Boaters Before Getting Underway:

• Take a safe boating course
• Put on your life jacket and leave your alcohol behind.
• Check the weather forecast.
• File a float plan with a friend.
• Check your boat for all required safety equipment.
• Check your electrical system and fuel system for gas fumes.
• Follow manufacturers suggested procedures before starting up.
• Carry a navigation chart and know your waterway.
• Follow the navigation rules of the road, buoys and other aids to navigation.

• Inspection stickers may be cancelled on GRDA lakes for any violation of these rules.
• All vessels must have Oklahoma registration and license by June 30 each year.
• Boats currently registered in another state may be used on these lakes for a 60-day period without getting an Oklahoma registration. If the boat remains in Oklahoma for more than 60 calendar days, it must be registered in Oklahoma.
• Registration stickers must be displayed on the front port and starboard portion of the vessel.
• All children (age 12 and under) must wear an approved life preserver (personal flotation device) at all times when the boat they are in is 26 feet long or smaller.
• All boats kept or operated on GRDA lakes shall be inspected by GRDA’s Lake Patrol. A safety inspection sticker shall be placed on the port front portion of boat. This is a free inspection.
• Boat operators must be at least 16 years old and have a valid automobile operator’s license, unless under the direct (on board) supervision of a responsible adult.
• No one shall sit or ride on the sides of a boat while it is moving faster than idle or trolling speed. Operators may stand, if vessel was designed to be driven from a standing position.
• Operators of a personal watercraft must be at least 15 years of age. Children ages 12 -14 may operate one if they are visually supervised by a responsible adult.
• Water skiing, jet skiing and similar activities are permitted only during daylight hours.
• Skiing is prohibited upstream from the Strang Bridge on Lake Hudson and above Twin Bridges, in Elm Creek east of Grove water intake tower, above the Harbors Marina on Duck Creek, or above Lakemont Shores ramp on Drowning Creek on Grand.
Operators of personal watercraft must stay at least 50 feet away from all moving vessels and must idle around docks and swimmers.
• Operators must wear an approved life preserver.
• In addition to the boat operator, a boat towing a skier must have a person (of at least eight years old) in a position to observe the skier, unless a rear view mirror has been installed so that the boat operator can observe the skier.
• All boats must carry an approved personal flotation device for each person on board.
• No boat shall operate above its licensed capacity.
• Each boat shall be equipped with a paddle or set of oars, an anchor and a bailing device. Boats over 16 feet in length must have a throwable cushion. Sirens are not permitted. All boats must have proper navigation lights and fire extinguishers.
• All boats shall be muffled according to state law.
• Marine toilets must have a total retention system.
• Only shotguns and proper archery equipment is allowed on GRDA property except that hunters may also use rifles and pistols on certain GRDA property which is marked as a Wildlife Management Area. All hunting on GRDA property shall be conducted in accordance with Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation regulations.
• During nighttime hours, boat speeds must not exceed 35 miles an hour. Lights must be illuminated at all times.
• With the exception of lake patrol boats, boats powered by internal combustion engines are not permitted on W.R. Holway Reservoir.
• Boats must not be operated within 200 feet of any GRDA dam except during generation, then no closer than 500 feet.
• No boat may be operated in a reckless, unsafe manner. No boat may be operated by a person under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
• In the interest of public health, no camping is permitted on GRDA property except in designated public use areas.
• No littering or trash dumping is allowed on GRDA property, including the water.
• Within 150 feet of boats, wharves, docks, shoreline, landings or swimming areas, powerboats and personal watercraft must not travel faster than idle speed.
• All boats shall respect the "No Wake Areas" under all bridges. Vessel operators will be held responsible for any property damage caused by their wake.