New laws going into effect next week in Tennessee will change who is allowed to rent a boat or jet ski, and require further safety training for younger drivers.
One of the new laws will require any Tennessee resident born after Jan. 1, 1989 to obtain a boating safety education certificate before renting a boat, and out-of-state residents of the same age to have a certificate from their home state. The rule will go into effect July 1.
Previously, the rule only applied to boat owners, not renters.
With the quick change potentially posing a threat to businesses, marinas across the state pushed TWRA to hold off on policing the new rule.
"If we would've rolled this out and said, 'hey, if you don't have your boater certificate, you can't go out on the lake,' it would have been absolutely detrimental to our rental business," said Hailey Kinner of Lakeshore Marina on Watauga Lake.
Lakeshore Marina is thankful TWRA decided to make 2018 a transition year, giving marinas in Tennessee time to educate boat renters about the change.
Still some boaters say getting drivers under the age of 29 certified for a quick trip to the lake might not be worth the hassle.
"I mean, for one time, that's probably not going to make it worth going through," said David Nifong, who is visiting the area with his family from Charlotte.
But the process may be easier than you think. The test only costs $10, and the class that's offered through TWRA isn't required.
To keep TWRA officials safe on the water, a new move over law, just like the one on the roads, will be enforced. The law will require boaters to slow down to no-wake speed with 100 ft. of a law enforcement vessel.
Click here to register for a TWRA certificate.