Boating Safety

This is something that has been neglected by many boaters, especially first time boat owners. We as bass fishermen are very negligent when it comes to boating safely. Often one will find there are smaller bass boats fishing a particular area and there comes along a 21ft Triton with a huge motor on it, riding with in meters of the smaller boat creating ahuge wake which can either swamp smaller boats or endanger the next person's life. The most important rule on the water is to keep right at all times when in motion. Not obeying this rule has costed a lot of boaters their lives. There have been many incidents abroad and locally where boaters have either capsized or had a collision with other boats, or jetskis by not adhering to this rule. We often find this rule broken by bass boaters that would take the shortest route possible to a fishing spot not obeying the rules of the water. I have personally seen boaters riding on the wrong side of the Vaal River at Millionaires bend at full speed almost causing a collision that could have costed them dearly. Ok, enough of that, lets talk about boating safely.

1. When u reach your destination do a full inspection around and underneath the boat to check if anything has been damaged during your journey e.g. bow or stern eye's broken (refer to fig1 and 2,markings in red) or any other physical damage that would be a hazard on the water
2. Remove all straps and safety equipment that secures your boat to your trailer
3. "VERY IMPORTANT" don't forget drain plugs must be inserted or you'll sink or have to go for a swim.
4. Make sure you trim your motor up so you don't cause any damage when launching the boat.
5. Pump the primer bulb to ensure there is enough petrol in your fuel system and open breather holes to allow petrol to flow freely. This will only apply to the smaller Yamaha fuel tanks or tanks with an adjustable breather.
6. Before launching make sure all rods and gear are safely stowed away or strapped down.
7. Make sure that your trolling motor and main motor batteries are still working.
8. Make sure that your running lights are working because it is absolutely necessary when launching on a dark winters morning or fishing till late in the evening or when ever there is poor visibility.
9. "NEVER" overload your boat, always stick to the maximum capacity your boat can handle.
10. Equipment required on board:
    • Fire extinguisher
    • 2 oars
    • A flare or some other means of communication
    • An anchor with chain and 30 meters rope or three times the depth you will be anchoring in.
    • 1 litre drinking water per crew member
    • Necessary spares and tools
    • Extra rope (in case of having to be towed or vise versa) N.B. towing rope should not be less than 10 meters
    • Water proof torch and spare bulb
    • Make sure that your boat and trailer has some kind of contact details marked on it, this is necessary when other boaters at the launch area may need to contact you if they discover it is too late to be out on the water. There are many more pointers but I am only focusing on the ones that are very important.
11. Now we are ready for launch, back the boat up slowly remembering that whichever direction you turn your motor vehicle steering the boat will move in the opposite direction.
12. Before you start the motor ensure that all crew members and skipper (yourself) have life jackets on (must be SABS approved). The skipper should attach the motor kill switch firmly to his life jacket. I cannot stress the importance of a kill switch e.g. if the skipper goes overboard the motor will disengage immediately and avoid any accidents.
13. Starting the motor, turn the ignition key once then push the key in to engage the choke (only for cold starts or a motor that has not been in operation for long periods) then turn the key full until motor starts, once the motor has started take your fingers off the key, then if necessary lift the idling bar to warm the motor. Before engaging gear return idling bar to normal position otherwise gear would not engage (safety feature).
14. Once you have reached deep enough water trim the motor in to ensure easy plaining. Once the boat is on the plain trim the motor out just enough to get the nose of the boat up to avoid the boat from dragging. One can normally judge this by feeling the steering getting lighter as you move.
15. When waters become rough rather ride against or with the wave never in between. In these conditions slow down a bit and trim motor slightly out to get the nose of the boat higher.

After a great days fishing and you ready to unlaunch do the same as when you launch except this time do not submerge the trailer fully, depending on how high or low your trailer is, submerge only until the water reaches the top of the trailers mudguard. Refer to figure 2 (green marking) WHY?? It is easier to get the boat on to the trailer rather than having the stern (back of the boat) swaying left or right and having the hull too much to one side of the trailer or the boat being unlaunched skew, it also makes it easier to attach the winch clip to the bow eye (the round steel clip that is attached to the hull in front. Refer to figure 1, red marking) and winch the boat fully onto the trailer. After that is done ensure to trim the motor up to avoid any damage to the motor.

Conclusion:

In my conclusion I would like to stress on the following. Remember guys boating and fishing should be fun, don't let it turn out to be a disaster!!

• Life jackets save lives, life jackets float and people don't!!
• Safe boats save lives get your certificate of fitness done!!
• Boating education save lives, take the skippers course to learn much more.
• NEVER boat under the influence.
• You are the skipper! You make the rules! You are responsible for any crew onboard.

Mumro
Bassing.co.za Pro Staff Member

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