It doesn’t matter how much experience you may have, it will always be a wise idea for you as well as your friends and family to review boating safety rules before you depart the dock. We’ve compiled 10 basic boating safety tips to help you and your friends and family stay safe:

Be weather-smart

Always check the local weather conditions before departing; TV and radio forecast are a good source of information. If you happen to notice darkening clouds, if you notice turbulent and rough changing winds or drops in temperature, its best to play it safe by getting back to shore and off the water.

Follow a Pre-Departure Checklist

Conventional boating safety includes always being prepared, like a Boy Scout, for any possibility you could have on the water. Following your pre-departure checklist is the best solution to ensure no boating safety rules or precautions have been forgotten!

Use Common Sense

One of the most significant parts of boating safely is to use your common sense, we can not stress this enough! That ALWAYS means operating at safe speeds (especially in crowded areas and no wake zones), always stay alert and steering clear of larger vessels and watercrafts that can be restricted in the ability to stop or to turn. Also, please be respectful of all buoys and navigational aids, all have been placed there for your own safety!

Designate an Assistant Skipper

It is good practice to have more than one person on board your boat that is familiar with all things of boat handling, operations, and general boating safety! If your primary navigator is injured or not able to assist in anyway, it is important to ensure someone else can follow the proper safety rules to get everyone else back to shore.