There was another note here about safety courses that made be think of this.
The current inland rules are probably close to a century old with modifications
over the years but they really don't seem to reflect the current state of
boating. It is certainly clear that they weren't thinking about PWCs when these
rules were written. To start with PWCs don't have a sound producing device and
they get around this with a whistle somewhere on the person of the rider. I
have NEVER actually heard someone use it in a passing situation and I doubt the
PWC operator could hear my horn.
Perhaps we need some universal types of hand signals for small boats similar to
bikes?
Another idea I think is overdue is establishing a speed somewhere between
"slow" and "safe normal operation". Setting a specific MPH is not reasonable
since there is no rule establishing that boats have speedometers and the
question will always be "is this speed through the water (that you get with a
pitot tube) or speed over the bottom (like you get from a GPS)?".
If we can live with something as ambiguious as the definition of "slow" why
can't we come up with the speed that is the minimum to stay up on plane? That
would be a useful addition to the "speeds" available for safety.