30.50 Definitions. In ss. 30.50 to 30.80:

(1e) “Alcohol beverage" has the meaning specified under s. 125.02 (1).

(1g) “Alcohol concentration" has the meaning given in s. 340.01 (1v).

(1j) “Application" includes the form designated by the department and any supporting document or other information that is submitted to the department.

(1m) “Approved public treatment facility" has the meaning specified under s. 51.45 (2) (c).

(1s) “Associated equipment" means any system, part or component of a boat as originally manufactured or any similar system, part or component manufactured or sold for replacement, repair or improvement of the system, part or component; any accessory or equipment for, or appurtenance to, a boat and any marine safety article, accessory or equipment intended for or used by a person on board a boat except radio equipment.

(2) “Boat" or “vessel" means every description of watercraft used or capable of being used as a means of transportation on water, except a seaplane on the water and a fishing raft.

(3) “Certificate of number" means the certificate of number card, certification decal, and identification number issued by the department under the federally approved numbering system unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.

(3b) “Certification or registration document" means a certificate of number card, certification decal, registration certificate, registration card, temporary operating receipt, or registration decal.

(3d) “Commercial motorboat" means a motorboat while it is being operated to transport property or passengers for hire or while it is being used by its operator or owner to earn a livelihood or to gain a profit or both.

(3g) “Controlled substance" has the meaning specified under s. 961.01 (4).

(3h) “Controlled substance analog" has the meaning given in s. 961.01 (4m).

(3r) “Drug" has the meaning specified under s. 450.01 (10).

(4) “Employ" means to make use of for any purpose other than maintenance.

(4b) “Great bodily harm" has the meaning given in s. 939.22 (14).

(4c) “Hazardous inhalant" means a substance that is ingested, inhaled, or otherwise introduced into the human body in a manner that does not comply with any cautionary labeling that is required for the substance under s. 100.37 or under federal law, or in a manner that is not intended by the manufacturer of the substance, and that is intended to induce intoxication or elation, to stupefy the central nervous system, or to change the human audio, visual, or mental processes.

(4e) “Intoxicant" means any alcohol beverage, hazardous inhalant, controlled substance, controlled substance analog or other drug, or any combination thereof.

(4m) “Intoxicated boating law" means s. 30.681 (1) or a local ordinance in conformity with that subsection, s. 30.681 (2) or, if the operation of a motorboat is involved, s. 940.09 or 940.25.

(4q) “Lake sanitary district" means a town sanitary district that has within its boundaries at least 60 percent of the footage of shoreline of a public inland lake, as defined in s. 60.782 (1), for which a public inland lake protection and rehabilitation district is not in effect.

(4s) “Law enforcement officer" has the meaning specified under s. 165.85 (2) (c) and includes a person appointed as a conservation warden by the department under s. 23.10 (1).

(5) “Manufacturer" means any person engaged in the manufacture, construction or assembly of boats or associated equipment; the manufacture or construction of components for boats and associated equipment to be sold for subsequent assembly and the importation into this state for sale of boats, associated equipment or components for boats.

(6) “Motorboat" means any boat equipped with propulsion machinery, whether or not the machinery is the principal source of propulsion.

(7) “Nonmotorized boat" means a boat which is not a motorboat but which is designed and constructed to be used as a boat for transportation of a person or persons on water. This term includes, but is not limited to, any canoe, sailboat, inflatable boat or similar device, row boat, raft and dinghy which is not a motorboat.

(8) “Operate" or “use" when used with reference to a motorboat, boat or vessel means to navigate or otherwise employ.

(8g) “Operation of a motorboat" means controlling the speed or direction of a motorboat, except a sailboat operating under sail alone.

(8r) “Operator" means a person who is engaged in the operation of a motorboat, who is responsible for the operation of a motorboat or who is supervising the operation of a motorboat.

(9) “Owner" means the person who has lawful possession of a boat by virtue of legal title or equitable interest therein which entitles the person to lawful possession.

(9b) “Patrol boat" means a boat authorized by this state or by a local governmental unit for the purpose of law enforcement, search and rescue, fire fighting, emergency response, or water safety operations, including a water safety patrol unit.

(9d) “Personal watercraft" means a motorboat that uses an inboard motor powering a water jet pump or a caged propeller as its primary source of motive power and that is designed to be operated by a person standing on, kneeling on or sitting astride the watercraft.

(9f) “Proof," when used in reference to evidence of a certification or registration document or safety certificate, means the original certification or registration document or safety certificate issued by the department or an agent appointed under s. 30.52 (1m) (a) 3. or any alternative form of proof designated by rule under s. 23.47 (1).

(9g) “Purpose of authorized analysis" means for the purpose of determining or obtaining evidence of the presence, quantity or concentration of alcohol or other intoxicant in a person's blood, breath or urine.

(9x) “Refusal law" means s. 30.684 (5) or a local ordinance in conformity with that subsection.

(10) “Registration" means the registration certificate, registration card, and registration decal issued by the department.

(10m) “Restricted controlled substance" means any of the following:

(a) A controlled substance included in schedule I under ch. 961 other than a tetrahydrocannabinol.

(b) A controlled substance analog, as defined in s. 961.01 (4m), of a controlled substance described in par. (a).

(c) Cocaine or any of its metabolites.

(d) Methamphetamine.

(e) Delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol, excluding its precursors or metabolites, at a concentration of one or more nanograms per milliliter of a person's blood.

(11) “Sailboard" means a sailboat with a hull resembling a surfboard which has little or no cockpit or seating area and which is designed to be sailed by a person in a standing position.

(12) “Slow-no-wake" means that speed at which a boat moves as slowly as possible while still maintaining steerage control.

(13) “State of principal use" means the state where the boat is used or is to be used most during the year.

(13d) “Temporary operating receipt" means a receipt issued by the department or an agent under s. 30.52 (1m) (ag) 1. a. that shows that an application and the required fees for a certificate of number or registration have been submitted to the department or an agent appointed under s. 30.52 (1m) (a) 3.

(13m) “Test facility" means a test facility or agency prepared to administer tests under s. 343.305 (2).

(14) “Waters of this state" means any waters within the territorial limits of this state, including the Wisconsin portion of boundary waters.

History: 1979 c. 275; 1983 a. 27, 100; 1985 a. 279, 331; 1987 a. 3, 374; 1989 a. 145; 1991 a. 39, 257, 316; 1995 a. 290, 349, 436, 448; 1997 a. 198; 1999 a. 9; 2001 a. 16; 2003 a. 97; 2005 a. 25, 308; 2013 a. 83; 2015 a. 89; 2019 a. 68.

Recreational boating law in Wisconsin. Whipple. 61 MLR 425.

Wisconsin's Boating Rules of the Road. Whipple. Wis. Law. June 2000.