Watercraft safety is an issue that all should be aware of and knowledgeable about. It doesn't matter whether the watercraft is an 90 foot car ferry or an 8 foot canoe, watercraft safety is critically important. If you intend to use a watercraft you owe it to yourself and your family to educate yourself about water safety.
The safety item at the top of any boating safety list of equipment is having a properly fitting life vest for each person in the boat. On smaller boats, you should be wearing your life jacket at all times. This is because there is very little chance that you will have time to put on a life jacket in the event of an accident. A large percentage of boating accidents are due to capsizing, and of the fatalities resulting from capsizing, over 80% are not wearing a life jacket. On larger boats, it is not necessary to wear your life jacket at all times, but make sure you know where to find one in the case of emergency.
The next safety tip is to never operate a watercraft while or after consuming alcohol. Drinking and boating is the number one biggest cause of boating fatalities. Never allow anyone you know to mix drinking with boating, it is just bad news. It is as serious an offence as mixing alcohol and motor vehicles, so it needs to be taken seriously on boats as well.
Another safety tip that might not be obvious to recreational boaters is to always make sure you know where you are going, how long you will be out, and make sure to inform someone of your plan. This is common practice with the operation of commercial vessels, but it just makes sense that you get in the habit of always having someone know where you should be and when you should be back. That way, if you get in trouble, you have the best chances of being found as soon as possible, rather than having no one realize you were missing until too late, or not know where to start looking for you.
In order to meet the safety checklist for small watercraft, there are a number of things that you must carry on board any time you are out on the water, which include things like a pfd for each person on the boat, a sound making device, a light or proper lighting on your boat for sailing after dark, something to manually propel your boat, something to bail water from your boat, etc. For the complete list of legally required safety items, you should check with the local coast guard. On top of the legal requirements, I always like to make sure that I have some other safety items with me, such as sunscreen and emergency water and food.
Watercraft of all types are a fun part of holidays and summertime. However, watercraft can also be very dangerous. If you follow some common sense safety tips concerning watercraft then you and your family can have fun and be safe at the same time..
The safety item at the top of any boating safety list of equipment is having a properly fitting life vest for each person in the boat. On smaller boats, you should be wearing your life jacket at all times. This is because there is very little chance that you will have time to put on a life jacket in the event of an accident. A large percentage of boating accidents are due to capsizing, and of the fatalities resulting from capsizing, over 80% are not wearing a life jacket. On larger boats, it is not necessary to wear your life jacket at all times, but make sure you know where to find one in the case of emergency.
The next safety tip is to never operate a watercraft while or after consuming alcohol. Drinking and boating is the number one biggest cause of boating fatalities. Never allow anyone you know to mix drinking with boating, it is just bad news. It is as serious an offence as mixing alcohol and motor vehicles, so it needs to be taken seriously on boats as well.
Another safety tip that might not be obvious to recreational boaters is to always make sure you know where you are going, how long you will be out, and make sure to inform someone of your plan. This is common practice with the operation of commercial vessels, but it just makes sense that you get in the habit of always having someone know where you should be and when you should be back. That way, if you get in trouble, you have the best chances of being found as soon as possible, rather than having no one realize you were missing until too late, or not know where to start looking for you.
In order to meet the safety checklist for small watercraft, there are a number of things that you must carry on board any time you are out on the water, which include things like a pfd for each person on the boat, a sound making device, a light or proper lighting on your boat for sailing after dark, something to manually propel your boat, something to bail water from your boat, etc. For the complete list of legally required safety items, you should check with the local coast guard. On top of the legal requirements, I always like to make sure that I have some other safety items with me, such as sunscreen and emergency water and food.
Watercraft of all types are a fun part of holidays and summertime. However, watercraft can also be very dangerous. If you follow some common sense safety tips concerning watercraft then you and your family can have fun and be safe at the same time..
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