Table of Contents
Advertisement
•
Get up to date charts for the planned route
•
Calculate distance and fuel consumption
•
Note places where you can refuel on your planned
course
•
Tell friends or relatives about your route (that is, file a
"float plan").
Safety equipment
•
Rescue and emergency items such personal flota-
tion devices and signal rockets. Make sure all pas-
sengers know where these items are.
•
Replacement parts
•
Proper tools
•
Fire extinguisher checked and charged
Basic safety rules of boating
•
Shut off the engine when people who are in the water
come near the boat.
•
Propellers are inherently dangerous, and as such are
potential safety hazards. Make sure that the propel-
ler is not operating when people who are in the water
come near the boat.
•
Avoid standing up or shifting weight suddenly in
small, lightweight boats.
•
Keep your passengers seated in seats. The boat's
bow, gunwale, transom, and seat backs are not in-
tended for use as seats.
•
Insist on the use of personal flotation devices by all
passengers at all times.
•
Know the "rules of the road" and obey them. If you
are not familiar with the "rules of the road," take the
U.S. Coast Guard's boater safety course. You may
find
information
WWW.USCGBOATING.ORG
WWW.CGAUX.ORG/CGAUXWEB/PUBLIC/
PUBFRAME.HTM.
•
Prevent explosion and fire by maintaining your fuel
delivery system in top condition. Fuel vapor is vola-
tile; handle fuel with care.
•
Keep your boat and equipment neat and in top oper-
ating condition. Carry a selection of spare parts for
the engine. (Volvo Penta's onboard kit contains a
selection of essential items that a boat owner should
carry at all times. See your Volvo Penta dealer.)
•
NEVER OPERATE THE BOAT IF YOU ARE UNDER
THE INFLUENCE OF DRUGS OR ALCOHOL.
•
If boating waters are unfamiliar, obtain appropriate
charts to avoid damage from underwater objects.
about
boating
safety
High performance boat operation
High performance is not only defined by engine size, but by
a combination of engine power (horsepower), hull design,
and the size of the boat. Your new engine(s) produce a high
power output. Depending on the boat type, the top speed
may be much higher than what you are accustomed to.
High speed operation requires an experienced operator who
has mastered handling of high performance boats. It is ad-
visable that you learn the boat's behavior before you take
passengers on board. Inform your passengers about your
boat's characteristics and the maneuvers you intend to do.
Use the boat's performance with due consideration and care!
When operating at high speeds, remember that other boat-
ers may not realize the speed at which you are traveling,
especially when you close in on another boat from astern
or from ahead. Always keep a good distance to allow for
the unexpected! Always be prepared for what other boaters
may do unexpectedly. High speed driving requires the driver
to give a high degree of attention to boat operation and
surrounding conditions.
A boat traveling at a speed of approximately 70 MPH (60
knots) covers about 100 feet (30 meters) in 1 second. The
faster you go the quicker things will happen. High speed
driving requires a lot of water and a good distance to pos-
sible hazards! Always allow for adequate reaction time. Al-
ways reduce speed when visibility is reduced for whatever
reason.
When driving, make sure that all passengers are safely
seated. Emphasize this especially if you have a larger, high
performance cabin cruiser where one normally moves about
at
during operation. Reduce speed considerably, or stop com-
and
pletely if someone needs to move about the boat.
The driver should always use the safety kill switch! The kill
switch lanyard which is securely connected to the driver,
immediately shuts off the engine(s) should the driver be
thrown from the driving position. Even if the risk of being
thrown overboard is practically nonexistent in your type of
boat, the risk of the driver falling and being dazed in rough
seas can be even greater.
Remember, even when the engine(s) is stopped in a high
performance boat that is planing, it will travel approximately
325 feet (100 meters) before dropping through the planing
threshold and stopping!
7
Advertisement
Table of Contents
