On the water, safety comes first whether it is a carefully planned boat trip or a spur of the moment decision.
Here are some safety checks that you can perform before heading out on the water to ensure you and your crew practice safe boating.
- Check the weather before launching a boat, weather conditions can change quickly therefore it is important to use a reliable source to check weather forecast before launching.
Here are some weather applications that you may use: Windfinder, Buoy weather , Windguru - Understand the launch site, especially if you are launching at a site for the first time, it is important to look for the following; sand banks, rocky structures, general hazards, rip current, shark nets and beaching markers.
- Pre-warm your motors. Especially if you will be preforming a beach launch, also insure that your outboard motors are in neutral.
- Always make sure that you have the specified safety equipment onboard and that it is in the required working condition.
- Check that your steering and controls are working - check your steering operation from lock to lock and make sure that your emergency steering mechanism is on and stowed.
- Drain Plugs - make sure hull plugs or bungs are securely tightened.
- Do a visual hull inspection of your boat before launching and insure that there is no damage on the hull.
- Insure that you have sufficient fuel aboard your vessel - be sure to check the fuel leads, and insure that both ends as well as that the fuel breather vents are open.
- Make sure your crew know their way around the boat, as well as the action to be taken in case of an emergency.
- Everything must be properly stowed away and secured, as loose fishing hooks and equipment can be extremely dangerous especially when surf launching.
- Make sure your radio and navigational equipment is working.
- Insure that you have liter of water onboard per person.
Please always keep in mind that a valid skipper license is required to operate a vessel powered by twenty horse power and up.
Safe boating!
