2017 Recreational Vessel Statistic Published

The U.S. Coast Guard recently published the 2017 Recreational Vessel Statistics. 4,291 accidents were reported to the Coast Guard. 658 involved deaths. There were 2,629 injuries. Approximately $46 million dollars of damage to property were calculated as a result of recreational boating accidents.The rate of fatalities decreased by 6.8% compared with 2016. The number of accidents also decreased by 3.9%. The number of injuries showed a 9.4% decrease. Of the fatalities 76% were by drowning; 84.5% of those were not wearing personal flotation devices.The highest percentage of deaths were caused by open motorboats (47%), then kayaks (15%) and then personal watercraft (7%).11,961,568 recreational vessels were registered by the states in 2017 representing an increase of .084% from the previous year.The report represents accidents involving watercraft deemed as “vessels” and include: airboat, auxiliary sailboat, cabin motorboat, canoe, houseboat, inflatable boat, kayak, open motorboat, personal watercraft, pontoon, raft, rowboat, sailboat, and standup paddleboard.The complete report may be found following this URL:http://www.uscgboating.org/library/accident-statistics/Recreational-Boating-Statistics-2017.pdf