Loch Lomond lies inside Loch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park in Scotland, and the National Park Authority runs a set of byelaws for the loch. The Authority says the strengthened byelaws, in force since 1 November 2024, respond to significant increases in paddleboarding, kayaking and open-water swimming. This guide goes through what its web pages and byelaw document say for someone on a paddle board. The Authority’s paddleboarding page and the byelaw PDF are undated, the news releases carry the dates given below, and everything was read on 8 November 2026.
Is a paddle board a vessel on the loch?
The byelaw document defines “Vessel” as any structure, craft or board used or capable of being navigated on water, whether or not it can carry a person and whether or not it is self-propelled. The byelaws apply to the waters of Loch Lomond and its tributaries, distributaries and navigable rivers. The document states that the master of a vessel is responsible for ensuring compliance with its rules of navigation.
The Authority’s paddleboarding page lists paddleboards among the craft covered by its life jacket rule, alongside boats, canoes and kayaks, so a board is treated as a vessel there too.
What must children under 16 wear?
The paddleboarding page says anyone under 16 must wear a life jacket or buoyancy aid on any moving vessel, and it names paddleboards, with or without an engine. The Authority’s November 2024 news release says the same. An earlier announcement, made before the byelaws took effect, described the rule differently: compulsory wearing of personal flotation devices for everyone under 16 on all vessels “in certain circumstances, such as when on open decks”. The later pages say any moving vessel, so those are the wording to rely on, and the Authority is the body to ask about an edge case.
And for adults?
The paddleboarding page says life jackets or buoyancy aids must still be carried on board for all those 16 and over under the new byelaws, and adds that wearing them is always better. The same page asks visitors to always wear a buoyancy aid when out on the water and points to Water Safety Scotland and the British Stand Up Paddleboarding Association for further advice.
Do the engine and slow-zone rules apply to a board?
The November 2024 news release says anyone intending to be in charge of a vessel with an engine, including a jet ski, now has to register in advance with the Authority. It also lists new 6kph slow-speed zones, marked by buoys, at Balloch Castle Country Park, Duck Bay, Manse Bay, Milarrochy Bay, Luss, Sallochy and Rowardennan, and says users must stay below 6kph, equivalent to a slow walking pace.
In the byelaw document the 6 kilometre per hour limit is addressed to the master of a power-driven vessel, which it defines as any vessel fitted with propelling machinery. None of the pages read says whether a motorised board counts as one, and the register-in-advance wording covers vessels with an engine. A paddler using a motorised board is therefore best asking the Authority directly.
What about after dark or in poor visibility?
The byelaws say the master of every vessel must comply with the lights provisions from sunset to sunrise, and that the lights must also be shown from sunrise to sunset in restricted visibility. The document defines restricted visibility as any condition in which visibility is restricted by fog, mist, smoke, falling snow, heavy rain, restricted light or any other similar causes.
For a vessel under oars or paddles the byelaw is less demanding: it says it shall, if practicable, show the prescribed lights, but if not, an electric torch or lighted lantern showing a white light shall be shown in sufficient time to prevent collision. On sound, the byelaws say the master must ensure that, if practicable, the vessel carries a horn, whistle or other means of making an efficient sound signal.
Who gives way?
Where two vessels risk a collision and one is being manually propelled solely by oars or paddles, the byelaw says the vessel that is not under oars or paddles shall keep out of the way. The document also says no master shall navigate without due care and attention or without reasonable consideration for other vessels and wildlife.
What does the Authority say about wind and emergencies?
The paddleboarding page tells visitors to check the weather forecast and warns that conditions on the loch can change quickly. It says offshore winds will quickly blow a board far out, which can make it extremely tiring and difficult to paddle back, and it advises avoiding launching in windy conditions. In an emergency it says to call 999, ask for Police and the rescue boat, and give the exact location.
A later Authority release, written after the November 2024 change, says its rangers’ primary approach remains education first and enforcement second, though enforcement will occur when necessary.
The bottom line
On Loch Lomond the byelaw definition of a vessel includes a board, and the Authority’s paddleboarding page names paddleboards in its life jacket rule. Under 16s must wear a life jacket or buoyancy aid on any moving vessel according to the Authority’s later pages, and life jackets or buoyancy aids must be carried for everyone 16 and over. Lights, a torch or lantern after dark, a sound signal where practicable and giving way to oar and paddle craft are set out in the byelaw document. Whether engine registration and slow-zone limits reach a motorised board is not stated in the pages read, so the Authority should be asked. The byelaw document is a scan with some garbled characters, and the Authority’s pages should be checked for the current text.
Sources
- Paddleboarding, Loch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park Authority, page undated, read 8 November 2026 (lochlomond-trossachs.org)
- New byelaws come into force to improve safety on Loch Lomond, Loch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park Authority, news release for Friday 1 November (2024), read 8 November 2026 (lochlomond-trossachs.org)
- Loch Lomond Byelaws to be tightened in 2024, Loch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park Authority, news release undated, read 8 November 2026 (lochlomond-trossachs.org)
- National Park Authority reinforces new Loch Lomond byelaws ahead of peak season, Loch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park Authority, news release undated (written after the November 2024 change), read 8 November 2026 (lochlomond-trossachs.org)
- Loch Lomond Byelaws 2023 (PDF), Loch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park Authority, document undated, read 8 November 2026 (lochlomond-trossachs.org)