Precautions when boating alone

[comsnark]

Unless we are tooling around on the Chickahominy swimming, I/we always have PFDs on. It frustrates guests at times as they think size of boat matters for some reason. I guess falling off a bigger boat is less likely than a smaller boat?

I think *where* you boat has a big impact, just as *size* has an impact. Being on the open ocean. . .even a 48DB can be quite small. That will put certainly put a different spin on things than just tooling around a small river.

Where I boat, there is never a question of being rolled, or getting the cockpit swamped with a wave. I don't worry much about the PFD's. I have never tested the lanyard.

If I cruised the type of water's Four Sun's routinely prowled. . . I would have the PFD's, the ditch bag, etc. . .etc. . .

 

[MAKC]

when i boat alone, i wear my PFD, write down my coordinates every 20 minutes or so, and use my cell or VHF to make contact with the parties im meeting every 30 minutes. A float plan is a great thing when you travel alone so people know where you are, where you were going, and when to expect you back. An ounce of prevention out there is worth a ton of cure in my opinion...

Mike

 

[VTSeaRay]

I'll probably catch grief for this, but I have never really thought about this. I grew up on Lake Champlain, it's a fairly good sized lake and can have some challenging wavy days, while other days it's like glass. It can change from one to the other very quickly. I learned to swim in 1st grade, and was in the water all the time in the summer. As a teenager, I would spend the entire day in the water, and would go home all pruny. Throughout my youth, I was out in all kinds of boats.

Today, I still boat on Lake Champlain, I boat when I'm alone, pretty much the same way I boat with others on board normally. I have the pfd's under the rear swim pad, if there are people on board that haven't been there, I give them a review of where to find things, and offer them life jackets if they feel uncomfortable on the water(my gf's best friend and husband go out with us regularly, and aren't good swimmers and always put a pfd on when we go out). If the passenger is under 15, I make sure they have a pfd on at all times.

I normally don't hook up the tether, and I always boat safely, not taking stupid chances, or make stupid moves while on the water. Like Comsnark said, being on the ocean (or a fast moving river) is an entirely different scenario from where I boat.

Where I boat, it's fairly quiet, usually there's not a lot of boating activity, but every now and then it can get somewhat busy, mostly with pwc's buzzing around crazily, but there are a fair amount of other boat types out when the weather's nice. If the lake looks to rough to go out on, I won't go, I've even turned around at the access area when I got there and saw that it was just to rough to head out and be safe. Especially alone. I might go out in slightly rougher water with someone else capable of handling the boat with me, but even then, if it's to nasty, I won't go out. (A couple years ago, we got to the access area, and there was a huge storm coming right towards us, when we left the house, we weren't sure if it was going to head towards where we boat or not, it was maybe 10-15 miles away, and even though my gf's son was complaining, we went back home) If it turns real rough and nasty while I'm out, I'll put the pfd on, just to be safe.

If the water's cold(below 55 or 60 degrees(which is about 7 or 8 months of the year here)) I'll put the pfd on. I know you lose out to hypothermia fast in temps like that, and no matter how good a swimmer you are, you'll lose muscle control and eventually consciousness quickly. Besides, it's another layer that helps keep you warm in the wind as well as being a safety device.

All this changes based on the type of boat I'm in. If I'm in a small aluminum rowboat with a small motor, sailboat, pwc, a canoe or kayak, then the pfd's always on or very close at hand (usually I'm sitting on it)

This summer, I've made it a point to make sure my girlfriend knows all the systems on the boat, and how to use them all. I have been having her drive it every time we're out, so she feels comfortable with it, no matter what the water conditions are like, so she can take over if anything ever happened to me while we were out.

-VtSeaRay

 

[sr360aft]

Unless we are tooling around on the Chickahominy swimming, I/we always have PFDs on. It frustrates guests at times as they think size of boat matters for some reason. I guess falling off a bigger boat is less likely than a smaller boat?

Doesn't it chafe though when you're sleeping?

 

[mrsrobinson]

When I boat with my wife, I consider myself to be boating alone, at least at cruise. Her comfort zone is at idle power with a briefing about how to get it out of gear - every time. I have been spending time showing her the effects of one in forward, one in reverse... We are getting there.

Same here. The Mrs is not comfortable with doing anything but handling the lines when docking. I can get her to take the wheel at idle/hull speed but I can see the anxiety in her face so i do not let her do it for long. She'll take the wheel for a few minutes under crusie if I have to visit the head, bit if another boat is near she shouts for me.

Honestly, we have never put our PDFs on while on the boat. I tell and show every guest where they are and make sure we have one for all. We purchased the inflatable ones for our trips on the Bay this year and we did keep those on while out on the Bay.

 

[hack4alivin]

Same here. The Mrs is not comfortable with doing anything but handling the lines when docking. I can get her to take the wheel at idle/hull speed but I can see the anxiety in her face so i do not let her do it for long. She'll take the wheel for a few minutes under crusie if I have to visit the head, bit if another boat is near she shouts for me.

Honestly, we have never put our PDFs on while on the boat. I tell and show every guest where they are and make sure we have one for all. We purchased the inflatable ones for our trips on the Bay this year and we did keep those on while out on the Bay.

I am sure in an emergency she would be able to take the helm and come back to pluck you out of the water....

Then again.... maybe not :smt001 Just Kiddn

 

[chuck1]

I am sure in an emergency she would be able to take the helm and come back to pluck you out of the water....

Then again.... maybe not :smt001 Just Kiddn

I always heard that it depended on the type of and amount of the life insurance I had whether she would come back or not.:lol::smt043:lol::smt043

 

[comsnark]

Is that "How much you have", or is it "How much she thinks you have"?

I'm sure the Admiral would come back for me. Whether she is steering for me or towards me is a different matter.

 

[Nehalennia]

A couple times a year in the past I have taken the boat to work. It's about 35 miles or so. I put the boat in the water in Everett, WA run down to downtown Seattle, then walk the 10 blocks from the marina. The trip in is moslty uneventful, but I have run into fog a couple of times.
On the trips home, I have stopped and jumped in for a quick swim. The first time I did that alone, I quickly realized I better stay close to the boat, in case of currents.

I didn't want to be written up in the paper for that.

I haven't done it this year.

 

[SeaHarley]

........I tell the imaginary people to stay seated, show them where the fire extinguishers are, which lifepreserver to put on and how to use the head. I show them the radio and give them a quick run down of the systems and noises they will hear if they've never been on a boat. This take roughly 4 minutes,...........yell "CLEAR!" and fire up the engines...........

Just wondering if any of the imaginary people ever ask any questions?

 

[VTSeaRay]

Yeah, when I swim, I make sure the boat won't be blown/drawn away from me, by anchoring it. And, I stay close to the boat, in case of any issues, since usually, it's over my head where I am.

-VtSeaRay