No person operating a motor boat of twenty-six feet or less in length shall allow any person to ride or sit on either the starboard or port gunwales thereof or on the decking over the bow of the vessel while underway unless such motorboat is provided with adequate guards or railing to prevent passengers from being lost overboard. Nothing in this Section shall be construed to mean that passengers or other persons aboard a motorboat cannot occupy the decking over the bow of the boat to moor the watercraft to a mooring buoy or to cast off from such a buoy or for any other necessary purpose.
La. Navigation and Shipping § 34:851.13