The key to an enjoyable day at the lake is ensuring the safety of you and others on board.
No matter how many trips on the water you have under your belt, it’s always a good choice
to refresh your knowledge of boat safety.
#1 Before leaving the marina:
- Ensure that all lights are functioning
- Check your fuel level and fill up if necessary
- Check local weather (sea reports if you’re cruising on the ocean)
- Have an emergency plan in place
- Test radio and communication services
#2 Make sure you have these while on the boat:
- Boat certificate and registration
- Personal flotation device for each passenger
- Charged fire extinguisher
- Survival kit
#3 Be safe while cruising:
- Do not exceed the boat’s capacity limitations
- Ensure that all passengers are properly seated while in motion
- Children should be wearing PFDs all the time
- When loading and unloading a boat, turn off the engine
- Do not drink and drive
In order to ensure that your communication services are working, test if your LED lights are
causing interference:
1. Turn off the LED lights
2. Tune the VHF radio to a quiet channel
3. Adjust the VHF radio’s squelch control until the radio outputs audio noise
4. Re-adjust the VHF radio’s squelch control until the audio noise is quiet, only slightly above
the noise threshold
5. Turn on the LED lights. If the radio now outputs audio noise, then the LED lights have
raised the noise floor. This indicates that the LED lights are interfering with the radio and
may cause issues.