We have a Stern infant one for 30lbs and under currently. It's the smallest yet safest USCG approved jacket we can find. But it seems a bit big for her like she could slip out. She only weighs about 13lbs. However we did just find one made in Canada called Salus Bijoux. They have awesome reviews and have been proven to be the safest jacket produced for infants under 19lbs. Problem is it's approved by the Canadian Coast Guard but not the US.

US Coast Guards reasoning for not approving it is they don't recommend any child under 18lbs be on a vessel. Seems like a weak argument to me. We are going to order a Salus and keep her in it when we are underway. When anchored she technically doesn't have to have one on just as long as it's in the boat. However we never take them off. But if we're anchored which is 99% of the time they'll board you around here, then there's nothing they can do about it. If by chance we do get pulled and she doesn't have the approved one on then I'll just have to take the ticket. I'm not going to jeopardize my daughters safety because another country makes better life jackets and the US government is too ignorant to approve it.

Boat looks great, and over 30 knots /33mph at 3,500 is faster than I thought possible unless running a 225 hp outboard.

Boat have trim tabs ? If not strongly recommended. Greatly reduces pounding in chop & any porpoising.

Bennett

you sure about not needing the life vest on when anchored? here its all people 12 years and under must have a vest on at all times on all vessels under 26'. unless i reading it wrong. i woulda thought cg regs were federal and wouldnt vary state to state. my boy is 10 and swims like a fish. belongs to a local swim team and thinks he dont need to wear one cause they so cumbersome. and i dont blame him when we fishing. but i make him wear it in the harbor and when underway. we keep an eye out for marine patrol when fishing.

gonna look at that reg again cause we always thought it was funny that when we jump out the boat for a swim or to cool off he doesnt need it. but as soon as he gets back in the boat hes gotta put it on

Check into Onyx in-sight inflatables. Like wearing nothing at all. Come in both belt worn or chest types. Inflates with a jerk of a cord that punctures a co2 cartridge. (Manual inflation via a stem is also possible) West marine also sells their own type, but I like the Onyx ones.

This is copied and pasted from VaDGIF's website:

Federal Life Jacket Rule for Children Under 13 Years Old—No person may operate a recreational vessel on federal waters with any child under age 13 on the vessel unless each child is either:

Wearing an appropriate life jacket approved by the Coast Guard; or
Below deck or in an enclosed cabin.

Key word here is Operated. I had a coast guard guy test drive my boat I had for sale and I asked him to clear this up for me that there's no loopholes or anything and he assured me that as long as the vessel isn't being operated a child doesn't have to have one on.

cant copy and paste for some reason but msdmr says 12 and under, while underway, less than 26'. so thats good news for my kid and thats the way we did it anyway. question now is does working a bank with a trolling motor count as "underway"?

Def not any attorney, but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express once.

Working the bank under any kind of propulsion, yes.

Drifting with the tide, no.

Makes me wonder with the new technology, Is a Merc Sky Hook or a gps controlled trolling motor considered to be underway?

Probably as long as it generates revenue.

I read somewhere that drifting is considered underway. A sailboat has the right of way over a powerboat drifting was what I read. It was on the Internet so it must be true.

drifting is underway.
If you are not tied to the dock or anchored or out of the water, you are underway.
If you are underway, you are operating the vessel.

Heck anyone that's 12 or younger walking down a dock has to have a PFD.