Safety Equipment.

[Mike2043]

Hello everyone. I want to start (over the winter) getting all the required safety equipment for the upcoming season. This will be my first season on the water. What is mandatory and what is nice to have.

Also if you seasoned boaters/fisherman can point me to some sites that I can look these things up and some fishing sites. I have no idea where to go. The boat will be on the Hudson river and I plan on fishing the river along with NY harbor. I then figure once I am comfortable on the water and using the navigation equipment I may venture off shore a bit. I am planning on taking some boating classes over the winter if I can find them.

Thanks in advance.
Mike

 

[Porkchunker]

First I'd start with the standard Coast Guard package of PFDs, smoke and flare devices, mirror, and air horn. Then I'd add:

• Hand held GPS with chartplotter/map capability to get you home if the fixed unit fails
  Hand held VHF radio to call for help if the fixed unit fails
  Flare pistol (12 ga OK, but 25 mm is better) plus an extra set of cartridges
  Make sure your onboard compass works, is calibrated, and you know how to use it in fog (the GPS tells you where to go, but the compass can keep you from wandering left and right off course making a snake-like track)
  Towels, sweat suit (or spare clothes), and a sleeping bag in case someone falls overboard in the late fall or winter (wet clothes will kill the person faster...get them dry and into the sleeping bag).
  A way to reboard the boat if you (or a buddy) falls overboard
  Spare anchor and rode

I've probably missed a lot, and I'm sure Megabyte (Kevin) will chime in with a lot more goodies.

Dave

aka

 

[Porkchunker]

Why doesn't the "list" feature work?

Dave

aka

 

[pelagic2530]

alright. mandatory USCG equipment is, i believe, 3 day/night signals, a sound making device (horn), and a throwable lifering or such. thats bare minimun.

heres what i would carry in your situation. since for now youre only going to be boating on the Hudson, youre ok without a raft until you start going offshore. then, to me, a minimun 4-person raft is a requirement. as it stands, i would carry a fully equipped ditch bag, ACR Rapiditch Express is a great one. In that bag should be 1) a PLB, or personal locator beacon. the two best are probably the ACR ResQFix or the McMurdo FastFind are two good ones, USCG issues the FastFind i believe. 2) a handheld VHF radio, mine is a Standard Horizon model with built-in GPS, so you do not need an additional handheld GPS unit. 3) AT LEAST 3 SOLAS arial rockets and AT LEAST 3 SOLAS handheld flares. also, 2 SOLAS smoke signals are important as well, as they are proven to be the best daytime signal. 4) bottled water, at least 1/2 liter for every crewmember. ideally, one liter per man, but not possible in all cases. 5) space blankets, one per man. 6) flashlight, waterproof. i recommend ACR Firefly Plus, combination flashlight/strobe. and EXTRA BATTERIES, preferably vacuum sealed. 7) a good multitool, never know when its gonna come in handy. 8) duct tape. stereotypical, but for a good reason. 90% of problems can be at least lessened by the duct tape and the multitool. 9) small air horn. good for getting attention. 10) medical kit. this can be in addition to a primary boat kit, or serve as the primary kit itself. my policy is, i dont want to touch anythig that is in my ditch bag unless its in an emergency. that way, i never need to worry about the stuff thats in there not being there when i need it. West Marine makes good primary kits, although for my ditch kit i simply bought a wide-mouth Nalgene bottle and made my own (Tylenol, bandaids, gauze, tape, needles, burn ointment, Neosporin, Ibuprofin, etc, etc, etc... wander the isles at CVS and buy whatever you think you might need.). 11) chemical lightsticks. backup light. 12) Sunscreen 13) seasickness meds (ORIGINAL dramamine.. non-drowsy stuff sucks) 14) if you wear contacts or glasses, whatever you need for those, esp. recommend another pair of glasses. also sunglasses. Im sure theres some stuff i forgot. this is just what comes to mind.

in terms of other gear, a throwable cusion just doesnt cut it anymore. a good throwable, such as a Lifesling, is going to serve you much better in an emergency, and is less likely to be buried in a cabinet somewhere. a throwring is good as well, but i really recommend the Lifesling. practice also makes perfect.

Life vests- also required equipment. personally, i dont care where youre boating, you really shouldnt carry anything other than full commercial Type I vests, Sterns makes a good one. seriosuly, for all the money that boating costs, it just isnt worth it to trust your life to a $6 type II from west marine. each vest should have a chemical lightstick (strobe is preferrable, actually), a whistle (dumb detail, but important- make sure that, when the vest is on, that the whislte's attachmetn allows it to be blown into), and the boat's name stenciled in spray paint across the back. the unfortunate reason for this is that if a floating vest is found, or it god forbid a body is found wearing the vest, the vessel it is from can be identified.

this is what i would go for if i was in your position. it hurts to shell out the $$$ at first, but it beats having all the money in the world when you need it and cant buy it. :wink:

 

[Megabyte]

I've probably missed a lot, and I'm sure Megabyte (Kevin) will chime in with a lot more goodies.

I'm probably not a good barometer Dave, because I carry a good bit more than what is required.

If you want to know what is required for your vessel, go to the Vessel Safety Check (VSC) web site at:

http://safetyseal.net/

At the VSC site, you can do a virtual inspection of your vessel and print out the actual VSC form that the USCG Aux uses when they inspect a vessel.
In the spring, when you are ready, schedule a VSC and get the window sticker. If the CG or your local DNR sees you on the water and you are displaying a current sticker, you'll get a wave and a pass rather than a 'safety check stop'. :wink:

What you decide to carry, and how you organize your safety gear is up to you, but here is some of what I carry if you'd like an idea or two.

I keep all of my critical safety gear and my paperwork in one place - in an emergency gear bag.
My previous gear bag was a simple canvas bag that my anchor rode came in. These days I've upgraded to an ACR RapidDitch bag that holds all of my stuff, and it floats (just-in-case).
The old bag is on the left, and the one I'm using now is on the right.

In addition to holding my safety gear, the bag also holds my boat registration, proof of insurance, my tow insurance info, and a copy of my license.

You are only required to carry 3 pyrotechnic devices on your vessel, but I carry many times that.
I have 2 one gallon ZipLock bags, one labled "Current", the other labled "Expired". You are allowed to carry expired pyrotechnics (and it makes sense to do so), but you cannot mix the expired with the current signaling devices. Keeping them in separate marked bags keeps you in line with USCG regulations.

I carry both day time, as well as night time pyrotechnics. For daytime, I carry smokes, dye markers, and signaling mirrors. For night time I carry an assortment of 12 ga and 25 mm aerials.

For audible and visual signaling devices, I carry both whistles and canned air, as well as clip-on strobes and flashlights.

For personal safety, I carry 3 medical kits on board, with one of them being carried in the emergency equipment bag. Along with the medical gear are a couple of 'space blankets' for emergency warmth, and in a separate waterproof tote bag I carry an assortment of rain gear, extra sweatshirts, sweatpants, hats, sunglasses, water shoes, and an assortment of gloves.

My VHF radio is connected to my GPS so that in an emergency, I can activate my DSC button on the radio and it will transmit my GPS coordinates to the CG.

In the emergency equipment bag I carry a waterproof handheld VHF as well as a personal emergency position-indicating radio beacon, sometimes called a "P-EPIRB" or a "PLB".
Unlike a mounted EPIRB which is registered to the vessel, a PLB is registered to a person. This allows me to carry the PLB with me when I am operating on another vessel.

EPIRB's and PLB's are not required, and they are not cheap, but they are good insurance if you choose to add one to your emergency equipment bag at some point. :wink:

Some other items that I carry include an assortment of nylon zip ties, a small tool kit and an extra set of spark plugs sealed in a 50 cal ammo can, WD40, duct tape, a tow hawser (with bridle and float), several very sharp knives - one at the helm and one in the cockpit (mounted with velcro), a rechargeable hand-held search light, and a 1.5 gal empty bleach bottle with 100' of parachute cord and the name of the boat in BIG LETTERS on it.

Why the bleach bottle? Well, (knock on wood) I have never gotten my expensive anchor hung up on the bottom, but if I ever do... I will attach the parachute cord to my rode, drop the bottle overboard, note the GPS coordinates, and contact a member of my fishing club (who is a diver) that I have a reward for him if he brings my anchor and rode back.

There are more things that I carry, but I think you have enough ideas to get you thinking about what you might need to survive in your area if things go bad.

Hopefully, by thinking this through after attending a safe boating class, you will be on your way to being prepared for any emergency that could happen in your area. 8)

Good luck!

 

[HM5]

That is a terrific listing, Capt. Could it be transferd to a "Stricky"note, as it is a gem of information that indicates items from "needed" through "ought to have" and "good to have just in case". I will keep this bookmarked, to refer to. It will be helpful to review in March.

 

[Megabyte]

Thanks Matthew!

 

[Mike2043]

Thanks.

This is a tremendous help. I now know what I need and what I can save up for. I really like ditch bags..

 

[DaleH]

Ahhhh, again Capt Kevin and I are very much alike, as my ditch bag is the same one (were we 'in' on the same buy for the PLB & ditch bag?) and equipped pretty much the same. I carry 6" & 8" red/orange 'Glostah' buoys, as shown below, but I like the Clorox bottle trick! I think someone might less be apt to pull up the line and retrieve my item with the Clorox bottle as the marker !

Neat trick Kev!

 

[Jersey Jim]

What a great list of items. Many of which I've already been carrying on the Parker and also while duck hunting on a meadow of 16 square miles, with over 150 miles of ditches, creeks,etc., and all tidal and adjacent to the Delaware bay. Probably half of them go dry at one point near low tide. Most all old-timer waterfowlers can tell of at least one time they've had to inadvertently spend the night in their small boats while waiting for the tide to come back in due to unfamiliarity or a NW wind blow-out tide. It seems most of the time you are navigating in the pitch dark, either on the way to the sunrise hunt, or coming back from a sunset hunt. So when something goes wrong, it's almost always during the dark and cold hours. This year we had 4 duck hunters go missing and 2 or 3 never recovered, last march and also recently.

A few items I didn't see posted that I carry are several large 18-hour hand/body-warmer packets. The kind that are activated by air once the outer package is opened. Also, granola bars and cliff bars are always in the boat. It's amazing how many calories the body expends when it's cold. I make a point to vacuum-seal items like that, and batteries with a food-saver vacuum-sealer, like Pelagic mentioned. Not sure if I saw a 12-volt charger for cell-phones in the posts, but I keep one on each boat for the cig. plug. What good is a cell-phone if it's dead

It all boils down to how well you play the "What If" game, as to what you can think of ahead of time to bring. You almost have to constantly think of disaster scenarios and how you would handle them, then you would be prepared enough to avert most of them.

Great list, I wouldn't mind seeing it continue to grow.

Jim

 

[sparky]

A really useful gadget is called a TurboCharge. Its a cell charger that runs on a single AA battery, and has interchangeable tips. I've got one, and used it at least a dozen times on either my phone or a coworkers phone, out on the water. I keep a bunch of sealed AA's in my pack, and always can charge a phone in a pinch.
http://turbocellcharge.com/v2/index.php

I found mine at Workin' Gear, but lots of places sell them. Mine came with about 8 tips, and a LED flashlight tip for $20. Well worth it.

Additionally, I always carry a good multi-tool. My personal favorite is the Leatherman Surge, but anything from LT or Victorinox/SOG/Gerber will do the trick. Its nice to have when you are in the bilge, working on something, and realize that your XXXX has been lost or is up on deck.

 

[parkerjon]

Along with the other great reccomendations for safety gear you should should get the Chapman Piloting, Seamanship & Small Boat Handling book. Good info on alot of topics for winter reading.

 

[Megabyte]

Here is an item that I forgot to mention, and that I haven't seen listed yet.
Emergency jump start box.

 

[DaleH]

Here is an item that I forgot to mention, and that I haven't seen listed yet.
Emergency jump start box.

Wow again,we have tha same one!

 

[ThankYouDear]

Being a Coast Guard Auxiliarist Vessel Examiner on the west coast, I would highly recommend you start at http://www.safetyseal.net Here you can look at the madatory equipment, recomended equipment, ask for an inspection and pick the brains of the inspector that comes over to inpsect your vessel. Most examiners have been boating for years in the area they do vessel exams and can provide great insight into the needs you migh have. Good Luck and be safe.

 

[Kevin G.]

If you are heading offshore, I would recomend getting a ditch raft and a GPS EPIRB.

My EPIRB is located inside the Pilot House by the door. I don't have a photo of it.

Kevin G.

 

[Stank Bait]

Add bolt cutters to your list. When you need them, you will need them real bad.

 

[andertonm]

I'm sure I will need the bolt cutters, but right now I can't envision why.

I like the battery jumper boxes, but be aware that the typical box sold to retail consumers has a safety feature that prevents it from putting out any juice if it is not properly hooked to a partially charged battery. This keeps it from becoming an arc welder if the clips short together accidentally. This also means it can't be used as an emergency 12V power supply to run spotlights, etc. All it can do is jump a weak (not dead) battery. The industrial-grade units used in auto shops do not have this safety feature and make great auxiliary power supplies, but they cost more and they can be dangerous.

 

[pelagic2530]

I'm sure I will need the bolt cutters, but right now I can't envision why.

5/0 tuna hook. your forearm. any further questions? :shock: :?

i carry a pair too. forgot about those, definatly a must. keep them in a sheath made from an old towel or something, sprayed with alot of WD-40 or soaked in machine oil. rusty tools are not tools, theyre sinkers.

 

[Tjay]

I carry a sixpack of Bud and some duct tape