We All Share the River – Can We Get Along Better?
by Mark Taratoot
July 9, 2025
All the boats I own are human-powered. I use paddles and oars. I don’t even use a sail (yet), much less an electric trolling motor or an internal combustion engine. I do have a license to operate boat engines over ten horsepower, I have been on raft trips where the group used an outboard to get across the top of a reservoir to a take-out, and I once did a “Jet UP” shuttle on the Wild Salmon River. I am also an angler. I have been on small motorized boats to SCUBA dive.
Mark Taratoot on the Rogue River.
Even though I don’t usually operate powerboats, I recognize that we all share the river. Jet boats operate on some whitewater rivers like the Snake and Salmon in Idaho. Around here we see many types of users on milder waters including paddlers, oar-powered drift boats, float tubers, powered boats, anglers on shore, and even jet-skis. We all share the same resource, and we can improve our interactions if we pay attention.
Boat ramps can be difficult places. You have probably seen the inappropriate use of ramps. A group of rafters getting ready to launch or pulling out of a river can clog up a ramp if they don’t use good manners. The ramp is not a place to rig your raft, canoe, or kayak. It’s a place to launch and then get your boat out of the way. If you are paddling with a group, keep your boats and gear off to the side so the ramp is open for other users. Only when ready to launch should you move to the ramp. Then get in the water and get out of the way – you can pull your boat upstream or downstream from the ramp until you’re ready to get underway. Same thing at the end of your trip; get your boat out and clear the ramp. Rig and de-rig away from the ramp. This is common courtesy for your fellow human-powered recreationists, as well as for power boat operators.
Whitewater paddlers routinely encounter anglers on shore or even fishing from a boat. Some anglers don’t like our “plastic hatch” drifting through where they are fishing. We can help make things better if we communicate. An angler fishing the far shore might want you to drift right up next to them. An angler fishing an eddy line might want a wide berth. Try to make contact and see what the angler wants. Pay attention though; some folks are just unfriendly. I’ve had an angler bounce a lure off my front deck. If you know anglers, let them know that paddlers can actually improve their success. Steelhead, for example, bite when they’re on the move. They are less likely to bite when they are “kegged up.” A kayak that “spooks” a fish from a holding spot may send that fish up to the angler. It’s amazing how many times I’ve been in a group where almost as soon as we were past an angler we heard, “FISH ON!”
Powerboats share the river with us. While you likely won’t run into powered boats on most whitewater rivers around here, some places on the Rogue allow jet boats. Clearly rivers like the Willamette have plenty, and many lakes & reservoirs have quite a few. Over in Idaho, you’ll run into jets on the Wild Salmon, Lower Salmon, and Hells Canyon.
Jetboats are common in shallow water. A jet that stays on plane will throw a much smaller wake than if it slows. Pay attention next time you see a sled drop off plane. It throws a big wake in all directions, and sometimes their engine stinks at idle. When I’m on the Willamette, I try to signal jet boats to keep their speed up and just get past me. Most actually won’t. They’re trying to be friendly even though they would be friendlier if they stayed at speed. Trouble is, many of us get angry when they do that.
Some paddlers think all powerboat operators must slow down when passing non-motorized craft. I had a dialogue a while ago about this with someone referencing Oregon Revised Statute, specifically “ORS 830.315 Reckless boating; speed.” The statute (copied to the bottom of this article) says that powerboat operators may not operate in a reckless manner, not that they must slow down. The statute defines Reckless Operation:
“Recklessly,” when used with respect to a result or to a circumstance described by a statute defining an offense, means that a person is aware of and consciously disregards a substantial and unjustifiable risk that the result will occur or that the circumstance exists. The risk must be of such nature and degree that disregard thereof constitutes a gross deviation from the standard of care that a reasonable person would observe in the situation.
To be sure; there are some bad operators out there. Be very wary of them. A collision will have a bad outcome for a paddler, tuber, or swimmer. Some jet ski operators seem to exhibit complete disregard for any other river users. I don’t know if it is intentional. At least we don’t have wake boats in the upper Willamette.
What can paddlers do? When you see or hear a power boat, decide where YOU are going to go, and make your intent clear. Don’t dawdle – make a clearly distinct change of course, get out of the way, and let them pass. A good boat pilot will also make CLEAR INTENT; pay attention. If you can’t determine their intention, you can always blast on your whistle to get their attention. Always be thinking about where a power boat operator NEEDS to go. On plane, a jet sled can climb up or down some pretty skinny water, but if they have to take the power off, they will heel in and be stuck. No bueno! Try to stay out of the place they need. Once they enter, they need to keep under power or they have no steering. Be especially aware of “choke points” like narrow channels around gravel bars. A jet boat MUST be on plane to “thread the needle.” If you’re above a choke point paddling downstream and hear a jet coming upstream, take a moment. Eddy out and wait; let them play through.
In general, the boat traveling downstream has the right of way. In general sailboats have the right of way over all other craft. Human powered craft yield to boats under sail, and power boats should yield to paddlers. Again – the reality of conditions may mean it’s just nice to give up our right-of-way to be friends on the river. Interestingly, a vessel less than 20 meters long (or a sailboat) is not allowed to obstruct the passage of a vessel that can navigate safely only in a narrow channel. Even if you have right-of-way (stand-on vessel), sometimes it’s nice to let the other boat have it and be the give-way vessel. If you absolutely must pass another boat going in the opposite direction, stay to the right. Just like operating a motor vehicle, that’s what we all agree to do.
Sometimes it may look like a power boat is coming straight at you. In fact, they probably are. It is possible they are under the influence of intoxicants or that they’re just not paying attention. Most of the time though, they’re actually setting up to keep their wake away from you. As they approach, and it usually isn’t that close, they’ll make a wide arc around you and throw what little wake they produce AWAY from you and your group. It can be extremely unsetting, though, when you notice it and have to decide if they are intoxicated and will run you over or are trying to be good neighbors. Good luck!
New boat owners can be some of the worst. They may not know all the rules. Plenty of folks don’t. Most paddlers don’t either. I’ve seen more than one boater get a citation for not having their boat registered. The person getting the ticket usually says, “I don’t need to be registered if I’m under ten horsepower.” Well… they are wrong. Even a trolling motor powered by a battery means your boat has to be registered. Power over ten horsepower also requires a boater education card. Go ahead and get yours; you might learn more about how powered boats operate. It doesn’t expire!
I used to pretty much have disdain for all power boats. I was misguided. I remember when my attitude changed. It was many years ago on the Lower Salmon. The Salmon flows into the Snake, and we were at a camp on the Snake. The Snake has “tides” as the water level fluctuates with dam operations. We had been a week on the Salmon and apparently weren’t thinking about it. One of our group got up in the middle of the night to pee and saw all of the kayaks floating around and around in the eddy. He got his partner up, and they wrangled all the boats back. Thanks Jack! The next morning we got up. We ate breakfast. We washed dishes. We packed up our camps. We were getting ready to load the rafts. One of our group said, “Has anyone seen my boat?” That’s when we all found out about the wayward boats from the night before. The person missing a boat had his paddle and spray skirt in the cockpit his PFD too. Less than five minutes later, maybe two, a jet boat comes upstream with a big banana on the back. We flagged them down, and they came over. They gave us back the boat and gear. The only thing that got lost was a pair of booties he left on the front deck. The pilot said that the kayak had run a couple rapids on its own successfully. Then he said, “We all have to look out for each other on the river.” My attitude made a 180 degree shift from really disliking ALL power boats to realizing that we actually DO all share a resource, and we can share it and look out for each other while doing it.
See you on the river!
ORS 830.315 Reckless boating; speed. (1) A person commits the crime of reckless boating if the person recklessly operates a boat in a manner that endangers the safety of persons or property. As used in this subsection, “recklessly” has the meaning given that term in ORS 161.085.
(2) A person may not operate any boat at a rate of speed greater than will permit that person in the exercise of reasonable care to bring the boat to a stop within the assured clear distance ahead.
(3) Nothing in ORS 830.005, 830.015 to 830.050, 830.175, 830.210 to 830.420 and 830.475 to 830.490 is intended to prevent the operator of a boat actually competing in an event that is authorized as provided in ORS 830.375 from attempting to attain high speeds on a marked racing course. [Formerly 488.100; 2019 c.431 §1]