Does the US have regulations around this? Here in New Zealand a boat must carry a life jacket for every person on board, and kids must wear a life jacket at all times. On vessels over 6 metres all people onboard must wear a life jacket at all times, unless the skipper has performed a safety assessment and advises they don't need to (e.g. on a ferry it's extremely unlikely anyone would have to wear a life jacket, but a charter fishing vessel may).
The US has regulations on all of this but they are routinely ignored by people who can't swim but own boats.
Small boat owners are required to have the life jackets on board but they can be hidden under the seats of a boat or inside a hatch and that will be OK even when you are inspected by the coast guard. Small children are the only ones required to wear their life jacket.
Larger vessels have to have the life jackets but no one wears a life jacket. Most of these vessels the captain will explain where they are but the crew would be required to get them out in an emergency.
Most of the small boat owners I've known wouldn't have much chance of retrieving life jackets from fastened compartments on their boat if it flipped and they were thrown from the boat.
One of the worst accidents I've seen was a small commercial lobster boat on fire. The crew were all hanging off the back of the boat without their life jackets and had pointed the boat into the harbor. Luckily the coast guard was there to save the day.
Yes. There's a patchwork of state laws, and there are federal Coast Guard requirements that cover states without their own laws. Generally, children have to wear life jackets, and there needs to be one for every adult on board. Depending on the state, adults may be required to wear them on certain types of boats or when transiting over certain underwater features.
I would be _very surprised_ if we did not have regulations about this, similar to seat belt laws. But the problem is probably enforcement. Nothing stops people from having a life vest on in port, and then taking them off once they are "away from the nannies" or whatever excuse people use when drinking.
I have only been on a boat rarely, but I don't recall seeing any kindof police on jetskis or boats that would go check on whether people had safety equipment on and then ticket them.
