Non-recreational Uses
PWCs are small, fast, easily handled, fairly easy to use, affordable, and their propulsion systems do not have external propellers, making them safer for swimmers and wildlife. For these reasons, they are preferred for non-recreational use over small motorboats.
Lifeguards use PWCs equipped with rescue platforms to rescue water users who get into difficulties and carry them back to shore. Rescuers use PWCs to pick up flood survivors.
PWCs are used for law enforcement. Due to their speed and excellent maneuverability, police and rangers use them to enforce laws on lakes and rivers.
A PWC combined with a wash-reduction system, carrying waterproof loudspeaker equipment and GPS for instructions and distance measurement, has purportedly been used by assistant coaches for rowing sports on the River Tyne.
PWCs are used by the U.S. Navy as surface targets. Equipped with GPS, electronic compass, radar reflector, and a radio modem, the PWC is fully remotable with a two-way link. Its small shipboard footprint allows it to be stored and deployed from the smallest of vessels, and it has been used for target practice for everything from 5" to small arms.
PWCs are banned from many state parks throughout the U.S. including Kachemak Bay State Park in Alaska.
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