Personal Watercraft Loan Program For Fire/EMS/PD

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An interesting deal..

http://www.pwia.org/relations/lawenforceme...an_program.aspx

PWC Loan Program

For more information about the PWC

Law Enforcement Loan Program

or to apply for a loan, contact your

local personal watercraft dealer.

Since 1989, manufacturers have loaned approximately 15,000 PWC to local law enforcement, fire and rescue, and marine mammal research organizations across America. If calculated at the 2004 average retail price of $9,226 per PWC, manufacturers’ investment in this program has exceeded $138 million.

Because PWC operate by water propulsion and do not have exposed propellers like other boats, PWC have become invaluable in emergency patrol and rescue situations when a propeller might otherwise compromise the mission. Additionally,

the shallow draft of PWC allow officials to access shallow water areas as well. Some marine mammal research organizations participate in this loan program to rescue and rehabilitate dolphins and manatees.

PWC exhibit a number of unique safety features that make them ideally suited for rescue and enforcement situations. They are quick, maneuverable and have a shallow draft that allows for operation in areas where other boats can't go. Because there are no exposed propellers or other moving parts, the risk to a swimmer or victim is significantly reduced. Additionally, PWC are easily launched from almost anywhere, and they handle well in most rough water conditions.

Furthermore, their ability to be taken from "static to dynamic" gives rescuers the ability to follow the victim in water—allowing for repeated attempts at rescue.

Safe, reliable and able to be quickly deployed, the PWC is a "jack-of-all-trades" in water enforcement and rescues. Public safety agencies across the country depend on them for a wide variety of functions including:

towing stranded boats

pulling in tired swimmers

searching for missing persons

inspecting out-of-the-way waterways

patrolling shallow lakes and rivers

enforcing regulations in harbors and at marinas

saving stranded surfers and sail boarders

removing dangerous debris

transporting paramedics

Lifeguards find PWC well suited for quick response in ocean or rough water conditions. In the time that it takes a lifeguard to swim to a rescue, a personal watercraft can be there and back. Response time is cut dramatically, and the watercraft's size and lack of propeller make it possible to come right up to a victim in the water.

Many law enforcement agencies use PWC for patrolling. They are stable enough to allow officers to stand up to observe the interior of a boat they are approaching -- an important consideration in law enforcement. And, since many boaters do not expect law enforcement officials to be riding PWC, officers are able to approach an illegal activity unnoticed. PWC are also more economical to operate than full-sized vessels, sometimes using one-quarter the gasoline of regular patrol boats. This is an attractive feature for most publicly funded agencies.