Open water has long been one of the places people enjoy the most. You get away from the world and get the chance to survive on a boat using your skills.
That’s why it’s no surprise that so many people still love boating. Reports show that 100 million Americans go boating each year.
It doesn’t matter if you’re a new or experienced boater — you always need to be aware of safety issues and understand how to deal with them. Keep reading to learn seven boat safety tips that will help you keep your boat afloat and everyone onboard safe.
1. Have a Safety Kit
There’s no getting around the occasional accident on a boat. Someone can get injured, the boat can suffer from damage, and countless other things can happen. The question is, will you have what you need to take care of accidents until you can get back to shore?
A safety kit will help you do this. It’s a small box with medical supplies and tools for tackling typical boat issues.
You should also have one of these kits regardless of the size of the boat you have. In many cases, you’ll have an even larger kit when you have a larger boat.
2. Bring Life Jackets
Life jackets are critical to cruise safety, no matter how safe a boat you have. You never know when you’ll need to leave the ship. Even if you can swim, it pays to use a life jacket to keep you and others afloat in the water.
This is especially important if you stay in the water for an extended period. You’ll tire out over time, and a life jacket will keep you floating when that happens.
You also never know when you’ll experience rough waters when you’re in the water swimming. A life jacket will bring you back to the surface if you go under it because of those conditions.
3. Watch Your Surroundings
While it isn’t an enormous challenge to navigate boats, especially small boats, that doesn’t mean it isn’t risk-free. Yes, you can easily steer a boat on the water because you usually aren’t around much stuff. However, that won’t always be the case.
One big issue boats have is that they are hard to stop. If you don’t see something ahead of you until it’s too late, you won’t be able to stop and will crash your boat.
Always be aware of your surroundings to stop this from happening. Have someone keep watch at all times and let others know that they should keep an eye out when they can.
4. Mind the Weight Capacity
Boats can’t hold an unlimited number of people. Whether you’re sailing a small boat or a 20 person yacht, there’s a weight limit you need to follow when on a boat.
Make sure you learn what this weight limit is before you start inviting people onto your boat. This will give you an idea of the number of people that can fit.
Of course, don’t just go off the number of people on board. You also have to include things like furniture and other items when calculating how much weight is on board.
5. Learn to Anchor
You need more than a great anchor to keep your ship in place. Depending on the wind, one anchor may not be enough to stop the wind from dragging your boat along the water.
You may need multiple anchors to make this happen. Investigate common anchoring techniques and learn how to position each anchor to keep your boat in place when you’re stopped.
The depth of your anchor also plays a role in this. Remember how deep the water is to ensure you anchor correctly.
6. Get a Boat Checkup
It takes a lot of work to maintain a boat. It’s sitting in the water much of the time, and if it isn’t, it’s degrading inside of your garage or outside.
With how important it is for a boat to function properly, the last thing you want to do is ignore potential issues and see them cause problems when on the water.
Make sure you get regular maintenance done on your boat to prevent these problems. Investigate common boat maintenance tasks and set a schedule to do them.
If you don’t feel comfortable doing these tasks yourself, reach out to a boating company to handle the job, so you don’t compromise boat and yacht safety.
7. Watch the Weather
A little bit of wind and rain probably isn’t a big deal for a boat. As long as you know how to navigate those conditions, you’ll get through everything without a problem.
But things get more uncontrollable when the weather gets worse. Wind can knock the boat around and create waves that make it hard to control your boat.
Try to avoid taking your boat out if you expect bad weather. Even if you try to get out before the weather gets worse, things can be unpredictable on the water.
It’s also smart to devise the ideal path back to shore when things get back on the water. You should have the safest path mapped out to avoid making guesses about the best way to return to safety.
Don’t Underestimate the Importance of Boat Safety
You won’t face any problems most of the time when you’re on a boat or at a boat party. If you do a good job of caring for a boat, it will work properly and not give you any issues.
But that doesn’t mean you won’t face dangerous situations that endanger everyone on your boat. Remember the boat safety tips above to ensure you handle boat safety correctly.
