A new Massachusetts law requiring safety training for all powerboat operators is being hailed by Island boaters and the first responders charged with their protection.

Gov. Maura Healy signed the Hanson-Milone Boater Safety Act last month, more than a dozen years after it was first introduced in the state legislature following the death of a 20-year-old man off Plymouth Harbor in 2010.

The law is a sea change in Massachusetts, which has almost no requirements for people at the helm of recreational boats. Many officials on the Island, a boating hotspot on the east coast, said the new rule is long overdue.

Island harbors can be chaotic come summer.

Jeanna Shepard

Island harbors can be chaotic come summer.

Jeanna Shepard

“This should have happened a long time ago. How many people have died over the past 13 years?” said Edgartown police chief Chris Dolby, who joins forces with harbor master Charlie Blair when boaters run into — or cause — serious trouble in local waters.

“Charlie and I have seen some tragic, horrific boating incidents in our harbor over the years,” Chief Dolby said.

Until 2025, Massachusetts was the only New England state without a boating safety law.

Connecticut’s is one of the strictest, requiring a safe boating certificate or a Coast Guard license to operate any boat with a motor or any sailboat longer than 19 and a half feet. A separate certificate is required to use personal watercraft.

Rhode Island requires a safety certificate for all personal watercraft operators, and for anyone born after 1985 to operate a motorboat with 10 or more engine horsepower, while New Hampshire mandates safety training to drive boats with 25 or more horsepower.

In Massachusetts, by comparison, anyone 16 or older — regardless of experience — can drive powerboats with engines of any size. The only required safety training has been for children aged 12 through 15 to operate a motorboat without adult supervision.

“Anybody can go out and buy a boat at any time [and] they don’t require any training,” said Chilmark harbor master Ryan Rossi.

Oak Bluffs harbor master Emily deBettencourt agreed with Chief Dolby that the new law could not come soon enough.

Boats and ferries coexist in busier summer months.

Larry Glick

Boats and ferries coexist in busier summer months.

Larry Glick

“We see it all the time in Oak Bluffs: People [who] don’t know the first thing about boating safety,” Ms. deBettencourt said.

The Oak Bluffs harbor, where fishing vessels, daytrippers, ferries and tour boats all cross paths, can be especially chaotic.

“We see people cutting off the ferries, proceeding on the wrong side of the channel [and] not knowing how to safely maneuver their boat at all,” Ms. deBettencourt said.

Bow riding, in which passengers — often children — dangle their legs off the front of a moving powerboat, is another dangerous practice she often sees in Oak Bluffs, she said.

This summer, however, will be the last free-for-all in Massachusetts waters. The new state law requires anyone born after 1988 to pass a training course by April 1, 2026 in order to receive a certificate, similar to a driving license, that must be carried in order to operate any powerboat or personal watercraft.

Those born before 1989 have until April 1, 2028 to complete the course and earn the certificate.

The only exceptions to the new Bay State law will be for boaters holding valid merchant mariner credentials, active and qualified members of the Coast Guard and other military branches, commercial fishing captains, maritime academy students during training sessions and powerboat operators teaching safety courses.

“I think it’s important for everybody who’s on the water to have a general understanding of safe boating practices and to be well aware of the rules of the road and the laws that are required,” Mr. Rossi said.

Massachusetts will honor boating safety cards earned in other states, as long as the training programs are approved by the National Association of State Boating Law Administrators.

Only three U.S. states — Alaska, South Dakota and Wyoming — lack any form of mandatory boater training, according to the national association’s website. Some states, such as California and Florida, limit the requirement to younger boaters and those convicted of operating under the influence, while others — like Massachusetts — are rolling out more stringent laws over a period of years.

The new law was named for drowning victim David Hanson and the late Weymouth harbor master Paul Milone, who campaigned for the legislation. Towns on the Island have started to roll out information on the new law on their websites to prepare boaters.

Mr. Blair, who is retiring as Edgartown harbor master next month after three decades on the job, said he sees the new law as a positive step for Massachusetts as a whole.

Those born before 1989 have until April 1, 2028 to earn the certificate.

Ray Ewing

Those born before 1989 have until April 1, 2028 to earn the certificate.

Ray Ewing

“We get so many idiots that just go to a boat show and become a captain,” Mr. Blair said.

The need for boater training has become acute as more people have taken to the water in recent years, said Robert Hurst, rear commodore of the Edgartown Yacht Club and a retired captain in the U.S. Coast Guard who is also an instructor for U.S. Sailing.

Motorboats also have grown much more powerful, escalating the risks, Mr. Hurst said by telephone from his off-season home in Miami.

“Down here [in Florida], it’s just crazy. You’re seeing boats with 4 and 5 outboard engines that are 350 horsepower [each], and people only know one speed,” he said.

“When we were kids, somebody who had a 17-foot [Boston] Whaler was a big deal,” Mr. Hurst said.

There are some lingering questions about the enforcement of the new law. Lynne Fraker, a longtime sailor and former Tisbury assistant harbor master for Lake Tashmoo, told the Gazette she wonders about the rollout.

“How are they going to make sure everybody has it and what are they going to do if they don’t?” Ms. Fraker asked.

A flyer posted on the Tisbury website gives penalties of at least $50 for a first offense and $100 for subsequent offenses, and notes that more guidance from the state will be issued by Oct. 1 of this year. Enforcement has been delegated to harbor masters and environmental police.

Ms. Fraker was glad to see some restrictions, even if they won’t prevent all boating mishaps.

“I think it’s good that there’s some expectation that all boaters would have some education,” she  said, “because right now they don’t. All it takes is money [and] you don’t have to know anything else.”