Boating Safety

 
Popular Boating Safety Searches:
Boating Instruction | First-Aid Products
Safety Equipment & Clothing
Life Boats & Rafts | Training & Education
All Categories

How to Register Your Boat in Florida
Boating Regulations
Float Plan
VHF Radios
Waterway Markers
Personal Flotation Devices
Theft Prevention

Boating - Instruction
Did You Know? Florida law requires anyone 21 years old or younger to take an approved boating safety course and earn a boating safety ID care to operate a boat with 10 horsepower or more. Boaters 21 and under must carry the ID card and a photo ID while operating a powerboat or personal watercraft.

This online boating safety course is approved by the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission. Successfully completing this course will allow you to obtain the official Florida Boating Safety Education ID Card. The boating safety course and exam are free — you only pay when you pass!

Click HERE to take the course

Tips for Safe Boating
No matter how many years you've been around boats, please take just 5 minutes to scan this safety information. People who hunt or fish from boats have one of the highest boat fatality rates. More die from falling off boats 16 feet and smaller than larger boats, and most boats are anchored at the time.

• Be weather wise
• Bring first-aid supplies and all the required safety equipment & clothing required by law
• Tell someone where you're going, who is with you, and how long you'll be gone. Fill out a float plan.
• If you're going to cross the ocean or a large body of water, consider survival equipment and supplies
• If you're traveling alone a marine towing membership can help in case of a breakdown
• When changing seats, stay low and near the center line of a small boat
• Be ready for trouble when a powerboat passes you in a narrow channel
• Anchor from the bow, not the stern
• Take a safe boating course

Free Vessel Safety Check
Are you unsure about the proper and current equipment needed on your boat? The United States Sail & Power Squadron and the Coast Guard Auxiliary offer a free vessel safety check of your boat, while it's in the water or on the trailer. For a FREE Vessel Safety Check of your craft, any type, where it is located, visit the National Department of Vessel Safety Checks, or to find a Coast Guard Auxiliary Vessel Safety Check Examiner in your area, click here.

Safety Equipment Requirements
Class A (less than 16 ft)
Class 1 (16 to less than 26ft)
Class 2 (26 to less than 40ft)
Class 3 (40 to less than 65ft)

Navigation Rules

Animated Knots

Old Flares and Hazardous Wastes
Where can boaters take out-of-date flares and other hazardous wastes? (Including old gasoline, used batteries, paint and cleaning solvents, M ethylene chloride paint stripper and bilge pump switches containing Mercury) In Palm Beach County the Household Hazardous Waste Collection Center is at the landfill on Jog Road just north of 45th Street in West Palm Beach. They are open Monday thru Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Call 687-1100. Do not throw old flares in the trash or water. Do not fire off old flares on the 4th of July or during other holiday events! Soaking flares in water is not a good disposal option since some flares react when exposed to water

Boating Rules of the Road
On the water, the stand-on (privileged) boat has the right-of-way. The give-way (burdened) boat must give way. At night, running lights provide information about size, direction, and speed of the other vessel.

Rip Currents

Rip currents are powerful, channeled currents of water flowing away from shore. They typically extend from the shoreline, through the surf zone, and past the line of breaking waves. Rip currents can occur at any beach with breaking waves, including the Great Lakes.

Rip currents can be killers. The United States Lifesaving Association estimates that the annual number of deaths due to rip currents on our nation's beaches exceeds 100. Rip currents account for over 80% of rescues performed by surf beach lifeguards.

The greatest safety precaution that can be taken is to recognize the danger of rip currents and always remember to swim at beaches with lifeguards.  The United States Lifesaving Association has calculated the chance that a person will drown while attending a beach protected by USLA affiliated lifeguards at 1 in 18 million. If caught in a rip current at an unguarded beach, how you respond could make the difference between life and death.

Sector St Petersburg
Sector Key West
Sector Miami
Sector Jacksonville

Safe Boating Tools
It's always a good idea to have Charts & Maps of the areas you plan to boat in. Lessons on how to boat or how to sail are also highly recommend for the new mariner.

Local Notice to Mariners

Homeland Security
Boaters in South Florida and across the state are encouraged to call a new hotline (877) 24-WATCH, to report any potential terrorist activates. The list of criteria to be on the lookout for includes suspicious people who photograph or make sketches of unusual places, probe waterways with rented watercraft, sell or deliver illegal merchandise, or ask unusually detailed questions about specific areas. If you suspect any terrorist activity or have questions regarding Operation On Guard, call your local Coast Guard Station or the new hotline.

Hypothermia
Exposure cause loss of body heat. This is called hypothermia. Hypothermia can kill. Defense against hypothermia is to avoid exposure to cold. Do this by staying dry and avoiding the wind. Put on rain gear before you get wet. If you fall into cold water do NOT discard clothing; it will help trap heat. Avoid moving as much as possible. A life jacket helps in two ways' it helps insulate against heat loss. When you wear a life jacket, draw knees up into a H.E.L.P. (Heat Escape Lessoning Position). If several persons are in the water, huddle together so you can conserve heat and stay alive. Treatment involves getting the victim out of cold producing environment. Strip off all wet clothing and get person into a warm sleeping bag. Try to keep person awake. Do NOT give alcohol or massage vigorously. Giving the person warm drinks or food is not a good idea. They don't help re-warm the person and they can pose a choking hazard. Transport the victim to a hospital as soon as possible.

Florida Boating Alcohol Laws
It is a violation of Florida law to operate a vessel while impaired by alcohol or other drugs. A vessel operator suspected of boating under the influence must submit to sobriety tests and a physical or chemical test to determine blood or breath alcohol content.

In Florida, a vessel operator is presumed to be under the influence if their blood or breath alcohol level is
at or above. Any person under 21 years of age who
is found to have a breath alcohol level of .02 or higher and operates or is in actual physical control of a vessel is in violation of Florida law.

Over 1,000 people die in boating accidents every year. Nine out of ten of them drown. About half those deaths involve alcohol. It's a tragic fact and not a joke, but 50% of men who drown have their fly unzipped. Enough said? Four hours of exposure to powerboat noise, vibration, sun, glare, wind and motions produces a kind of "boater's hypnosis." This slows reactions almost as much as being legally drunk. Adding alcohol to this sun exposure intensifies the effects.

How To Load Your Boat
Be sure you know your boat's capacity. Look at the Capacity Plate. don't overload it or put an oversize motor on it. Be sure the dock lines are tied securely before you put gear aboard or get aboard your self. Don't wind up straddling from dock to boat. If the boat is small, step as near the centerline as possible, and stay low in the boat. As you load, look at how much distance there is between the water and the top edge of your boat (freeboard). Waves, or wakes from passing boats, can easily swamp a small boat with low freeboard. Don't overload. don't load heavy gear to one side. Remember: When you overload, you are asking for trouble. Even with floatation, a swamped boat is dangerous. Capsizing and falls overboard account for 70% of boating fatalities.

Used Oil
Most marinas accept used oil for recycling. If not, call this toll free number and enter your zip code or leave a message to locate the nearest public used oil collection center: 1-800-741-4337

Books on Florida Boating Safety

Want to learn more about Boating Safety? Click Here to Order Safe Boating Videos
 

How to Safely Trailer Your Boat
The SUVOA Towing Capacity Guide makes it easy for you to find the right match between 2007 vehicles and towables such as boats, campers, horse trailers, motorcycles and other recreational equipment.