The US has regulations on all of this but they are routinely ignored by people who can't swim but own boats.
Small boat owners are required to have the life jackets on board but they can be hidden under the seats of a boat or inside a hatch and that will be OK even when you are inspected by the coast guard. Small children are the only ones required to wear their life jacket.
Larger vessels have to have the life jackets but no one wears a life jacket. Most of these vessels the captain will explain where they are but the crew would be required to get them out in an emergency.
Most of the small boat owners I've known wouldn't have much chance of retrieving life jackets from fastened compartments on their boat if it flipped and they were thrown from the boat.
One of the worst accidents I've seen was a small commercial lobster boat on fire. The crew were all hanging off the back of the boat without their life jackets and had pointed the boat into the harbor. Luckily the coast guard was there to save the day.
Small boat owners are required to have the life jackets on board but they can be hidden under the seats of a boat or inside a hatch and that will be OK even when you are inspected by the coast guard. Small children are the only ones required to wear their life jacket.
Larger vessels have to have the life jackets but no one wears a life jacket. Most of these vessels the captain will explain where they are but the crew would be required to get them out in an emergency.
Most of the small boat owners I've known wouldn't have much chance of retrieving life jackets from fastened compartments on their boat if it flipped and they were thrown from the boat.
One of the worst accidents I've seen was a small commercial lobster boat on fire. The crew were all hanging off the back of the boat without their life jackets and had pointed the boat into the harbor. Luckily the coast guard was there to save the day.