Boat safety: It’s smart and it’s the law

Published 12:01 am Sunday, June 19, 2011

“Damn the torpedoes. Full speed ahead.”

Whoa, sailor. You’re not Admiral Farragut (and he really didn’t exactly say that, anyway), this isn’t Mobile Bay and you’re not on a warship.

You’re on a dinky little boat about to leave the dock, and you’d better know what you’re doing — and be equipped to do it — before you hit the throttle, full speed or otherwise, or hoist the sails.

For starters, if you’re 35 or younger this year, you have to carry a Washington State Boater Education card while operating any motorized watercraft with 15 horsepower or greater.

That requires completing a course (classroom, online or at home) and submitting a legal copy of proof of completion with an application form. The card costs $10. For complete information, go to www.parks.wa.gov/boating/boatered.

Courses offered by the local Coast Guard Auxiliary in the next few weeks include one Saturday at 404 14th St. in Everett, and another July 9 at 304 Lincoln Ave. in Mukilteo. Contact Angela Rifner at 360-435-4833 or rifangela@msn.com.

Meanwhile, back at the boat, everyone, the Coast Guard, Washington State Parks Department, your mother, pleads with you, “Always wear a lifejacket when boating.”

So don your Coast Guard approved lifejacket (personal flotation device, if you want to call it that) and make certain that there’s one that fits every man, woman and child aboard.

Actually, if your boat is under 16 feet long, everyone aboard is required by law to wear them, and that regulation applies to canoes and kayaks of any length. Those little floatable cushions don’t count anymore, according to the Parks Department, only wearable devices.

As for children, the Coast Guard requires all children under 13 to wear life jackets while aboard recreational vessels underway, whatever size, except when they are below decks or in an enclosed cabin.

Here’s another biggie, and a no-brainer really: Don’t booze and boat. Aside from the danger of impairing your reactions, drinking also can result in a BUI (rhymes with DUI) from the Coast Guard or local law enforcement. Conviction carries a maximum sentence of 90 days and/or $1,000 fine.

A few more safety tips from the Parks Department:

• Don’t overload your boat. Know its capacity and limit the number of people and gear.
• Remain seated, particularly in small boats, and if you move around, keep low. Don’t risk falling overboard or capsizing the vessel.
• If capsizing occurs, stay with the boat. Small boats will maintain some buoyancy.
• Always keep an eye on the weather. Things can change in a hurry out on the water.

Other equipment may be required, or at least recommended, depending on the size of the boat.

They might include day and night visual distress signals such as flares, strobes and orange flags; sound-producing devices like horns, whistles and bells; navigation lights; and fire extinguishers.

You can see how your boat checks out at the Auxiliary’s safety check website, www.safetyseal.net.

You can request a free vessel safety check on the same site, or by emailing vsc@d13cgaux. Include the city where your boat is moored.

Coast Guard Auxiliary vessel checks are courtesies and no citations will be issued, only recommendations to improve the boat’s safety.

And safety at sea is a good thing for you and your crew.