Mel’s Marine Service

Oregon sets no rental age in law; what it sets is who may operate. No one aged 11 or under may operate a motorboat. A 12- to 15-year-old may operate a boat of 10 horsepower or less without an adult, and one above 10 horsepower only when accompanied by a person 16 or older holding a boating education card, or 18 or older for a personal watercraft. From 16, a boating education card is required for any powerboat over 10 horsepower, personal watercraft included.

Renters get a specific break: the Marine Board exempts them from completing the education course, but they must complete a watercraft rental safety checklist before departure. The rental company sets its own minimum age.

Source: Oregon State Marine Board, oregon.gov/osmb (oregon.gov)

Oregon requires a Boating Safety Education Card rather than a boating license. Administered by the Oregon State Marine Board, it is required for operators 16 or older operating a powerboat, including a personal watercraft, over 10 horsepower; there is no birth-date cutoff. Children 11 and under cannot operate motorboats. Operators 12 to 15 need a card for any motorboat, may run 10 horsepower or less alone, and need a card-holding supervisor 16 or older for larger boats or 18 or older aboard a PWC.

Renters may use a signed Watercraft Rental Safety Checklist as a temporary card for rentals over 10 horsepower, but no one under 18 may rent a PWC. Other exemptions include Coast Guard licensees and licensed commercial fishermen.

Source: Oregon State Marine Board, oregon.gov/osmb (oregon.gov)

The best places to boat in Oregon depend on the water you want: Coos Bay for a tidal South Coast bay, Detroit Lake for a large Cascade reservoir, the Deschutes River for river boating in Central Oregon, and Elk Lake for an alpine lake within the Cascade Lakes region. Coos Bay combines bay, river and nearby lake boating; Detroit Lake is a nine mile, forest ringed canyon reservoir; and the Cascade Lakes area has dozens of lakes formed by glaciers and volcanoes, with Elk Lake offering easy water access.

Source: Travel Oregon (traveloregon.com)

Some of Oregon’s most popular boating destinations are Portland’s Willamette River, busy with kayaks, paddleboards and boats; Fern Ridge Reservoir near Eugene, known for boating, paddleboarding and wildlife; Lake Billy Chinook near Culver, prized for paddling, fishing and dramatic basalt canyons; the North Fork Siuslaw near Florence, a protected estuary for paddling and wildlife viewing; Winchester Bay, where the Umpqua supports angling, crabbing and river exploration; and Charleston and Coos Bay, for bay, river and lake boating plus crabbing.

Source: Travel Oregon (traveloregon.com)