CliffA
Well-Known Member
- Dec 29, 2009
- 4,712
- Boat Info
- 2001 Sea Ray 340DA
Name: 'Happy Place'
4.5kW West. Generator
Purchased Nov. 2014
Fresh Water Use
- Engines
- Twin Merc. 6.2L (MPI)
640 hp (Total)
Raw Water Cooled
V-Drive Transmissions
Sometimes I read threads like this and wonder how the average boat owner survives a weekend of boating without six checklists, three ditch bags, a handful of liability waivers and a 30 minute training video noted (on a checklist) as required viewing for all new passengers.
I'm not trying to suggest you don't take boating safety seriously. But man....I think sometimes we tend to go overboard on this (no pun).
My Tenants of Safe Boating - 1.) have enough PFD's for everyone, tell everyone where they are and 2.) Only go as fast as you're willing to run into something when you're around the docks.
The rest of it I think you'll figure out if you're an average human. My opinion only of course. And you know what they say about opinions...
I tend to agree...if things get too 'regimented' it kind of sucks some of the fun out of the adventure....I don't want me nor my guest to be so uptight they can't sit back, enjoy their cocktails, and have a good time.....
again common sense and good judgment have to be used.....I find that when someone new to boating goes on a cruise on my boat they almost always simply ask if they have questions about things like how to use the head if they are unfamiliar with that....
safety is DEFINETLY priority one so tell and show the guest where the life jackets and throw cushion and fire extinguisher are located before leaving the dock and then sit back and enjoy the ride.....
as the captain if your are going to make a maneuver with the boat that could cause someone to loose their balance or pose some other threat to them then we should announce that maneuver in advance and what the affected guest should expect....(of course emergency maneuvers are a different thing)....
99.9% of the time our cruises are at slow speed....I have found that almost every guest on our boat prefers a slow speed cruise over getting up on plane because they can talk normally to each other and not have to worry so much about being bounced around if they need to move around the boat.....
we cruise on an inland lake...cruising out in open water as in ocean cruising may be a whole different animal which does call for some higher level of training for guest....
just my $.02 worth....
cliff