On The Water
S.C. Code 50-21-112 and S.C. Code 50-21-870 — boating under the influence, life jackets, and idle speed near docks
It is unlawful to operate a moving motorized water device or one under sail on the state's waters while under the influence of alcohol, drugs or both to the extent that the person's faculties to operate are materially and appreciably impaired.
- A first offense: a fine of $200 or not less than forty-eight hours nor more than thirty days, with public service possible in place of the forty-eight hours.
- A second offense: a fine of not less than $2,000 nor more than $5,000 and not less than forty-eight hours nor more than one year.
- A third offense: a fine of not less than $3,500 nor more than $6,000 and not less than sixty days nor more than three years.
Those are the penalties. A conviction also bars operating any water device in the state for six months for a first, one year for a second, and two years for a third, counting prior violations within ten years.
Life jackets and lanyards. Everyone aboard a personal watercraft wears a Coast Guard approved flotation device, as does everyone under twelve on a motorboat under sixteen feet. A personal watercraft may not run after sunset or before sunrise, and its engine cutoff lanyard is attached to the operator.
On the major lakes, boats keep to idle speed within one hundred feet of a dock or pier and fifty feet of an anchored boat or a person in the water. Elsewhere it is fifty feet, and one hundred yards from the Atlantic coastline. A particular charge is a question for a licensed South Carolina attorney.
Sources for this section (2)
- S.C. Code 50-21-112 — Operating a water device under the influence; penalties
- S.C. Code 50-21-870 — Personal watercraft and boating safety
Legal information, not legal advice. Verified as of October 2026. Applying it to a particular situation is the work of a licensed South Carolina attorney.