First and foremost, if you have not already done
so, I strongly recommend that you and your entire family, including the
children if old enough, enroll in a boating safety course. You will learn
the "Rules of the Road", how to read and use navigation charts and aids such
as buoys, channel markers, lights and much much more. These classes run for
several weeks and usually meet one night per week. They are offered by most
local USCG Auxillary organizations and by the US Power Squadron
organizations. The classes are conducted several times per year and the cost
is minimal, usually limited to books and materials used. Contact your
local Power Squadron or USCG office for more information. Also note that
many insurance companies offer a premium discount if you provide them with
the certificate of completion of a boating safety class.
Now to the vessel itself.............
Congratulations Captain, you have assumed a new and vital role. You now
are the equivalent of a City Manager. You are responsible for the water
works, the sewer company, the garbage company, the power plant, the
security system, the finance office and all other departments. However, you
have two additional responsibilities no city manager has, since cities
seldom wander nor do they sink; you are responsible for navigation and
keeping your vessel afloat!
Therefore, in keeping with the gravity of your high office, I suggest the
following. Immediately upon taking delivery of your new pride and joy, you
should physically and personally go through every maintenance and adjustment
procedure on your vessel. It matters little if it is a new boat or a well
used one, or any description in-between. It doesn't matter if all the items
are alleged to have been done just prior to your acquisition; to really get
to know your latest love and be in control of any boat related situation I
suggest the following set of procedures.
DO NOT TAKE ANYTHING FOR GRANTED! You need to know everything about your
boat before you shove off. It is simpler to learn and correct deficiencies
at the dealer or your own turf then it is to do it ad hoc, possible under
adverse conditions.
1. Organize all your instruction manuals and ships papers. Use your
favorite method of organization. Some people use alphabetized expansion
folders, some use three-ring binders. Whatever you prefer, get it and get
every piece of documentation that goes with each piece of equipment on
board. Make sure you have a piece of paper that covers every single item on
your boat. Make sure you have factory operating instructions for every
system and appliance. My personal system is to use three-ring binders with
plastic document covers.
2. Create a ships log for all your travels. A ships Log is a legal
document.
3. Create a maintenance log. A good maintenance log will detail every
item on the vessel in need of routine maintenance. It will display the type,
amount and frequency of change of every lubricant in every situation. It
will allow you to easily monitor the service provided each item on board.
Maintenance logs cover not only engines, transmissions, cutless bearings,
stuffing boxes, steering cables, refrigeration and other major systems but
should cover every other piece of equipment on your vessel. A good
maintenance log will list the name of the item, serial number, date of
purchase, period of service required, date of last service and a remarks
column that handles special circumstances. When you are ready to move up to
a different vessel, this log can be a big selling point.
4. Organize and retain all of your receipts, especially important if you
are going foreign.
5. Create an inventory of what you have onboard and keep a second copy
ashore, at home or in your office.
6. Purchase spare parts and expendables.
7. Take each manual for each maintenance item and actually go through the
procedure.
8. Create a legal documents file for the following types of items:
Vessel registration
USCG Documentation (if Documented)
Insurance Papers
Dinghy registration.
Dinghy motor registration.
HAM license (reciprocals)
FCC radio operators license
Marina Slip rental agreement
9. Create a floor plan and storage allocation chart for your vessel
10. Vacuum your bilge dry and keep it that way. If water comes in,
identify the source and stop it if possible. Water inside a boat bilge is
never a good thing.
11. Check all your seacocks, know where they are. Make sure YOU can
operate them. Attach a properly sized wooden plug to each seacock to use in
an emergency. Seacocks are a critical issue. So many times seacocks are
frozen, this should show up under survey, but it happens in new boats also.
You should actually operate them so you know exactly where they are, which
direction they turn and if there are any peculiarities or difficulties with
the location. This also gives you the opportunity to smooth out any rough
edges left in construction and vacuum any dirt or debris.
12. Change a bulb in your navigation lights. This may seem simplistic but
you ought to have actually experienced it, know for certain you have the
right tools to do it, before you need to do it in the dark under adverse
conditions.
13. Make a list of must have spares, like filters, belts, bulbs
and fuses.
Don't
leave the dock without proper spares. You just never know and once you are
away from the dock, no matter how short the journey, you are on your own.
(You would not be the first person to get a costly ticket from the marine
patrol because your nav lights weren't working and you did not have a spare
bulb.)
14. Check your tools, make sure you have a proper wrench for every
contingency. Never mind how fancy the tools are, do you have a wrench for
every nut? a screwdriver blade for every type screw? Do you need special
pullers or alignment tools? Do you need a special tool to remove oil filters
or water filters? Did you read through the manuals looking for odd & unusual
requirements? How about the tools for your deck fittings, windlass, hatches,
antenna mounts, etc.
15. Check out by operating all your deck gear, lubricate your winches and
windlass.
16. Inspect every shackle, turnbuckle or other joint for proper pins and
safety wire cotter keys or split rings. Climb the mast. Be sure you use a
good quality bosuns chair with an additional safety line before going up the
mast. Get used to it now,
before you need to do it in an emergency.
17. Practice a "man overboard" procedure using the Lifesling, Ring or
Horseshoe buoy that you have on board so you will know what to do when the
need arises.
18. Teach your spouse or significant other how to bring your boat safely
back to port and into it's assigned slip in case something happens to you
and you are unable to pilot the vessel.
By the time you finish with this procedure you will have an intimate
knowledge of every inch of your boat. You will find that not only does it
build your confidence but will build the confidence of all those who will be
boating with you.
I wish you and yours many happy and safe boating seasons.
Bob Ptak, AMS
