Posted on 05/31/2021 6:43:21 AM PDT by VRW Conspirator
Safe Boating Tips
No matter how much experience you have, it’s always a good idea for everyone to review boating safety rules before departures. Below you will find 10 basic boating safety tips to help you stay safe:
1.Be Weather-Wise
Always check local weather conditions before departure; TV and radio forecasts can be a good source of information. If you notice darkening clouds, volatile and rough changing winds or sudden drops in temperature, play it safe by getting off the water.
2.Follow a Pre-Departure Checklist
Proper boating safety includes being prepared for any possibility on the water. Following a pre-departure checklist is the best way to make sure no boating safety rules or precautions have been overlooked or forgotten.
3.Use Common Sense
One of the most important parts of boating safety is to use your common sense. This means operating at a safe speed at all times (especially in crowded areas), staying alert at all times and steering clear of large vessels and watercraft that can be restricted in their ability to stop or turn. Also, be respectful of buoys and other navigational aids, all of which have been placed there to ensure your own safety.
4.Designate an Assistant Skipper
Make sure more than one person on board is familiar with all aspects of your boat’s handling, operations, and general boating safety. If the primary navigator is injured or incapacitated in any way, it’s important to make sure someone else can follow the proper boating safety rules to get everyone else back to shore.
5.Develop a Float Plan
Whether you choose to inform a family member or staff at your local marina, always be sure to let someone else know your float plan. This should include where you’re going and how long you’re going to be gone.
A float plan can include the following information: name, address, and phone number of trip leader name and phone number of all passengers boat type and registration information trip itinerary types of communication and signal equipment onboard, such as an Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon (EPIRB) or Personal Locator Beacon (PLB)
6.Make Proper Use of Lifejackets
Did you know that the majority of drowning victims are the result of boaters not wearing their lifejackets? Make sure that your family and friends aren’t part of this statistic by assigning and fitting each member of your onboard team with a life jacket prior to departure. Wear it!
7.Avoid Alcohol
Practice boating safety at all times by saving the alcohol for later. The probability of being involved in a boating accident doubles when alcohol is involved and studies have shown that the effects of alcohol are exacerbated by sun and wind.
8.Learn to Swim
If you’re going to be in and around the water, proper boating safety includes knowing how to swim. Local organizations, such as the American Red Cross and others, offer training for all ages and abilities. Check to see what classes are offered in your area.
9.Take a Boating Course Beginning boaters and experienced experts alike need to be familiar with the boating safety rules of operation. Boater education requirements vary by state; however, some require validated completion of at least one boating safety course. Regardless of your individual state's requirements, it's always important to be educated and prepared for every circumstance that might arise. You can learn boating safety rules by taking a local community course or online course to help educate yourself.
10.Consider a Free Vessel Safety Check Take advantage of a free vessel safety check from the US Coast Guard. They offer complimentary boat examinations to verify the presence and condition of certain safety equipment required by state and federal regulations. Free of charge, they’ll provide a specialist to check out your boat and make helpful boating safety tips and recommendations. They also offer virtual online safety checks as well.
We ARE such lousy boaters...we always seem to lose our guns while fishing, skiing, etc.
I might add, learn from me, don’t take your entire gun collection out for a tour of the lake.
“yet FReepers are such lousy boaters”
And you know this how ?? I hope not from the old & stale remark here about losing guns in a boating accident ?
Never go boating with a coward as they tend to throw their guns into the water.
I agree with most of the rules. Like Quint I don’t wear a life jacket. I keep them handy. Used to (back in the 70s) bring a cooler of beer fishing. Gave that up by the early 80s. Just too dangerous. Those not operating the boat can still have a beer or two.
No officer, I did not lose my guns in an unfortunate boating accident...I hid ‘em! Trouble is I’m gettin on in years and I done fergot where I hid ‘em.
Don’t forget to attach the kill switch lanyard to your body in some way. I believe it is now law in all states that kill switch lanyard must be fastened to the operator.
11. Never load your entire weapons collection into the boat for a single outing.....
11. Always make sure the ice chest is full of beer. Otherwise your trip might be ruined when you can’t say, “Hold my beer and watch this.”
Remember to put the bilge plug in!!
“You scratched my anchor!”
I beg to differ...
I happen to be a Captain in the Po Man’s Yacht Club!! I reconstructed a total POS 1972 25’ Pontoon... Price? $500 for boat, and about $1000 into reconstruction materials...
Motor... Even though the boat is only rated for a 35 hp motor, I have a Yamaha pro 50 on her!!
Introducing The Ko Lanta Noi!! (Thai Translation: Small, Spiritually Pure Island) ...The ultimate Kite Boat!! This baby has been far and wide!! Berthed in MI, but has been all over the south coasts but mainly the FLA Keys for the best Kiteboaring in the Country!!!
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And just an FYI for you Novices!! Navionics has an awesome phone app that gives you charts and gps on the fly!!
(Hope my links work. Dont have a image host...
They need to print a version for whales.
“We ARE such lousy boaters...we always seem to lose our guns while fishing, skiing, etc.”
I know we all like to ‘yuck yuck’ about ‘boating accidents’, but keep in mind reality won’t be so kind, not with the bunch we now have in power, should they pass the needed legislation:
1) You’ll get a friendly letter from ATF, identifying, by serial number a firearm you purchased in the past 30 years.
2) You’ll be asked to provide an accounting of said firearm. Possible answers will include:
a) You still own it.
b) You gave it away, or sold it.
c) You lost it (maybe in a ‘boating accident’).
3) You will sign under oath.
4) If you answer “b”, you’ll be asked who you gave/sold it to. If you say you don’t know, or if you answer “c”, you will be told to inform ATF should it be found. It will be made to you in no uncertain terms that if the firearm shows up in your possession, or someone close to you, with them being informed, you’ll have 10 years for perjury.
5) Obviously the confiscation begins once the registrations are completed.
But note that I said they need to PASS LEGISLATION to do the above...so perhaps consider that the BEST THING anyone here can do is to help the Democrats along by voting third party or sitting out elections, you know ‘to teach the GOP a lesson’.
...but DO NOT say you weren’t warned as to what happens when the Democrats finally reach the votes they need to take your weapons, and don’t fool yourselves, because the Democrats play HARD BALL, and the can and will take the weapons of 98% (or more) of gun owners, just using their tremendous power they have in DC to do so (ever heard of the IRS?, and that’s only a taste of what they’ll do to get your guns) - gun owners who do not comply will never even see who is wrecking their lives - it’s now THAT EASY for them.
I would rather be in my boat with a drink on the rocks than in the drink with my boat on the rocks.
12. You will find a metal plate on the transom with a lot of unnecessary verbiage and a horsepower rating. This is the minimum needed. Make sure your engine exceeds this number by a large factor.
13. despite what some say, marijuana should always be on board. Because it slows reaction times, you may arrive at the scene of the accident late enough to prevent it.
14. some jurisdictions in California, as the leader in enlightenment, allow psychedelics and opiates. Safe boaters should get ahead of the curve on this.
I have lived on my boat for 32 years. We have sailed between Hawaii and the US Mainland three times and have made the trip on other boats as well. Currently in Alaska, we always wear a PFD on deck in local waters. At sea, however, we wear a harness and tether.
Rule #1: Don't fall off the boat.
This is a great weekend to sit out on the dock with a six pack and watch the summer weekenders playing bumper-boats.
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