Boating Bitts

When heading out on the water, one way of ensuring you have what you need for safety is a checklist. Discover Boating has a printable Pre-departure Checklist . Filing a float plan with someone ashore is a safety feature when out on the water. It should include names and contact information for everyone on board, your destination(s) and time you will return to shore.  Be sure you close your sail plan on return by checking in with your onshore contact.

If you are planning to spend time on the water, then it is important to have the required safety gear on board for the size of your boat.  Regulations apply to all vessels. The Transport Canada Safe Boating Guide  may be downloaded.

Spent a warm day on the water teaching a Basic Outboard Standard  course. If you have access to a boat with an outboard, then you may benefit from the course which covers boat handling, weather, basic chart reading, regulations and boating etiquette as well as other topics. Want the standard, however, no boat? My client rented a boat from a local rental operator, for the day and hired me to teach the standard. Purchase the Basic Powerboat Skills manual for $39 plus shipping and GST. Study the manual and complete the Review Questions at the end of each chapter and then arrange for time on the water.   Complete are the on-water Standards, take the exam and get certified. If you wish the certification, additional costs are the Sail Canada logbook, $30 plus GST and a $24 registration fee. 

Knowing how to read Tide and Current Tables is an essential skill for navigating in coastal waters. I have published the following two articles in Street Articles covering this subject: Tidal Currents When Navigating In Coastal Waters Tides When Navigating In Coastal Waters

You may have purchased a new vessel or are moving to a larger vessel with twin inboards.  Docking a twin engine vessel is different from handling a single and I have created a lens, Twin Engine Boat Handling. Excerpt from my lens:  Rule 1 for beginners: Neutral is your best friend - especially as the size and weight of the vessel increases it is important to keep the speed of the vessel at the minimum required to retain control. Speed is your enemy and when you go into gear only stay in gear 1 - 2 seconds. This will prevent the vessel from gathering speed which gives you less time to react and think. Usually the objective is to coast the vessel to its berth. When you have 65,000 lbs. under you, that is a lot of momentum. More information at Twin Engine Boat Handling

One of the methods to fix the position of your vessel is by taking compass bearings. By having three bearings cross in or near the same location you have accurately determined your position. Taking Bearings When taking compass bearings, used fixed aids for best results. Floating aids can move around with wind or current and the charted position is the position of the mooring, not the buoy. Take the bearings off to each side, one after the other. The bearings on your beam will change quickly while the bearings ahead or astern will hardly change at all due to the boat's motion. If you take the bearings on each side first and then take the bearing either ahead or astern, you will have a more accurate fix. Also check that the bearings you take are not about 180 degrees apart. Ideally the three bearings will be spaced about 120 degrees apart for the most accurate fix. If you are using the end of an island, remember to allow for the height of the tide. With a gently sloping ...