Manistee County Michigan Sheriff's Department

MANISTEE COUNTY MARINE DIVISION

     Marine Officer                                           

 Deputy Steve Block

(231) 723-8393 Extension 23

The Manistee County Sheriff’s Marine Division patrols over 23 miles of Lake Michigan shoreline with three Lake Michigan access ports. One has a deep water port with a large volume of commercial traffic. The Marine Division also routinely patrols six of our countie's larger inland lakes and over 60 miles of area rivers.

OFFICERS

Our Marine Division consists of one full time officer and one part time officer who are responsible for maintaining public safety on all bodies of water throughout Manistee County.   The full time officer handles the Snowmobile Division during the winter months from November 1st through March 31st each year. 

Deputy Steve Block is in charge of over seeing the day-to-day operations of the Sheriff’s Marine and Snowmobile divisions. Deputy Block has over 23 years of service with the Manistee County Sheriff’s Office, with the majority of years being in the Marine Division. "If there is one thing that I’m most proud of, it is the improvements to our equipment. Over the past 23 years, there have been many changes and up-grades to the equipment inventory. We have "state of the art" equipment in our Marine, Snowmobile, and Underwater Recovery Unit comparable to any agency in Northern Michigan."

RESPONSIBILITY

The Sheriff’s Marine Division is responsible for enforcing Michigan's marine laws, investigate boating accidents, conducting livery inspections, search and rescue operations, body recovery and instructing boater safety classes to area youths.

PATROL CRAFT                                                                                

The Sheriff’s Marine Division Patrol vessels consist of the following:

(Lake Michigan Craft)  25’ Sea Ark powered by twin 150 hp Evinrude e-tec engines.

 (Inland Lake Craft) a 19’ Triumph powered by a 150 hp Evinrude e-tec engine.

(River Craft) a 18’ Lowe flat bottom powered by a 90 hp jet-drive Evinrude e-tec engine.

 (Jet-Ski) a Kawasaki 900.

VESSEL TRAFFIC

Manistee County has a variety of vessel traffic each season. Commercial freighters,   large numbers of Lake Michigan fishing vessels, and increasing river traffic which includes power fishing boats, canoes, kayaks, rafts and tubes. The lakes and rivers are some of the finest in Northern Michigan, making Manistee a "recreational hotspot" for water enthusiasts of all types.

EDUCATION

Each spring, Deputy Block teaches the Michigan Boating Basics Course in area schools. We offer this course to every school system in our county at no charge to the students or the schools. A Michigan Boaters Safety Certificate is then issued upon successful completion of the course. Each year, the Marine Division trains between 150 to 200 students in our county. For information on classes and summer classes call the Marine Division at 231-723-8393 ext.# 23.

IMPORTANT FACTS FOR SAFE BOATING

From a 300’ freighter, to a small kayak, each person on board must have a  personal flotation devices or P.F.D.

• On a boat 16’ and over you must have a wearable P.F.D for each person on board.
• On a boat less than 16’ you may have a wearable or throwable P.F.D.
• The P.F.D. must be USCG approved.

Vessel Registration.

• Any vessel that has a motor of any type must have the registration numbers on each side of the forward half of the vessel and a current validation decal.
• The vessel operator must also carry the vessels certificate of registration on board.

Navigation Lights.

• Navigation lights help you and other boaters determine which is the give-way vessel when encountering each other at night. These lights must be displayed from sunset to sunrise.
• Any vessel with a motor must have sidelights, red on port, green on starboard, and a white light in the stern.
• Non-powered vessels rowboats, canoes, kayaks must have a white light.

Fire Extinguishers

• A vessel including PWC’s must have a fire extinguisher if any of the following conditions exist.
• Closed compartments under seat where portable fuel tanks may be stored.
• Closed storage compartments in which flammable or combustible materials may be stored.
• Closed living spaces
• Double bottoms not sealed to the hull or which are not completely filled with flotation material.
• Permanently installed fuel tanks.

Requirements Specific to Personal Watercraft (PWC)

• Must have registration numbers and current validation decal along with the certificate of registration.
• Each person onboard must have on a wearable PFD.
• Must have a fire extinguisher.
• The lanyard of a PWC’s ignition safety switch must be attached to the person.

 **  Any person born after December 31, 1978 must have a boating safety  certificate to operate a PWC.