Get Ready For Boating Season

It’s time to be preparing for the upcoming boating season. With the temperatures in the 70 and 80s already, the time is quickly approaching.

There are several things that you can do to be the prudent skipper of your vessel before you hit the water.

Getting your boat serviced so that it is in good running condition is an excellent starting point. Service your trailer, wheel bearings, brakes, lights, and check the age of your tires. We have all seen the boat and trailer sitting on the side of the road and thinking, “I am glad that is not me.”

If the tires are getting to be around six years old, they need to be replaced even if they look to be in good condition.

Now that that is all done, what is next?

Oh, yeah, that boating class that we have been talking about. Get your entire family involved in the fun of attending a boating class.

It is not like the mandatory driving class when you get a citation. Boating classes are fun — for the entire family. Learn how to properly tie off your boat, use those fenders, learn what fenders are (they are not called “bumpers;” bumpers are on your car. Learn to tie a proper knot. These are just a few of the many lessons learned in a safe-boating class.

I talk to people every day who tell me they have boated their entire life but have never been in a class, and every time I ask them the simplest of boating-knowledge questions, they cannot give me either a correct answer or any answer.

If you do not understand even the smallest of the boating rules and regulations, how can you be safe on the water — with your wife, kids, Mom and Dad? What you think you know versus what you don’t know can get someone you love hurt.

Did I mention that this is a fun class? Isn’t it worth one Saturday and $25.00 to learn what is right and what is wrong out there on our lakes?

Get yourself registered into a Coast Guard Auxiliary boating class where you have seasoned boating instructors who can teach you how to be safe on the water and still have fun.

Hope to see you in class.

Captain Dave