Yacht and Boat Safety

Going out to sea is always a wonderful experience - the feeling of the salty breeze whipping against your skin, the bright sun hovering on the horizon and the sight of waves rippling in the vast ocean all serve to invigorate the mind and refresh the spirit.

However, there are some safety measures that must be observed in the yacht or boat you are riding. Boat owners must take note of the following points in order to ensure a safe and fun trip.

First and foremost, check the weather. Before going on any trip, it is always important to check the weather. The weather is an unstable phenomenon that may cause the loss of lives and property.

Before you go sailing off, review the wind condition, changes in temperature, cloud formation, and other signs of weather instability. In case of any uncertainty, get out of the water. There is always tomorrow. It is better by far to cancel a trip and lose a day in the sea than to be engulfed by the waves and lose all the days of your life.

By the way, aside from the weather, remember to check tide conditions as well.

Bring life jackets for all your passengers. This may seem obvious, but some people, while remembering to bring life jackets, forget to bring enough life jackets for all their passengers.

It is important to always keep a sufficient number of life jackets in case of emergency. Remember, too, that there are strict laws enforced to ensure utmost safety for seafarers.

Make sure you have working communication devices. Again, in case of emergency, communication devices such as a radio or even a satellite phone must be within easy reach. It is important to stay updated on the weather and boating conditions, to avoid getting struck unaware by disasters.

Additionally, it would also be wise to keep some flares on hand, to alert the Coast Guard during an emergency.
Stay away from alcohol. Boating under the influence of alcohol is just as dangerous as its terrestrial counterpart, and it has similar legal consequences.

Alcohol has a stronger effect on a boater than a land driver because its effect is aggravated by the wavy movements of the boat on the water. Additionally, there are more stressors present at sea than on land - the vibration of the motor, the strong winds, the heat of the sun, and of course, seasickness.

Falling overboard is one effect of drinking alcohol. It may lead to more fatal consequences.

Keep boating kits on hand. These little boxes should include emergency supplies such as bottled water, extra fuel, spare parts in case of broken material, and even a back-up engine.

A first aid kit must also be present in the boat in case of physical injuries that befall the passengers in the middle of the sea.

The boat kit should also contain your boat insurance papers.

Remember, whether driving or sailing or doing anything else, there's always a proper way of doing things. Whatever vehicle you take on your trip, safety should always be prioritized.

Part of mandatory safety preparation is insuring your boat. Specific types of insurance policies - speed boat insurance, fishing boat insurance, yacht insurance, etc. - cover specific types of boats.

Again, with sufficient preparation, you can always feel confident that you and your boat will stay safe in the water.

Marine Insurance

Yacht and Boat Preparation

There are all types of yacht and boat preparations depending on where you're going and what you're doing!

It could be that you're entertaining at the dock and your preparations would include food, drink, a good boat wash down, and music of course. There are other boat preparations if you're taking an offshore run to the Bahamas, Bermuda, or the Caribbean. These longer runs, either by powerboat or sailboat that can last overnight or several days to weeks need to have quite a bit more preparation, from plenty of food and fuel storage, to all kinds of safety equipment. You would also want to have an experienced crew that knows the rigors needed for these longer voyages.

Coastal running does take a little of each... you must have enough fuel, food, and safety equipment to guard against any unforeseen event. One of the things you might consider is a bilge alarm allowing you to know how often and long your bilge pump is running. Whether it's a powerboat or sailboat, things do happen like a through-hull fitting coming loose, to your stuffing box letting in water...for reasons it could be many for these two. The hoses attached to the through-hull fittings may start leaking or the hoses themselves may blow off. This could be because of the motion of the boat pushing through the water, which puts higher pressure into these hoses, especially if you are falling off waves, or slamming into them. If the hoses are in good shape and the two hose clamps (you should have two) are tight and in good condition then these problems should not occur. You could get leaky stuffing boxes from shaft misalignment, which heats the stuffing box and burns away the stuffing within (waxed roping) and lets water flow into your bilge. Even your water tank and/or related hoses and fittings can start coming loose and begin to leak also from the ocean's relentless motion. You never know if it's going to happen inshore or offshore. How many times have you heard about a crew member waking up and stepping into water above the floor boards... The thing is to have replacements or some sort of repair-ability to stop the water flow if this does happen. This is why the bilge alarm is so important, it lets you know that it's pumping out more often or at longer times. Because of this alarm, it gets you to look under the floorboards and into the bilge. A man overboard system, whether electronically setup or a manual type with a flag and buoy, should be onboard as well. This equipment helps you get back to where that person or object fell overboard.

Basically, having a well maintained and safety oriented yacht or boat always helps keep an emergency or unwanted event to a minimum. As you find yourself cruising in certain areas you will find that you usually gear your boat to that area. Reading more about offshore or coastal voyages, will give you insight on different ways and additional boat equipment to prepare your boat with.

By Capt. Doug Malat
Douglas Malat is a Captain with 30,000 Offshore miles, Sailor, Powerboater, Scuba diver, and creator of YachtAuthority.com, a Website where you will find thousands of new & used boats and yachts for sale, along with all kinds of Boating Accessories, Products and Services! Take a look at all the great Boats and Yachts...get that info you need! Check-out our Featured Yachts on the homepage!