Hovercrafting: boating and water fun
Hovercraft (Air Cushion Vehicles)
Safety: The act of being safe means reducing exposure to unnecessary risks and being able to efficiently deal with emergency situations should they arise. Hovercraft operation may include passage to remote areas that are not readily accessible by conventional emergency service resources. Also, this may include operations into uncharted and/or fast moving water which adds greatly to the potential for an unplanned situation.
Generally, all law which applies to small boats will apply to the operation of hovercrafts. This include such issues as registration, personal flotation devices and fire extinguishers. It should also be noted that some states also now require that operator identification be carried on board. Remember, safty rules were developed to save lives.
Become familiar with marine right of way, most states offer manuals and/or courses in safe boat operation for little to no charge. See what the Georgia Department of Natural Resources offers its residents Click Here!.
About Hovercrafts
Hovercrafts fly on a cushion of air; gliding across the sea, lakes, rivers, grassland, marsh, sand, snow and ice! Hovercrafting is, in my opinion, kind of like a cross between boating and flying. You actually fly on a cushion of air above the water when hovercrafting.
Imagine owning a hovercraft for leisure, hovercraft technology makes leisure fun. A Hovercraft is an incredibly versatile, highly exciting and thrillingly different craft.
The hovercraft, in the commercial aspect, suffered from rapid rises in fuel prices in the past. Hovercrafts are expensive to build, maintain, and fuel. This cause them to be financially infeasible for long-term commercial operations. However, there is a renewed interest in the potential of hovercrafts. Today, makers of hovercrafts are incorporating modern and lightweight technology. This alow them to be more efficient and versatile.
Hovercrafts are experiencing a resurgence in 2025. The military, the coast guard, and companies involved in disaster relief and surveys find hovercrafts particularly useful. Hovercrafts are also being used for recreational purposes like waterskiing and snowboarding.
Hovercrafts do have limited terrain capability, they are limited to flat surfaces and they do not handle steep slopes or uneven terrain very well. This, along with other factors, cause hovercrafts to be less popular than other RVs.
Here are a few reasons why hovercrafts are not as common as other Recreational Vehicles: Hovercraft technology is more complex compared to traditional road vehicles. The controls of hovercrafts are more intricate and potentially more expensive to manufacture and maintain. Consider the hovercraft need a cushion of air and separate propulsion systems to function.
However, the recreational hovercraft market is growing and is expected to continue growing, driven by increasing demand for amphibious transport in remote regions. There is an increasing demand for amphibious transport in remote regions and the unique ability of the hovercraft to navigate various terrains, including water, mud, snow, and ice cause the hovercraft to be the prime option. If you need to "fly" smoothly over land, still or swift water, shallow or flooded or frozen rivers, sandbars, swamp, snow, and even thin or broken ice - then the hovercraft should be your vhecile of choice.
Hovercrafting in Georgia
Georgia contains an estimated 20,000 miles of rivers and streams.
Boating Education - You can take a boating education course in a classroom setting with the Department of Natural Resources, the United States Coast Guard, or the United States Power Squadrons.
Chestatee River above Lake Lanier
Sprewell Bluff on the Flint River
Horseshoe Rapid on the
Chattahoochee above Lake LanierChattooga River
"The Chattooga is a tributary of Weiss Reservoir. It originates near Lafayette and meanders about 51 miles southwest. A narrow river channel with numerous hazards makes most of the river floatable only by canoe or small boat. Large prop and jet boats can navigate the river below Ga. Hwy. 27 with caution."Georgia Noise Related Statutes
52-7-10. Exhausts to be muffled; exemptions; noise level testing
(a) The exhaust of every internal combustion engine used on any vessel, excluding those vessels documented by the United States Coast Guard and licensed pursuant to Code Section 27-2-8, shall be muffled or baffled and water injected, except those engines that exhaust through the lower unit or outdrive when the vessel is on plane, so as to decrease noise. Vessels competing in regattas or boat races approved under the provisions of Code Section 52-7-19 may be exempt from such provisions.
(b) The operator of any vessel, when requested to do so by any law enforcement officer authorized to enforce this title, shall submit the vessel to a noise level test.
Hovercraft Regulations
Hovercrafting is a relatively new recreational activity so there is no legislative body governing hovercraft. "For the most part, hovercraft are self-regulated by the Hoverclub of America." - Hoverclub of America
List of rivers of Georgia (U.S. state) List of rivers in Georgia
You can find a calendar of hovercrafting Events at Hoverclub of America
