Speed limits are posted in kph on round white signs ringed in red. "No Wake" signs are similar, with a blue wavy line inside a red ring. Look for them near marinas, narrow sections, in canals, and along sensitive shorelines. Speeds are posted in kilometres per hour, which is roughly double the number of knots. If your speedometer is in miles per hour, refer to the Speed chart to convert miles per hour (mph) to nautical miles per hour (knots) or kilometres per hour (kph or km/hr).
In most provinces there is a 10 kph speed limit within 30 metres (100 feet) from shore. Fine is $125. Maximum fine is $500 or six months imprisonment. (Canada Shipping Act: Boating Restriction Regulations)
The one exception to this speed limit is for boats pulling a water skier travelling perpendicular to shore to pull away or land the skier. This operation may also take place within an area designated by buoys where permitted. There are also exceptions in rivers that are less than 100 m in width, or in canals or buoyed channels, or any waters in which a different boating restriction applies.
Under the Small Vessel Regulations rules governing waterskiing, the existing requirement to have spotter on board remains. In addition, there must be a seat available for each person being towed in case recovery is necessary. Only personal watercraft (PWCs) designed to carry three people can be used for towing waterskiers. Towing activities are not allowed in the period from one hour after sunset to sunrise.
Contact the Canadian Coast Guard at 1-800-267-6687 or www.ccg-gcc.gc.ca for more information.
Plan your trip with leisure in mind since excess speed not only damages nearby shoreline and wildlife, but is hazardous to small boats and swimmers. Loons and their young are particularly vulnerable to wakes and props. Please slow down as you approach locks and bridges, and also while passing moored craft. After all, if you were in a hurry, you would take an airplane!
You are responsible for the wake of your vessel whether the boat is in a "no wake" zone or not. If your wake damages property or injures people you have broken the law. Slowing down is the oobvious solution, especially in narrow channels and near shore, but how you speed up and slow down is also important.
Below "hull speed" (about 8 mph for a 10 metre boat), a boat makes very little wake -- the angled wave that is created by the bow and stern of the boat. As you increase speed beyond hull speed, the bow begins to rise and the wake from the bow begins to meet the wake from the stern, causing the combined wave to increase in height and volume. Both planing hulls (runabout) and displacement hulls (trawler) act in this way, but the planing hull can pass through "on step", and plane at faster speed.
Just before the boat begins to lift onto plane and level out (this may require trim tabs), even a small boat can capsize nearby canoes or wash away shoreline. Between hull speed and planing speed, you also use much more fuel with very little increase in speed, and creating a large wake. For most planing hulls, the most economical speeds are hull speed and full, level plane. Have a look behind occasionally, when you pass moored boats, to see how your wake affects other boats and shoreline. Wake affects increase dramatically if the boat is operating in shallow water. Near vertical breakwaters, the wave will reflects back off the vertical surface, creating even larger waves.
Attempts by a displacement boat to exceed hull speed simply waster fuel and create large wakes. Displacement speeds are fuel-efficient for displacement hulls. Planing hulls get their best fuel economy on plane. Semi-planing hulls are built to exceed hull speed.
Message posted to a boating newsgroup:
"Semi-planing a fully-planing hull, although commonly seen, is just
horrible, with the engine roaring, the bow pointed high in the air, and a huge
rolling wake emanating from the monster. Lots of fuel used, not much additional
forward progress!"
How to handle oncoming wakes? Slow down and cross it at a slight angle. A wake will push you sideways, so don't stop. Never take a large wake abeam, to prevent taking water over the side. Injuries are also increasing. Yelling "wake" should alert everyone and prevent broken bones and teeth as well as preventing anyone falling overboard. Bow-riding is especially foolish, as falling off a wake has broken peoples' spines!
The "ICW Pass":
The passing boat comes off plane right astern of you, passing his wake harmlessly
to either side. Then YOU slow down. The passing boat then passes at his best
displacement speed. As soon as he is past, you both resume your former speeds.
All the professional delivery captains do this - heart-stopping the first time
you see it, but it works well.
A recent review of 50 cases of "boat sinking while underway" by BOAT/U.S. Marine Insurance found that 30% were caused by waves over the gunwales of the boat!