5 Common Boating Mistakes, and How to Avoid Them
If you’re new to boating – or even if you’re not – it’s easy to make simple mistakes that may have serious consequences on the water. Almost always boating errors are caused by being in a hurry, not paying attention, or both, and most of them are more embarrassing than anything else; for example, failing to tie up the anchor before tossing it over the side or jumping from the boat to the dock and ending up in the water instead. Review these 5 tips and life at your lakefront property will be worry free!
1. Failure to install the boat drain plug prior to launch. Installing the plug is one of the most basic procedures in boating, but on boat launches around the country some boater invariably forgets it almost every weekend. Compounding the problem is that several boat models have more than one plug. If an operator fails to install any of the plugs, the result is a boat full of water.
Embarrassing? Very. But this even happens to professionals on occasion. I have seen—though rarely—emergency crews launch a boat and take off without installing the plugs. Everything’s fine while they are speeding along, but when they slow down to come alongside, the boat suddenly fills with water surprising everyone, especially the person expecting to be rescued! Don’t assume the drain plug is in the boat. Double-check.
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