Once you get your boat the very first thing you want to do is to make sure she’s safe. Learn how to do a boat safety audit so that if disaster strikes you’re prepared!
How To Do A Boat Safety Audit
Why Do You Want A Safe Boat?
There are two reasons to check your safety equipment thus learning how to do a boat safety audit.
1. To be legally compliant with the area you’re sailing in. If not, the Coast Guard can fine you and, or impound your boat.
2. And more importantly – you want to make sure you have the right safety equipment and it has been serviced so that if something happens you’re prepared to deal with it. You don’t want your partner floating away from the boat or a fire to ruin your dreams, now, do you?!
But That Is Not All
In addition to checking all your safety equipment you’ll want to create an equipment user manual, policies/procedures for situations like man overboard, fire, grounding, rig failure, taking on water, engine failure, etc. And finally, you’ll also want to have checklists to ensure you are routinely checking and servicing the key safety areas on your boat. Being proactive and preventing issues is far better than letting things fail.
FREE Boat Safety Audit
When it comes to avoiding boat safety mistakes the most important thing you can do is define what boat safety is, make sure you understand how all your equipment/safety systems work, and create a manual that enables you to store and disseminate all your boat safety instructions, procedures, policies, maps, and checklists.
To get started on determining how safe your boating environment is, watch our Boat Safety Blueprint Video and grab a copy of our FREE Boat Safety Audit.
This audit lists all the common boat safety equipment and enables you to check off what you have/don’t have. It also recommends servicing items that require maintenance in addition to listing potential procedures and policies that you might want to take on board your boat. Get the Boat Safety Audit here.
Other Boat Safety Articles/Videos
- The Ultimate Boat Safety Blueprint
- 7 Boat Safety Mistakes and How to Correct Them
- Sailing Basics – Avoiding Collisions
- The Importance of Using a Sailing Safety Tether
- The Best Life Jacket for Sailing Cruisers
- Seasickness Solution For Sailors
Any Questions or Comments?
Please leave them below.
on the C.O and Fire detectors, do you have Marine detectors, there is a difference from land based home detectors and salt water marine versions..
Robert – we don’t have a gas cooker so we only have a fire detector. It’s one that we got at Ace Hardware and seems to work fine. What is difference with a salt water fire detector? Kim