At the start of the month, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Coast Guard released the annual Recreational Boating Statistics report for 2024, showing that there has been a slight uptick in the total number of watercraft incidents in 2024 compared to previous years, but also showing that there has also been a dip in both deaths and injuries.
According to the report, in calendar year 2024, the Coast Guard verified 3,887 incidents that involved 556 deaths, 2,170 injuries and approximately $88 million of damage to property as a result of recreational boating incidents. The fatality rate was 4.8 deaths per 100,000 registered recreational vessels. This rate represented a 2% decrease from the 2023 fatality rate of 4.9 deaths per 100,000 registered recreational vessels. Compared to 2023, the number of incidents increased 1.1%, the number of deaths decreased 1.4%, and the number of injuries increased 2.1%. Where length was known, 4 of every 5 boaters who drowned were aboard vessels less than 21 feet in length.
Where data was known, the most common vessel types involved in incidents were open motorboats (47%), personal watercraft (19%), and cabin motorboats (14%).
Where data was known, the vessel types with the highest percentage of deaths were open motorboats (46%), paddlecraft (26%) and pontoons (8%). Paddlecraft deaths include canoes (4.5%), kayaks (16%) and standup paddleboards (5%) or SUPs.
The 11,674,073 recreational vessels registered by the states in 2024 represent a 1.1% increase from last year when 11,546,512 recreational vessels were registered.
The statistics continued to support the importance of wearing a PFD, as more than 85 percent of the fatalities were cases where lifejackets were not being worn.
While the report covers recreational boating of all sorts, it does break down the numbers by craft type, with Personal watercraft ranking as the type of watercraft with the second highest number of fatalities.
While “inattention of operators ranked, by a significant margin, as the top contributing factor of watercraft incidents, alcohol took the top spot spot as the contributing factor in fatal incidents.
Nearly 30 percent of PWCs involved in incidents in 2024 were rental vessels, but only roughly 15 percent of deaths that occurred involving PWCs, took place aboard rented units.
You can download the full 79-page report here: Recreational-Boating-Statistics-2024.
