Boating Basics: On the Water With Your Vessel

Other Boating Emergencies

A safe boater knows how to prevent and respond to other boating emergencies.

Falling Overboard

To prevent falling overboard:

• Don’t sit on the gunwale, bow, seat backs, or any other area not designed for seating.
• Don’t sit on pedestal seats when at greater than idle speed.
• Don’t stand up in or lean out from the vessel.
• Don’t move about the vessel when underway.

If someone on your vessel falls overboard:

• Reduce speed.
• Throw the victim a personal flotation device (PFD).
• Turn the vessel around and carefully pull alongside the victim, approaching the victim from downwind or into the wind, whichever is stronger.
• Stop the engine. Pull the victim in over the stern.

Capsizing or Swamping

To reduce the risk of capsizing or swamping:

• Don’t overload your vessel. Balance the load.
• Turn your vessel at controlled speeds.
• Anchor to the bow of the vessel, never to the stern.
• Don’t boat in rough water or bad weather.

If you should capsize or swamp your vessel, or if you have fallen out and can’t get back in:

• Stay with the vessel.
• Try to reboard; or if the vessel is overturned or swamped, hang onto it or climb onto it. Get as much of your body out of cold water as possible.

If the vessel sinks or floats away, don’t panic.

• If you are wearing a PFD, remain calm and wait for help.
• If you aren’t wearing a PFD, look around for one or for other buoyant items to use as a flotation device.
• In cold water, float rather than tread.

Hypothermia

• Dress in several layers of clothing under your PFD, or wear a wet suit or dry suit.
• Learn to recognize the symptoms of hypothermia. Symptoms begin with shivering and bluish lips and nails, and progress to a coma and, ultimately, death.
• To reduce the effects of hypothermia:
  • Get as much of your body out of the water as possible.
  • Don’t take your clothes off unless necessary. Remember, clothes trap heat and can help you float.
  • Draw your knees to your chest and your arms to your sides protecting the major areas of heat loss.
  • Don’t thrash or move about. Excess motion consumes energy and increases loss of body heat.
  • Always wear a PFD. It helps you to float without excessive movement and insulates your body.
  • If others are in the water with you, huddle together with your arms around their shoulders.

Carbon Monoxide Poisoning

Carbon monoxide is an invisible, odorless, tasteless gas that can be deadly. To prevent carbon monoxide poisoning, keep air flowing through the vessel and take extreme caution when running a generator at dock or at anchor.

• Whenever people are using a swim platform or are in the water close to the stern, turn off all gasoline-powered generators with transom exhaust ports.
• Swimmers should never enter the cavity between the swim platform and the stern of the vessel.
• When boating, be careful running downwind as exhaust gases may blow back on board. On cabin cruisers, be aware that exhaust gases can blow back into the stern when traveling into the wind.