Trip planning and safe operation: weather, loading, speed, alcohol and towing

Why boaters die

The most common factors in Canadian boating deaths: not wearing a lifejacket or PFD, alcohol, cold water, capsizing and falls overboard (often from small open boats), and operating in bad weather or beyond one's skill. Most drownings happen close to shore, in calm water, to people who did not expect to go in.

Before you go

1. Check the weather forecast and local conditions (Environment Canada marine forecasts, VHF weather channels). Watch for wind shifts, darkening clouds, rising waves and lightning; head for shore early.
2. Leave a trip (sail/float) plan with a responsible person: boat description, people on board, route, departure and return times, and who to call if you are overdue.
3. Check the boat: hull, drain plug in, steering, engine, battery, fuel, lights, horn, bilge.
4. Check the safety equipment required for your boat's length.
5. Fuel rule of thirds: one third out, one third back, one third in reserve.
6. Know the waterway: charts, local hazards, VORR restrictions (speed limits, engine bans).
7. Brief passengers on lifejackets, equipment location and what to do in an emergency.

Loading

• Do not exceed the capacity plate (maximum persons, weight and engine power).
• Distribute weight evenly and low; keep passengers seated.
• Overloading reduces freeboard and stability and is a leading cause of swamping and capsizing.

Safe speed and wake

• Use a safe speed for visibility, traffic, weather and hazards (Collision Regulations Rule 6).
• 10 km/h within 30 m of shore in Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and the inland waters of BC and Nova Scotia, posted or not (exceptions include straight-out towing at 90°, rivers under 100 m wide, canals and buoyed channels).
• You are responsible for damage or injury caused by your wake - slow down near docks, swimmers, paddlers and shorelines.
• Careless operation without due care and attention: $350 fine.

Alcohol and drugs

• Operating a vessel while impaired by alcohol or drugs (or at 80 mg or more of alcohol per 100 mL of blood) is a Criminal Code offence, with the same penalties as impaired driving.
• Sun, wind, noise, vibration and boat motion ("boater's fatigue") increase the effects of alcohol.
• Provincial laws restrict drinking on boats; the safest rule is no alcohol while boating.

Towing water-skiers and tubers

When towing a person (waterskiing, tubing, wakeboarding, kneeboarding, parasailing):

• a spotter on board must watch the person being towed and be able to communicate with the operator;
• there must be a seat available on the boat for each person being towed;
• if the towed person is not wearing a PFD/lifejacket, one must be on board for them;
• no towing when visibility is poor or more than one hour after sunset;
• a PWC used for towing must be designed to carry 3 or more people (operator, spotter, skier);
• no towing with remote-controlled boats; check VORR towing bans.

Personal watercraft

Operators must be 16+ with proof of competency and age on board. Wear a PFD (not inflatable), attach the engine cut-off lanyard, remember most PWCs lose steering when you release the throttle, they have no brakes, and should run in water at least 76 cm deep. Respect speed limits and neighbours.

Paddlers and small open boats

Canoes, kayaks and stand-up paddleboards are hard to see; wear a PFD, dress for the water temperature, stay close to shore and avoid crossing shipping lanes.

Carbon monoxide

Engines and fuel-burning appliances produce CO, a colourless, odourless, deadly gas. It can build up at the stern ("station-wagon effect"), under swim platforms and in enclosed cabins. Never sit on or hold onto the swim platform while engines run ("teak surfing"), keep cabins ventilated, and install CO detectors.

Night and restricted visibility

Show the required navigation lights, slow down, post a lookout, use sound signals, and know how to read other boats' lights.

Quick review

1. What is the fuel rule of thirds? (1/3 out, 1/3 back, 1/3 reserve.)
2. Where does the 10 km/h shoreline limit apply? (Within 30 m of shore in ON, MB, SK, AB and inland BC/NS.)
3. What must be on board when towing a skier? (A spotter and a seat for each person towed.)
4. Is impaired boating a Criminal Code offence? (Yes.)