[Talk-us] U.S. inland waterways

[Jeffrey Ollie]

On Tue, May 15, 2012 at 11:01 PM, Nathan Edgars II <neroute2 at gmail.com> wrote:
> Is anyone familiar with the regulations governing the U.S. inland waterways
> (such as the Mississippi River and the Intracoastal Waterway)?

It's been a long time since I've done any boating, so I'm not an
expert or anything... but some of the questions you ask below cross a
lot of jursidictional boundaries.

> From my brief look, it seems to be less "these barge configurations are allowed"

Allowable barge configurations are largely determined by the U. S.
Army Corps of Engineers, because they are the ones that built and
operate the locks and dams and dredge river channels to maintain
navigability.

> and more "you can go anywhere but don't crash".

Mostly, except for:

1) Waterways or shorelines that are privately owned.
2) Wildlife refuges allow some uses but not others
3) Areas near dams or other infrastructure that would be either
dangerous or present security issues.

Which is pretty much just like on land...

> Is this correct, or are there defined maximum sizes?

Maximum boat sizes on inland waterways is largely a practical matter,
although the U. S. Coast Guard has rules and regulations designed to
promote safety (much like the NHTSA does for motor vehicles).  In the
same way that the size of the Panama Canal created the "Panamax" ship
size, locks and dams control the size of boats on inland waterways.

> In either case, any idea what the suitable tags might look
> like (other than the generic boat=yes ship=yes)?

I guess that depends on what you're trying to do...  If you are trying
to tag the largest possible vessel that can navigate a waterway (under
"normal" conditions at least) you could probably come up with a
reasonable set of tags.  Inland waterways are highly dynamic though...

-- 
Jeff Ollie