Registration

• Mariners must register their vessels with the New York Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) when using their motorized boats on public waterways. Once registered, owners receive registration stickers to be kept on the boat and owners are required to paint or attach the registration number on both sides of the bow in large block letters visible up to one hundred 100 feet away, states the New York DMV.
  
  

Required Equipment

• All boats require navigation lights, distress signaling devices, sounding equipment, flotation devices and fire extinguishers, however equipment requirements vary dependent on boat size.
  
  

Proper Loading

• At the operator's station, a placard must be installed indicating maximum capacity of passengers and/or weight limits. While a motor may be capable of propelling extra weight, exceeding weight limits may have a detrimental effect on the structure or rudders. As more equipment is added to the vessel, the occupancy limit of the boat is reduced. Boater 101 states removing one person for each one hundred fifty150 pounds of equipment added to the vessel is satisfactory.