This version of the handbook is printed in color. Color is necessary to visually understand the light color patterns described in this book.

We include the latest Notice to Mariners updates and highlight each update with underlines and or footnotes.. THIS EDITION IS UPDATED TO INCLUDE NTM 18-20

The Navigation Rules & Regulations Handbook (Nav Rules) contains the essentials of boating protocol and safety. It is the reference manual every boat should carry and every skipper should be intimately familiar with. So valuable in fact the US Coast Guard REQUIRES a copy on board all vessels 12 meters (approximately 39’) or more in length:

33 CFR 83.01(g) requires: ‘The operator of each self-propelled vessel 12 meters or more in length shall carry, on board and maintain for ready reference, a copy of these Rules.’

This handbook is a compendium produced by the U.S. Coast Guard Navigation Standards Branch, U.S. Coast Guard Headquarters, Washington, DC, of the:

International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea, 1972 (72 COLREGS); Inland Navigation Rules (33 CFR 83); their respective technical annexes (33 CFR 84-90); COLREGS Demarcation Lines (33 CFR 80); Vessel Bridge-to-Bridge Radiotelephone Regulations, (33 CFR 26); Vessel Traffic Management Regulations (33 CFR 161); and,
various other pertinent provisions of the U.S. Code and Code of Federal Regulations regarding compliance and penalties associated with the Navigation Rules.