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Safety Equipment Required on Board When Boating

master8 years ago04 mins

To prevent drowning, all persons on board should always wear PFD’s and/or life jackets. Did you know that if you are involved in a serious boating incident you are 5 1/2 times less likely to drown if you are wearing your PFD or life jacket?

Buckle Up! Be Safe! Be Smart!

Most on-water enforcement agencies have a ZERO tolerance when it comes to each person on board not having an approved PFD or life jacket that is an appropriate fit and is in good condition. This contravention could cost you over $200 for each violation.”

Do not use PFD’s and life jackets as cushions or craft fenders so as to damage them. Their “Approved” status is void if they are ripped, repaired, altered or are in poor condition.

When selecting PFD’s and/or life jackets, the following points should be considered:

They should be snug-fitting, but yet allow freedom of movement of arms and legs

They should be sized appropriately to the person: “Adult sizing” for adults and “Children sizing” for children

They should be appropriate for the machinery and equipment list type of waterway activities

They should right an unconscious person face up in the water

When not in use PFD’s and life jackets should be stored in a dry, well ventilated and readily accessible place on board the craft.

A technique to put on PFD’s in the water should be practiced and should include the following:

Spread the device open with the inside facing up out of the water

Rotate the PFD so as to look best wood for furniture frames at the neck opening

Extend both arms through arm openings

Lift arms over your head

Position the PFD around the upper body

Fasten the PFD to fit snuggly

As a safety precaution the boater should read the manufacturers instructions before using pyrotechnic distress signals and should understand that there are penalties for firing flares when there is no apparent emergency.

Pyrotechnic devices should be stored in airtight containers if possible and kept in readily accessible places on board the craft, for emergencies only. All other items for use in emergency situations should be carried in readily accessible places on board.

An appropriate “Emergency Kit” should be on board at all times. Stored in a watertight plastic bag, which may consist of the following items:

Flashlight (with charged or working batteries)

Whistle

Knife

First Aid kit

Emergency Rations

Drinking water

Dry Clothing…

Wood

Three Pieces of Safety Equipment a Fool Never Has, Uses, or Tests on Board Their Vessel

master8 years ago07 mins

Safety on board a boat is a big subject, and should be at the front of all skippers minds. There is a lot of discussion on the web and in the real world about what safety equipment should be carried and tested when on a boat. There are many pieces of safety equipment that should defiantly be carried when on board a recreational boat, and these pieces of equipment are exceptionally worth while paging for as they can extremely increase your chances of survival in a marine distress situation.
The following are the three pieces of equipment, that i think every non-commercial vessel should carry, use and test:
1. A Vhf radio – Every boat should have at least a handheld VHF radio on board (it amazes me still that so many vessels go out onto the water without a radio, these can be a big lifesaver if used properly). But it would be allot better to have a built in VHF radio connected up to a Navigation system (eg. Garmin) when done like this there is usually a distress button and if registered with the coastguard (they will take details like your mmsi number from your navigation system, description of vessel, vessel name, vessel owner etc) you only have to press this machine breakdown analysis button and the coastguard is immediately informed of your position, what boat and what other information they know about your vessel. But a this built in VHF radio can be used in the normal way, with mayday’s and others marine distress calls. A VHF radio is a really important piece of safety equipment, and should be checked at the start of every journey/cruise, this can easily be done bye contacting your closest coastguard via your radio and requesting a radio check if the receive the call and reply then your radio is all working and you are good to go.
2. A lifejacket – This is a vitally important piece of equipment, just as important if not more, as a VHF radio! This is such a big subject for safety at sea, there are so many different types, manual and automatic, with different pressure levels (measured in newtons, the higher the newton pressure the more buoyant the life jacket) if you are boater and frequently go out on a boat you should without a doubt have a life jacket that fits and has the right newton level for you! If you don’t have one and wear it you are a Fool! Lifejackets are usually sold with pressure levels of the following, supply chain management at ibm 150N, 190N and 275N. The 150N is for younger, smaller or lighter New 190N is the one i have, and is the perfect lifejacket for most, these are also very good if you have a drysuit as it is recommend to have a higher Newton jacket to give more buoyancy. The 250N is mainly for commercial vessels and is used mostly on oil rigs and their staff/workers, who …