PFD requirements in Wisconsin:
All vessels (including canoes, kayaks, and paddleboards) must have at least one USCG-approved wearable life jacket for each person on board.
All vessels 16 feet or more in length must have one USCG approved throwable personal flotation device onboard that is immediately accessible.
Every person on board a personal watercraft must wear a USCG-approved life jacket.
Sailboards and windsurfers are exempt from life jacket requirement but are highly encouraged to wear one.
Federal law requires children under the age of 13 to wear a USCG-approved life jacket while underway in an open vessel on federally controlled waters.
Wisconsin BUI:
Wisconsin law prohibits operating a motorboat while intoxicated by drugs or alcohol. A person can be convicted of boating while intoxicated (BWI) for operating a motorboat while:
Impaired by drugs, alcohol, or a combination of the two to "a degree which renders him or her incapable of safe motorboat operation"
Having a BAC of .08 or greater. (.04% for commercial boaters), or
Having a "detectable amount" of a controlled substance in the blood.
