VEHICLES, CAMPERS, and BOATS > Drones, Boats, Flying and Floating Things

Boating Safety Checklist

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EL TATE:
I'll be putting together a list of items I'm going through on the new-to-me seachicken. (might even call her that) prior to her first launch Saturday. If anyone has any thoughts to add, please feel free. I've been boating my whole life, owned PWC's and launched, piloted and parked boats, but never owned one, so someone else has always been doing the pre-flight so to speak.

cj7ox:
Make sure you have at least one oar. A necessity if you ever have engine trouble.

Dawg25385:
Sounds like you're definitely not a rookie in this space, but you asked for folks to chime in, so i'll oblige  :beercheers:

I'm a really habitual person, with reliance on routines, especially with the boat, so i'll kind of lay out what i do. Safety is also really important to me, because so much can go wrong on the water. Of course, first thing first, life jacket inventory, flares, throwable floatation device, fire extinguisher, blah blah all the "law stuff" i check once a year. Lots of places check, either USGC or Sheriff, before they let you launch, and some check when you pull out and cite you if you don't have em, so don't mess around with not having that stuff in tip top. Above and beyond the stuff that's required by law, get yourself a nice Danforth anchor, with 10' or so of rode chain, and a couple hundred feed of good nylon line. Good safety equipment in case you break down, and also having an anchor is nice if you like just hanging out in a cove or something. Also, get yourself a boat hook. Essential equipment if you ask me. Also have a few heavy duty stainless carabiners on board. Nice to have if hooking up to a mooring buoy, etc. I also went and got a bunch of those cheap orange life preservers and stuffed them into a storage compartment we never use, as cheap insurance in case somebody wanders off with one of the 'good ones', i'll still have enough for everybody on board at all times.

As for routines, my main routines are around launching and trailering. When I arrive at the launch, normally my wife and I take the covers off together. Then she puts the lines and fenders on whichever side we're going to be launching on. I take off the stern trailer straps, and on my way back to truck, release the bow winch tension and remove the safety chain. Putting the straps in my tool box, I GRAB MY CRESCENT WRENCH AND DRAIN PLUG from my truck box, and return to the stern to install. Normally by this time, wife is done with lines and fenders, I then hand her my phone and wallet (so it doesn't get wet lol) and ask her to turn on the blower. After that we're ready to launch

When we return to the dock to trailer, first thing I do is run my finger accross all the toggle switches to make sure all accessories are off. On my way to grab my wallet, phone, and truck keys, I raise the outdrive. Huge huge thing to get in the habit of remembers. Seen way to many guys trash their skeg by forgetting this. Once on the trailer, and up out of the way, we kind of go through the reverse of the launching steps. Grab straps and crescent wrench from tool box, pull the drain plug, then after wife has removed lines and fenders, and handed me all the crap from in the boat, we put the covers back on, and away we go.

In my experience and observation, the biggest things people forget that are the drain plug at launch, and raising the outdrive when trailering.

Some other things that i have on board that aren't critical, but good to have are a spare prop and a prop wrench. They make specific prop wrenches that float that are pretty handy.

EL TATE:
Safety equip. arrives today and tomorrow via Rainforest prime. Launching checklist sounds similar to PWC launch minus the fenders and dock lines. 10/4 on the cover duty, but quick question; These covers are SUPER tight and I physically cannot snap the aft side for nothing. I think UV exposure and heat have them shrunk a bit. Any pro tips on stretching these bad boys out or should I just get a new cover ordered up? we have Otters and the boat will be on mooring buoy for the summer and I want to keep it protected. Also, anyone deal with attaching covers while on the water often?

Dawg25385:
No tips on stretching, but when covering on the water, I work bow to stern. Bow cover first, then start at the windshield, the down the sides, and finally finish the stern from the swim step. Usually then it's time for a swim, or hop on a little raft or something


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