 0 2
Casualty Data

Table 34 NUMBER OF INJURED VICTIMS BY PRIMARY INJURY & VESSEL TYPE

Other

Unknown
injuries
Number of

Airboat
sailboat
Auxiliary
motorboat
Cabin

Canoe

Houseboat

Inflatable

Kayak
motorboat
Open
watercraft
Personal

Pontoon

Rowboat

Sailboat (only)

Sailboat

Standup
Primary Injury
Amputation 27 0 2 3 0 0 0 0 15 5 1 0 0 0 0 0 1
Broken bone 383 1 0 24 2 1 1 2 167 163 21 0 0 0 0 1 0
Burns 91 0 4 23 0 4 0 0 57 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0
Carbon monoxide 18 0 0 0 0 9 0 0 9 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Concussion 223 2 0 17 0 1 0 4 127 61 10 0 1 0 0 0 0
Dislocation 41 1 0 1 0 0 0 1 22 10 4 0 0 1 0 1 0
Electric shock 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Hypothermia 128 1 5 5 11 0 0 27 57 7 0 2 8 0 0 0 5
Internal organ injury 92 0 1 5 2 0 0 4 47 24 9 0 0 0 0 0 0
Laceration 486 1 7 42 0 3 4 1 273 98 50 0 4 0 2 1 0
Scrape/bruise 295 6 8 20 1 1 1 2 154 74 22 0 3 0 2 0 1
Shock 12 0 3 1 0 0 0 0 5 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0
Spinal cord injury 54 1 0 4 1 0 0 0 28 15 4 0 1 0 0 0 0
Sprain/strain 93 1 1 6 0 0 1 0 45 30 6 2 0 0 1 0 0
Other 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Unknown 178 2 3 5 3 1 0 3 107 35 11 1 1 0 0 0 6
All Injuries 2126 16 34 156 20 20 7 44 1117 527 140 5 18 1 5 3 13
Table 35 NUMBER OF FATAL VICTIMS BY LIFE JACKET WEAR,
CAUSE OF DEATH & VESSEL TYPE 2023
worn?
Life jacket
of deaths
Number

Airboat
sailboat
Auxiliary

Cabin

Canoe
Houseboat

Inflatable

Kayak
motorboat
Open

watercraft
Personal
Pontoon

Rowboat

Sailboat (only)
(unknown)
Sailboat

paddleboard
Standup

Other

Unknown
motorboat

Cause of Death
Yes 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
No 2 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Carbon monoxide Unknown 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Yes 6 0 0 0 2 0 0 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
No 12 0 0 2 2 0 0 3 3 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0
Cardiac arrest Unknown 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Yes 48 1 1 0 5 0 11 10 10 7 1 0 0 0 1 1 0
No 319 2 5 12 30 1 10 60 137 8 34 8 1 0 7 2 2
Drowning Unknown 10 0 0 0 1 0 0 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 3
Yes 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
No 3 0 0 0 1 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Hypothermia Unknown 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Yes 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
No 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0
Other Unknown 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Yes 39 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 13 24 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
No 50 0 0 4 0 0 0 0 40 1 3 1 0 0 1 0 0
Trauma Unknown 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Yes 9 0 0 0 0 0 1 3 2 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
No 41 0 2 0 1 0 1 9 23 2 1 0 2 0 0 0 0
Unknown Unknown 18 0 1 0 0 0 0 2 12 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 2
All Causes 564 3 9 20 43 1 23 95 247 47 41 11 3 0 11 3 7
Recreational Boating Statistics 2023 66
Registration data
Registration Data

Explanation of Registration Data Section

The following section contains fives tables and figures that examine boat registration information.
Registered vessels are those vessels that are required to be recorded by a state, which includes
numbered vessels and other forms of registration. Not all states have the same registration
requirements. While some states may only register vessels with a motor, others may register sailboats,
canoes, kayaks, and rowboats in addition to those vessels with a motor.

Recreational Vessel Registration by Year, 1988-2023 (Table 36 & Figure 15, Page 69)
This table provides information about recreational vessel registration for each year from 1988-2023.
The accompanying figure displays a trend line from 1988-2023.

Recreational Vessel Registration by Length & Means of Propulsion (Table 37, Page 70)
The top section of the table provides tallies for the number of mechanically-propelled vessels, the
number of manually-propelled vessels, and a summation of these two categories. The middle section of
the table documents mechanically-propelled vessel registration by length category. The bottom section
of the table focuses on manually-propelled vessels.

Registration Data by State (Table 38, Page 71)

This table examines recreational vessel registration, deaths, and fatality rates by state for years 2022
and 2023. The fatality rate is calculated by dividing the number of fatalities by the total vessel
registration. The Coast Guard then multiplied by a factor of 100,000 to arrive at the number of deaths
per 100,000 registered vessels. When examining a state fatality rate, it is important to note that the
state fatality rate may include deaths from vessels that were registered in another state. This table also
specifies the scope of the state’s registration program.

Distribution of 2023 Recreational Vessel Registration by State (Figure 16, Page 72)
This figure provides the percentage that each state contributed to national registration figures. So, for
instance, California registered 672,103 vessels. Out of the total national registration of 11,546,512
California contributed 5.8% ((672,103/11,546,512) × 100) of registered vessels. Please note that
percentages have been rounded.

Recreational Boating Statistics 2023 68

Table 36 RECREATIONAL
VESSELS REGISTERED BY
YEAR, 1988-2023
Registered
Year Vessels
1988 10,362,613
1989 10,777,370
1990 10,996,253
1991 11,068,440
Registration Data

1992 11,132,386
1993 11,282,736
1994 11,429,585
1995 11,734,710
1996 11,877,938
1997 12,312,982

Recreational Boating Statistics 2023

1998 12,565,930
1999 12,738,271
2000 12,782,143
2001 12,876,346
2002 12,854,054
2003 12,794,616
2004 12,781,476
2005 12,942,414
2006 12,746,126
2007 12,875,568
2008 12,692,892
2009 12,721,541
2010 12,438,926
2011 12,173,935
2012 12,101,936
2013 12,013,496
2014 11,804,002
2015 11,867,049
2016 11,861,811
2017 11,961,568
2018 11,852,969
2019 11,878,542
2020 11,838,188

69
2021 11,957,886
2022 11,770,383
2023 11,546,512
Registration Data

Table 37 RECREATIONAL VESSEL REGISTRATION BY LENGTH AND

MEANS OF PROPULSION 2023

MECHANICALLY PROPELLED 10,728,774

Under 16 feet 3,715,813
16 to less than 26 feet 6,398,097
26 to less than 40 feet 531,328
40 to 65 feet 72,772
Over 65 feet 10,764

NOT MECHANICALLY PROPELLED 817,738

Rowboats 35,376
Sailboats 82,516
Paddlecraft 606,221
Other 93,625

TOTAL 11,546,512

Recreational Boating Statistics 2023 70

Registration Data
Table 38 RECREATIONAL VESSEL REGISTRATION DATA BY STATE 2022-2023
2023 2022
Registration Deaths Fatality Rate Registration Deaths Fatality Rate Scope of Current Boat Registration System
Nation 11,546,512 564 4.9 11,770,383 636 5.4
AK 44,969 21 46.7 46,228 10 21.6 All motorized vessels; non-motorized is voluntary
AL 249,684 12 4.8 248,710 11 4.4 All motorized vessels, sailboats, and boats for hire
AR 229,497 9 3.9 234,776 15 6.4 All watercraft
AZ 136,602 9 6.6 125,436 13 10.4 All motorized vessels
CA 672,103 33 4.9 626,642 43 6.9 All motorized vessels. All sailboats over 8 feet in length.
CO 72,676 15 20.6 71,957 14 19.5 All watercraft powered by motor or sail; sailboards exempt
CT 89,172 6 6.7 90,641 9 9.9 All motorized vessels; sailboats 19.5 feet or more in length
DC 1,869 1 53.5 1,875 0 0.0 All watercraft
DE 48,703 1 2.1 51,721 2 3.9 All motorized vessels; non-motorized is voluntary
FL 922,915 56 6.1 1,004,240 66 6.6 All motorboats; all non-motorized vessels over 16 feet in length
GA 323,965 16 4.9 329,189 23 7.0 All motorized vessels and sailboats >12' in length
HI 12,236 3 24.5 12,915 4 31.0 All watercraft
IA 211,177 7 3.3 195,782 4 2.0 All watercraft with exceptions (a)
ID 89,332 7 7.8 87,840 15 17.1 All motorized vessels and sailboats
IL 183,689 13 7.1 187,429 5 2.7 All motorized vessels; non-motorized is voluntary
IN 200,616 4 2.0 202,750 11 5.4 All motorized vessels on public waterways
KS 79,812 2 2.5 81,631 1 1.2 All motorized vessels and sailboats
KY 141,525 8 5.7 167,679 4 2.4 All motorized vessels, except electric motors 1 hp or less
LA 290,341 7 2.4 300,582 29 9.6 All motorized vessels; sailboats more than 12 feet in length
MA 127,685 9 7.0 129,699 5 3.9 All motorized vessels
MD 169,900 10 5.9 172,091 11 6.4 All motorized vessels; vessels that may become motorized
ME 113,698 4 3.5 116,827 9 7.7 All motorized vessels
MI 815,317 21 2.6 809,750 17 2.1 All watercraft with exceptions (b)
MN 811,085 9 1.1 822,450 15 1.8 All watercraft with exceptions (c)
MO 288,280 6 2.1 289,724 17 5.9 All motorized vessels; sailboats over 12 feet in length
MS 125,315 7 5.6 129,237 2 1.5 All motorized vessels and sailboats
MT 53,525 3 5.6 74,600 8 10.7 All motorized vessels
NC 339,851 20 5.9 384,858 20 5.2 All motorized vessels; sailboats more than 14 feet in length
ND 54,978 2 3.6 69,577 1 1.4 All motorized vessels; non-motorized is voluntary
NE 78,894 1 1.3 80,436 2 2.5 All motorized vessels
NH 102,187 5 4.9 105,100 4 3.8 All motorized vessels; sailboats 12 feet or more in length
NJ 157,391 7 4.4 164,911 4 2.4 All watercraft with exceptions (d)
NM 28,680 8 27.9 28,512 2 7.0 All motorized vessels and sailboats
NV 42,045 8 19.0 43,071 5 11.6 All motorized vessels; non-motorized is voluntary
NY 430,569 18 4.2 436,565 24 5.5 All motorized vessels
OH 649,051 10 1.5 652,808 17 2.6 All watercraft
OK 189,871 11 5.8 194,373 14 7.2 All watercraft with exceptions (e)
OR 152,440 13 8.5 155,229 16 10.3 All motorized vessels; sailboats 12 feet or more in length
PA 287,740 8 2.8 298,048 9 3.0 All motorized vessels and certain non-powered craft (f)
RI 38,025 1 2.6 37,862 3 7.9 All motorized vessels and rowboats over 12 feet
SC 366,322 24 6.6 360,233 22 6.1 All watercraft
SD 60,365 2 3.3 60,026 0 0.0 All motorized vessels ; all other boats over 12 feet in length
TN 244,601 22 9.0 248,665 27 10.9 All motorized vessels and sailboats
TX 559,355 33 5.9 567,470 34 6.0 All motorized vessels and sailboats 14 feet or more in length
UT 65,306 3 4.6 62,422 4 6.4 All motorized vessels and sailboats
VA 221,641 8 3.6 223,140 16 7.2 All motorized vessels
VT 27,223 1 3.7 28,092 2 7.1 All motorized vessels
WA 233,372 23 9.9 238,235 18 7.6 All motorboats with exceptions (g); sailboats >16 ft in length
WI 611,024 28 4.6 607,994 20 3.3 All motorized vessels & sailboats over 12 feet in length
WV 40,166 2 5.0 53,857 3 5.6 All motorized vessels
WY 24,631 1 4.1 25,471 1 3.9 All motorized vessels ; non-motorized is voluntary
AS 90 0.0 132 0 0 All watercraft
CNMI 391 0 0.0 405 0 0 All motorized vessels
GU 726 0 0.0 1,001 1 99.9 All motorized vessels and sailboats over 12 feet
PR 31,093 1 3.2 27,340 4 14.6 All motorboats; vessels adapted to hold a motor
VI 2,796 0 0.0 2,149 0 0 All watercraft
Offshore 5 0
(a) IA excludes inflatables under 7 feet in length and canoes/kayaks under 13 feet in length. (b) MI excludes manually propelled boats 16 feet or less in length (c) MN excludes non-motorized boats 10 feet or
less in length, waterfowl during waterfowl season, riceboats during harvest season, and seaplanes. (d) NJ excludes non-motorized boats less than 12 feet in length and canoes and kayaks. (e) OK excludes
canoes, kayaks, and pedal boats. (f) PA registers non-powered craft using lakes or access areas owned by the State Fish & Boat Commission. (g) WA excludes motorboats < 16 feet with motors 10 horse-
power or less used solely on exclusive state waters.

Recreational Boating Statistics 2023 71

Registration Data

Figure 16 DISTRIBUTION OF 2023 RECREATIONAL VESSEL REGISTRATION BY STATE

Recreational Boating Statistics 2023

72
USCG Boating Accident Report Form

Recreational Boating Statistics 2023 73

USCG Boating Accident Report Form

Recreational Boating Statistics 2023 74

USCG Boating Accident Report Form

Recreational Boating Statistics 2023 75

USCG Boating Accident Report Form

76
Recreational Boating Statistics 2023
USCG Boating Accident Report Form

77
Recreational Boating Statistics 2023
USCG Boating Accident Report Form

78
Recreational Boating Statistics 2023
Glossaries

Glossary

Airboat - A vessel that is typically flat-bottomed and propelled by an aircraft-type propeller powered by
an engine.

At Anchor - Held in place in the water by an anchor; includes “moored” to a buoy or anchored vessel
and “dragging anchor”.

Auxiliary Sail - A vessel with sail as its primary method of propulsion and mechanical propulsion as its
secondary method.

Cabin Motorboat - A vessel propelled by propulsion machinery and providing enclosed spaces inside
its structure.

Canoe - A small narrow boat, propelled by paddles. Canoes usually are pointed at both bow and stern
and are normally open on top, but can be covered.

Capsizing - Overturning of a vessel.

Carbon Monoxide Poisoning - Death or injury resulting from an odorless, colorless gas generated from
auxiliary boat equipment (stoves, heaters, refrigerators, generators, hot water heaters, etc.), another
boat’s exhaust, or the exhaust of the vessel on which persons were either aboard or in close proximity.

Collision with Fixed Object - The striking of any fixed object, above or below the surface of the water.

Collision with Floating Object - Collision with any waterborne object above or below the
surface that is free to move with the tide, current, or wind, except another vessel.

Collision with Commercial/Governmental/Recreational Vessel - Any striking together of two or more

vessels, regardless of operation at the time of the accident, is a collision.

Collision with Submerged Object - A boat’s collision with any waterborne or fixed object that is below
the surface of the water.

Congested Waters - Where the body of water is either too small or narrow to safely accommodate the
number of boats on it.

Cruising - Proceeding normally, unrestricted, with an absence of drastic rudder or engine changes.

Departed Vessel - An accident where a person voluntarily disembarks a vessel by his/her own will (i.e.
by diving off, jumping in), as opposed to a case where the person is forcefully ejected by a change in the
vessel speed and/or direction.

Documented Vessel - A vessel of five or more net tons owned by a citizen of the United
States and used exclusively for pleasure with a valid marine document issued by the Coast Guard. Doc-
umented vessels are not numbered.

Drifting - Underway, but proceeding over the bottom without use of engines, oars or sails; being carried
along only by the tide, current, or wind.

Electrocution - Death or injury resulting from an electrical current that comes in contact with water
causing electrocution of the victim.

Excessive Speed - Speed above that which a reasonable and prudent person would have operated
under the conditions that existed. It is not necessarily a speed in excess of a posted limit.

Failure to Vent - Prior to starting the engine, failure to turn on the powered ventilation system that

Recreational Boating Statistics 2023 79

Glossaries

brings in “fresh air” and expels gasoline vapors from the engine compartment.

Fall in Vessel - Any operator or passenger who slips, trips, or falls on board or within the vessel.

Falls Overboard - Any operator or passenger who falls off of the vessel.

Fiberglass hull - Hulls of fiber-reinforced plastic. The laminate consists of two basic components, the
reinforcing material (glass filaments) and the plastic or resin in which it is embedded.

Fire/Explosion (fuel) - Accidental combustion of vessel fuel, liquids, including their vapors, or other
substances such as wood.

Fire/Explosion (other) - Accidental burning or explosion of any material onboard except vessel fuels or
their vapors.

Flooding/Swamping - Filling with water, regardless of method of ingress, but retaining sufficient
buoyancy to remain on the surface.

Force of Wave/Wake - The track in the water of a moving boat; commonly used for the disturbance of
the water (waves) resulting from the passage of the boat’s hull.

Fueling - Any stage of the fueling operation; primarily concerned with introduction of
explosive or combustible vapors or liquids on board.

Grounding - Running aground of a vessel, striking or pounding on rocks, reefs, or shoals; stranding.

Hazardous Waters - Rapid tidal flows (the vertical movement of water) and/or currents (the horizontal
flow of water) resulting in hazardous conditions in which to operate a boat.

Houseboat - A motorized vessel that is usually non-planing and designed primarily for multi-purpose
accommodation spaces with low freeboard and little or no foredeck or cockpit.

Hull Failure - Defect or failure of the structural body of a vessel (i.e., hull material, design, or
construction) not including superstructure, masts, or rigging.

Ignition of Spilled Fuel or Vapor - Accidental combustion of vessel fuel, liquids, and/or their vapors.

Improper Anchoring - Where a boat is either in the process of being anchored incorrectly or incorrectly
held in place in the water by an anchor.

Improper Loading - Loading, including weight shifting, of the vessel causing instability,
limited maneuverability, or dangerously reduced freeboard.

Improper Lookout - No proper watch; the failure of the operator to perceive danger because no one
was serving as lookout, or the person so serving failed in that regard. Every vessel shall at all times
maintain a proper look-out by sight and hearing as well as by all available means appropriate in the
prevailing circumstances and conditions so as to make a full appraisal of the situation and of the risk of
collision.

Inboard– An engine mounted inside the confines of a vessel which powers a drive shaft that turns a wa-
ter jet impeller or that runs through the bottom of the hull and is attached to a propeller at the other end.

Inflatable - A vessel that uses air-filled flexible fabric for buoyancy.

Kayak - A small boat with a cockpit that is propelled by a double-bladed paddle by a sitting paddler.

Inadequate On-board Navigation Lights - Insufficient and/or improper lights shown by a boat that
indicate course, position, and occupation, such as fishing or towing.

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Glossaries

Machinery Failure - Defect and/or failure in the machinery or material, design or construction, or
components installed by the manufacturer involved in the mechanical propulsion of the boat (e.g.,
engine, transmission, fuel system, electric system, and steering system).

Missing or Inadequate Navigation Aids - The absence of or ineffective presence of navigation aids.

Motorboat - Any vessel equipped with propulsion machinery.

Navigation Rules Violation - Violation of the statutory and regulatory rules governing the navigation of
vessels.

Numbered vessel - An undocumented vessel numbered by a state with an approved

numbering system under Chapter 123 of title 46, U.S.C.

Open Motorboat - A vessel equipped with propulsion machinery and having an open load carrying area
that does not have a continuous deck to protect it from the entry of water.

Operator Inattention - Failure on the part of the operator to pay attention to the vessel, its occupants,
or the environment in which the vessel is operating.

Operator Inexperience - Lack of practical experience or knowledge in operating a vessel or, more
particularly, the vessel involved in the accident.

Outboard - An engine with propeller or water jet integrally attached, which is usually mounted at the
stern of a vessel.

Overloading - Excessive loading of the vessel causing instability, limited maneuverability, dangerously
reduced freeboard, etc.

Paddlecraft - A vessel powered only by its occupants, using a single or double- bladed paddle as a lev-
er without the aid of a fulcrum provided by oarlocks, thole pins, crutches, or similar arrangements.

People on Gunwale, Bow or Transom - Standing/Sitting on the upper edge of the side of a boat,
usually on a small projection above the deck; and/or standing/sitting on the most forward part of the
boat; and/or standing/sitting on the back of the boat.

Person Struck by Vessel - A person is struck by a boat.

Person Struck by Propeller - A person is struck by the propeller, propulsion unit, or steering
machinery.

Personal Watercraft - A vessel propelled by a water-jet pump or other machinery as its primary source
of motive power and designed to be operated by a person sitting, standing, or kneeling on the vessel,
rather than sitting or standing within the vessel's hull.

Pod drive- An engine mounted in front of the transom of a vessel and attached through the bottom of
the hull to a steerable propulsion unit.

Pontoon Boat - A vessel with a broad, flat deck that is affixed on top of closed cylinders which are used
for buoyancy, the basic design of which is usually implemented with two rows of floats as a catamaran
or with three rows of floats as a trimaran.

Restricted Vision - A vessel operator's vision is said to be restricted when it is limited by a vessel's bow
high trim, or by glare, sunlight, bright lights, a dirty windshield, spray, a canopy top, etc.

Rowboat - An open vessel manually propelled by oars.

Sail (only) - A vessel propelled only by sails.

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Glossaries

Sharp Turn - An immediate or abrupt change in the boat’s course of direction.

Sinking - Losing enough buoyancy to settle below the surface of the water.

Skier Mishap - Skier mishap is defined by persons (1) falling off their water-skis, (2) striking a fixed or
submerged object, or by (3) becoming entangled or struck by the tow line. Also includes mishaps
involving inner-tubes and other devices on which a person can be towed behind a boat.

Standup Paddleboard - A vessel, typically 7’ – 15’ in length with enough width and flotation to stay
afloat without momentum while boarded, that is propelled by a standing operator with the use of a single
or double-bladed paddle.

Starting in Gear - The boat’s engine is started with the transmission in forward or reverse.

Steel hull - Hulls of sheet steel or steel alloy, not those with steel ribs and wood, canvas, or plastic hull
coverings.

Sterndrive - An engine, powering a propeller through a series of shafts and gears, mounted in front of
the transom of a vessel and attached through the transom to a drive unit that is similar to the lower unit
of an outboard; and may also be known as an inboard-outdrive or an inboard-outboard.

Sudden Medical Condition - An incident where a person on a vessel experiences an unexpected

medical condition.

Towing - Engaged in towing any vessel or object, other than a person.

Weather - As a contributing factor of an accident, “Weather” is supposed to signify a stormy or windy

condition, usually connoting rough or high seas and dangerous operating conditions.

Wood Hull - Hulls of plywood, molded plywood, wood planking, or any other wood fiber in its natural
consistency, including those of wooden construction that have been “sheathed” with fiberglass or sheet
metal.

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Glossaries

Glossary of State Codes

AL Alabama NJ New Jersey
AK Alaska NM New Mexico
AZ Arizona NY New York
AR Arkansas NC North Carolina
CA California ND North Dakota
CO Colorado OH Ohio
CT Connecticut OK Oklahoma
DE Delaware OR Oregon
DC District of Columbia PA Pennsylvania
FL Florida RI Rhode Island
GA Georgia SC South Carolina
HI Hawaii SD South Dakota
ID Idaho TN Tennessee
IL Illinois TX Texas
IN Indiana UT Utah
IA Iowa VT Vermont
KS Kansas VA Virginia
KY Kentucky WA Washington
LA Louisiana WV West Virginia
ME Maine WI Wisconsin
MD Maryland WY Wyoming
MA Massachusetts GU Guam
MI Michigan PR Puerto Rico
MN Minnesota VI Virgin Islands
MS Mississippi AS American Samoa
MO Missouri CNMI Northern Mariana Islands
MT Montana AT Atlantic Ocean
NE Nebraska GM Gulf of Mexico
NV Nevada PC Pacific Ocean
NH New Hampshire

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