Lookout, safe speed and avoiding collision (Rules 2, 5-8)

Navigation Rules, lights & bridges · Power & sail

In any visibility, the Rules require every vessel to keep a proper lookout, go at a safe speed, use all available means to judge the risk of collision, and take early, obvious action to avoid it. These duties bind the stand-on vessel too, and are the same under the International and Inland Rules.

Responsibility (Rule 2)

• Following the letter of the Rules is no excuse if you neglect ordinary good seamanship or the special circumstances of the moment (Rule 2(a)).
• You may depart from a rule when that is needed to avoid immediate danger, taking into account all the dangers and the limits of the vessels involved (Rule 2(b)).

Lookout (Rule 5)

• Every vessel must keep a proper lookout at all times, by sight and hearing and by all other available means suited to the conditions (radar, if fitted, for example), so the skipper can fully judge the situation and the risk of collision.
• The duty applies 'at all times': day and night, in clear weather as well as fog, underway in open water as well as in harbor.

Safe speed (Rule 6)

• A safe speed is one at which you can take proper, effective action to avoid a collision and stop within a distance that suits the conditions. The Rules set no number.
• Every vessel must weigh visibility; traffic, including clusters of fishing boats; its own stopping distance and turning ability; background lights at night; wind, sea, current and nearby hazards; and draft against the depth available (Rule 6(a)).
• With working radar, also weigh its limits: the range scale in use, sea and rain clutter, small boats or debris it may miss, and the number and movement of targets. Radar can also give a better read on how far you can actually see (Rule 6(b)).

Risk of collision (Rule 7)

• Use all available means to decide whether risk of collision exists; if in any doubt, treat it as existing (Rule 7(a)).
• If an approaching vessel's compass bearing doesn't change appreciably, risk of collision exists. Risk can still exist when the bearing is changing, especially with a large ship, a tow, or a vessel at close range (Rule 7(d)).
• If radar is fitted, use it properly, including long-range scanning and plotting, and don't act on scanty information (Rule 7(b), (c)).

Action to avoid collision (Rule 8)

• Act early and positively, with good seamanship. Make course or speed changes big enough to be obvious to the other vessel by eye or radar; avoid a string of small changes (Rule 8(a), (b)).
• With enough sea room, a substantial course change made in good time is often the most effective move, as long as it doesn't create a new close-quarters situation (Rule 8(c)).
• Pass at a safe distance and keep checking until the other vessel is finally past and clear. If needed, slow down, or stop by taking all way off (Rule 8(d), (e)).
• A vessel required not to impede another (Rules 9 and 10) must act early to leave room, and still follows the steering rules if risk of collision develops (Rule 8(f)).

The rules: COLREGS Rule 2 · COLREGS Rule 5 · COLREGS Rule 6 · COLREGS Rule 7 · COLREGS Rule 8 · 33 CFR 83.02 · 33 CFR 83.05 · 33 CFR 83.06 · 33 CFR 83.07 · 33 CFR 83.08

A plain-language summary of federal rules for recreational boats, checked against the rules’ own text and a second source, and written in our own words. It isn’t legal advice. States add rules of their own, and rules change — the links above go to the current official text.