Boating Safety Gear Maritime List

Boating Safety Infomation And Checklist 

Where to take your boat?

This will depend on where you live or where you are, what you want to do, (e.g.. Wave jumping; is personal favorite of mine, Cruising to a harbor around the coast for a bit of lunch or even just out for a spot of fishing), and how long you've got to spend but it is important to plan ahead. Think about where you'll launch and recover (this is a key point to think about) the boat, what the tides and weather are doing that day and how far you want to go.

What to take?

You need to make sure that you and your boat are equipped. When in the middle of the sea, is not the best time to find that your waterproofs aren't really so waterproof and your boat navigation equipment doesn't seem to be working too well. So its good to make a boat inspection checklist.

Equipping your Vessel properly can take quite a bit of money, but is vitally important and if you want to get the most out of your boat with the highest amount of marine safety possible, you will need to make sure that you have the optional extra tools for the job although their are also coastguard set requirements and sea regulations, (See; Boating Regulations, for more information). To make it easier for you, i have made this boat equipment checklist, for you to personally use. 

Below is the .pdf format version's of this page and the boat checklist, for Download and print.

Boat Safety Equipment List

Marine Safety Equipment

Marine VHF Radio (A mobile phone is better than nothing, but u can often loose signal, and if you are serious about boating, and boating safety, a good marine Handheld VHF radio, or Built in VHF radio is a must! For more info on Marine Radio Calls, Visit: International Marine Distress Signals - Radio Calls)

Marine Flares (these can be brought, singly or in packs, most often inshore flares and offshore flares, these are in the rya pleasure boat regulations. Their are many different types of flares e.g. Parachute Flare's, so research the types of marine flares you need and shop around for the right one's, inshore flares are an essential piece of equipment to carry at sea. You also need to learn how to use flares and how to deploy flares, on top of all that you really should learn several internationally recognized marine distress signals)

Throw line (This is one of the most basic of equipment needed, just a long line of marine rope will do, you could also add a horse shoe or ring for just normally around £20-£30 brand new, but their are many on sites like ebay for much less)

First aid kit (Any first aid kit is good, also a first aid or special marine first aid book could come in handy, but a good thing to do before hand, would be to do a little research on marine first aid, or even take a course on it, this could save you vital time when in a situation where you need to give first aid fast)

Fire extinguisher (Their are three types of marine fire extinguishers, (A-suitable for fighting wood, paper etc, B-suitable for flammable liquids e.g. oil and fuel, not big fat fires, and C-suitable for flammable gases) Another extra would be a fire blanket, to smoother the flames of a big, fat fire)

Anchor with chain and rope (Every boat should carry a good anchor with a chain and rope attached. There are many types of anchor including the grapnel, you should think about where you are going to most likely need your anchor before you consider choosing a type of anchor, also make sure you have plenty of rope, and when putting down the anchor allow 3-times more rope to go out than the depth of the sea. For more information on Types Of Boating Anchor, And How To Use It, Visit: Anchors - Which One? How To Use It?)

Marine Navigation Equipment

GPS (Global Positioning System - A very important piece of equipment for navigation! You can either have a hand-held GPS or have one built in, i choose to have both on my boat, this gives me a back up. These can be very good when in the fog, and when navigating shallow water.)

Compass (This is also another very basic and cheap, but vital piece of equipment! This can be very helpful if your GPS fails you, and you cant see land.)

Charts (Back to basics, when put with a compass, marine charts, maps and a compass is just as effective as a GPS just a bit more time consuming, but when needed.. this way of navigation works! You must know how to use it though, and Remember, don't get them wet! i've done this many a time) 

Pencils (again another basic piece of equipment, but can come in very helpful when navigating with a map, can also be good for use with the crossword when relaxing on the boat, under the rays of the sun!)

Parallel rule/plotter (Used regularly with the maps and charts)

Personal Marine Safety Equipment

Life jackets (Personal Floatation Device, This is a marine legal requirement and from my point of view, you've got to be stupid to leave land without one anyway! These save lives.. its been proved time and time again! Make sure you have one for everybody, and also carry spares on board too! These great pieces of personal safety equipment can be found quite cheap second hand, but after all you should look at it as how much is your life worth.. and Im sure £150 is alot less than the figure that pops into your head from that question!)

Marine drysuit (not an essential piece of equipment/clothing but i highly recommend one, there usually around £150 second hand up to around £200+ brand new, with some good thermals. I've just invested in a marine dry suit and it is one of the best buys iv had for this boat, i also had a bigger buoyancy aid to complement this as it is recommend to have a bigger buoyancy level with a dry suit) 

Waterproofs (They won't actually keep you as dry as a dry suit, but its better than nothing, it's also a good extra to wear some thermals under neath)

Spare clothes (Don't underestimate how cold it can be on a boat, after all its nothing to just throw some clothes in a bag, under a seat) 

Marine gloves (If you want to enjoy your marine experience, don't forget some quality marine gloves, i've done this in the past and really regretted it when i couldn't feel my fingers, wrapped round the wheel. My favorite type of gloves are seal skin, very warm and completely water proof.)

Hats (another little extra, to keep warm in those frequent cold conditions out there. I also like to take and wear a gecko helmet, with a full visor, reflects all the spray and keep your head really warm.)

Goggles (Or glasses can be good, to keep the wind and spray out of your eyes, but if you have a gecko helmet this is not needed.)

Miscellaneous 

Tools (Just some spare, basic tools e.g. alan key, screw drivers in various sizes, spanner and pliers at the very least)

Tow rope (If you brake down, somebody may see you and come over but don't expect everybody to carry a tow rope)

Fuel (Spare fuel, carried in some metal jerry cans)

Oil (Spare oil to be carried, just in case)

Torch (Just one of those item's that can come in extremely helpful)

Personal Items (keys, mobile phone, wallet/purse etc.) 

Chocolate & some soft drinks (Just some treats and snacks)

Documents

(depends where you're going but these are important if you're going abroad) 

Marine VHF license 

Marine VHF operators certificate 

Marine ICC certificate

Passport 

Proof of insurance 

So, thats my Marine Checklist For Boating! Keep Safe & Remember that Marine Lifejacket!

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