Boating Safety

Once lakes thaw and boaters get out on the water again, they need to remember the boating safety advice and laws they have learned. Most boating fatalities are entirely preventable and occur as a result of unsafe choices made by drivers and passengers.  Propeller Depot cares deeply about our friends and customers, please ensure you boat safely.

Start your pleasure boating experience by taking a safety course. As operator of a vessel, you are responsible for the well-being of everyone on board. The most obvious safety tip is also the most frequently ignored. Everyone on a boat must be wearing a life jacket or other approved personal flotation device. If it is going to work, it also has to be chosen for the weight and size of an individual. Moreover, it must be properly fastened.

All boaters must be aware of potential weather conditions which could affect travel. It is essential that they know where they are going and how to operate a vessel before taking the wheel or motor. The boat should be checked regularly to ensure that it is in water-worthy condition.

Drinking and driving a boat, or BUI, is a crime, but one which boaters frequently ignore. They often associate boating with partying, or believe that a body of water is less congested or dangerous than a road. The reverse is true. The American Boating Resource Center indicates that drivers will become inebriated more quickly at the wheel of a boat than a car. Balance is affected by the water’s motion, engine noise, and other factors not associated with a motor vehicle.

In an enclosed cabin, ensure that there are no fumes or carbon monoxide emissions lurking to cause harm. Know the passenger capacity of a boat, and also its weight limit. Take cargo into consideration when you calculate your load. Open boats operated by small gas or electric motors are easy to overload and capsize. Know your emergency routine, just in case someone goes overboard.

Boating safety measures will not always prevent accidents from happening. They will certainly reduce the pointless deaths which occur on American waterways every year when people decide that safety is secondary to fun. This fun ends too often with the loss of young life.