width shall carry one white light at each end of the raft. Rafts of more than one crib abreast shall carry one white light on each outside corner of the raft, making four lights in all. The white light required by these rules for rafts and other water craft shall be carried, from sunset to sunrise, in a lantern so fixed and constructed as to show a clear, uniform, and unbroken light, visible all around the horizon and of such intensity as to be visible on a dark night with a clear atmosphere at a distance of at least 1 mile. The lights for rafts shall be suspended from poles of such height that the lights shall not be less than 8 feet above the surface of the water. Rule prohibiting the carrying of unauthorized lights on steam vessels.— Any master or pilot of any steam vessel who shall authorize or permit the carrying of any light, electric or otherwise, not required by law, on the outside structure of the cabin or hull of the vessel that in any way will interfere with distinguishing the signal lights shall, upon conviction thereof before any board of inspectors having jurisdiction, be deemed guilty of misconduct and shall be liable to have his license suspended or revoked. REGULATION OF MOTOR BOATS AN ACT To amend laws for preventing collision of vessels and to regulate equipment of certain motor boats on the navigable waters of the United States Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the words "motor boat' where used in this act shall include every vessel propelled by machinery and not more than sixty-five feet in length, except tugboats and towboats propelled by steam. The length shall be measured from end to end over the deck, excluding sheer: Provided, That the engine, boiler, or other operating machinery shall be subject to inspection by the local inspectors of steam vessels, and to their approval of the design thereof, on all said motor boats, which are more than forty feet in length, and which are propelled by machinery driven by steam. SEC. 2. That motor boats subject to the provisions of this act shall be divided into classes as follows: Class one. Less than twenty-six feet in length. Class two. Twenty-six feet or over and less than forty feet in length. Class three. Forty feet or over and not more than sixty-five feet in length. SEC. 3. That every motor boat in all weathers from sunset to sunrise shall carry the following lights, and during such time no other lights which may be mistaken for those prescribed shall be exhibited. (a) Every motor boat of class one shall carry the following lights: First. A white light aft to show all around the horizon. Second. A combined lantern in the fore part of the vessel and lower than the white light aft showing green to starboard and red to port, so fixed as to throw the light from right ahead to two points abaft the beam on their respective sides. (b) Every motor boat of classes two and three shall carry the following lights: First. A bright white light in the fore part of the vessel as near the stem as practicable, so constructed as to show an unbroken light over an arc of the horizon of twenty points of the compass, so fixed as to throw the light ten points on each side of the vessel, namely, from right ahead to two points abaft the beam on either side. The glass or lens shall be of not less than the following dimensions: Class two. Nineteen square inches. Class three. Thirty-one square inches. Second. A white light aft to show all around the horizon. Third. On the starboard side a green light so constructed as to show an unbroken light over an arc of the horizon of ten points of the compass, so fixed as to throw the light from right ahead to two points abaft the beam on the starboard side. On the port side a red light so constructed as to show an unbroken light over an arc of the horizon of ten points of the compass, so fixed as to throw the light from right ahead to two points abaft the beam on the port side. The glasses or lenses in the said side lights shall be of not less than the following dimensions on motor boats of Class two. Sixteen square inches. Class three. Twenty-five square inches. On and after July first, nineteen hundred and eleven, all glasses or lenses prescribed by paragraph (b) of section three shall be fresnel or fluted. The said lights shall be fitted with inboard screens of sufficient height and so set as to prevent these lights from. being seen across the bow and shall be of not less than the follow dimension on motor boats of Class two. Eighteen inches long. Class three. Twenty-four inches long: Provided, That motor boats as defined in this act when propelled by sail and machinery or under sail alone, shall carry the colored lights suitably screened but not the white lights prescribed by this section. SEC. 4. (a) Every motor boat under the provisions of this act shall be provided with a whistle or other sound-producing mechanical appliance capable of producing a blast of two seconds or more in duration, and in the case of such boats so provided a blast of at least two seconds shall be deemed a prolonged blast within the meaning of the law. (b) Every motor boat of class two or three shall carry an efficient fog horn. (c) Every motor boat of class two or three shall be provided with an efficient bell, which shall be not less than eight inches across the mouth on board of vessels of class three. SEC. 5. That every motor boat subject to any of the provisions of this act, and also all vessels propelled by machinery other than by steam more than sixty-five feet in length, shall carry either life preservers or life belts or buoyant cushions, or ring buoys, or other device, to be prescribed by the Secretary of Commerce, sufficient to sustain afloat every person on board and so placed as to be readily accessible. All motor boats carrying passengers for hire shall carry one life preserver of the sort prescribed by the regulations of the Board of Supervising Inspectors for every passenger carried, and no such boat while so carrying passengers for hire shall be operated or navigated except in charge of a person duly licensed for such service by the local board of inspectors. No examination shall be required as the condition of obtaining such a license, and any such license shall be revoked or suspended by the local board of inspectors for misconduct, gross negligence, recklessness in navigation, intemperance, or violation of law on the part of the holder, and if revoked the person holding such license shall be incapable of obtaining another such license for one year from the date of revocation: Provided, That motor boats shall not be required to carry licensed officers except as required in this act. SEC. 6. That every motor boat and also every vessel propelled by machinery other than by steam, more than sixty-five feet in length, shall carry ready for immediate use the means of promptly and effectually extinguishing burning gasoline. SEC. 7. That a fine not exceeding one hundred dollars may be imposed for any violation of this act. The motor boat shall be liable for the said penalty and may be seized and proceeded against, by way of libel in the district court of the United States for any district within which such vessel may be found. SEC. 8. That the Secretary of Commerce shall make such regulations as may be necessary to secure the proper execution of this act by collectors of customs and other officers of the Government. And the Secretary of the Department of Commerce, may upon application therefor, remit or mitigate any fine, penalty, or forfeiture relating to motor boats except for failure to observe the provisions of section six of this act. SEC. 9. That all laws and parts of laws only in so far as they are in conflict herewith are hereby repealed: Provided, That nothing in this act shall be deemed to alter or amend acts of Congress embodying or revising international rules for preventing collisions at sea. SEC. 10. That this act shall take effect on and after thirty days after its approval. Approved, June 9, 1910. REGULATIONS FOR TOWS OF SEAGOING BARGES WITHIN INLAND WATERS The following regulations limit the length of hawsers between towing vessels and seagoing barges in tow and the length of such tows within inland waters of the United States, designated and defined from time to time pursuant to section 2 of the act approved February 19, 1895. These regulations have been prepared and are approved by the Secretary of Commerce pursuant to section 14 of the act approved May 28, 1908, entitled "An act to amend the laws relating to navigation, and for other purposes." The suspension of these regulations on June 4, 1917, "for the duration of the war or until further notice," has expired by limitation, and said regulations are in full force and effect on and after December 21, 1923. 1. Tows of seagoing barges navigating the inland waters of the United States are limited in length to five vessels, including the towing vessel or vessels. 2. Hawsers are limited in length to 75 fathoms, measured from the stern of one vessel to the bow of the following vessel, and should in all cases be as much shorter as the weather or sea will permit. 3. In cases where the prescribed length of hawser is, in the opinion of the master of the towing vessel, dangerous on account of the state of weather or sea, hawsers need not be shortened to that length until reaching the localities named below: (a) Tows bound for Hampton Roads or beyond, before passing Thimble Light. (b) Tows bound up the Chesapeake, to the northward of Baltimore Light. (c) Tows bound up the Delaware, between Fourteen Foot Bank and Cross Ledge lighthouses. Hawsers may also be lengthened in the same places, under the same circumstances, when tows are bound out. 4. In case of necessity, on account of wind or weather, hawsers of vessels navigating between Race Rock and Gay Head may be lengthened out in the discretion of the master of the towing vessel; but this paragraph shall not apply to Narragansett Bay north of Beavertail Light. 5. In all cases where tows can be bunched it should be done. (a) Tows navigating in the North and East Rivers of New York must be bunched above a line drawn between the Robbins Reef Lighthouse and Owls Head, Brooklyn, but the quarantine anchorage and the north entrance to Ambrose Channel shall be avoided in the process of bunching tows. When tows are entering Long Island Sound from the westward, the lines may be lengthened out to the prescribed length after passing Fort Schuyler; and when bound for New York from Long Island Sound tows must be bunched before passing Whitestone Point. (b) Tows must be bunched above the mouth of the Schuylkill River, Pa. 6. Section 15 of the act approved May 28, 1908, provides : That the master of the towing vessel shall be liable to the suspension or revocation of his license for any willful violation of regulations issued pursuant to section 14 in the manner now prescribed for incompetency, misconduct, or unskillfulness. 7. Any violation of these regulations shall be reported in writing as soon as practicable to the board of local inspectors of steam vessels most convenient to the officer or other person who may witness the violation. |