For many boaters, winter is a time to reflect on the past season, especially for those whose vessels are in dry dock, nestled on trailers or bundled up under cover. Unfortunately, my memories of this past summer are full of incidents and observations that have dampened my enthusiasm for next season.
This fall, a friend whose idea of boat winterization is to head to Florida, motored south on his new 50-plus-foot convertible. No stranger to ocean travel and ICW stops aboard his well-seasoned 40-footer, he was jacked up for a trip aboard his new ride to Pompano Beach, Florida. For one, the new boat offered a 35-knot cruise, which was 15 knots faster than his old vessel. An experienced boater, he felt comfortable with his wife as the mate. He scheduled their trip to take advantage of the weather, visit friends along the way and planned to complete the 1,000-mile journey in less than a week. But on the afternoon of the second day he called to report he’d had an incident.
While cruising at 33 knots in Bogue Sound, south of Morehead City, North Carolina, he became distracted, wandered out of the channel and whacked a sandbar. A rock in the sand destroyed the starboard propeller and bent the prop shaft. The damage crushed his pride. In 30 years of boating he had never run aground. He now faced a four-day delay for the repairs, which included shipping a new propeller to the boat yard where the boat was hauled, and to ensure there was no further damage.
It’s very easy to run aground on the ICW. But it’s very hard to accept that age might play a factor in your ability to react when speed is involved. At his new cruise speed, my friend’s reaction time was too slow in the narrow waterway to make a course correction. Had he been aboard his older, slower boat I believe his reaction time would have given the story a different ending.
Speed matters. Years ago, on a trip from Three Mile Harbor to Montauk, I was chugging along at 18 knots on a 32-foot convertible. Just past Cartwright Island heading into Napeague Bay I turned the wheel to port to stay in the channel, but the boat continued to go straight. I wasn’t immediately sure if the rudders had fallen out of the boat, but I was able to stop the boat to investigate the problem. It turned out to be a disconnected tie bar and I was back up and running in 30 minutes. Had I been going faster, that trip might have turned out differently.
These days, the abundance of wickedly fast boats with three, four and five outboards present multiple conundrums. Are the operators of these boats capable of driving at increasingly higher speeds? Do they bother to attach the kill-switch lanyards to their belts? Watching these speedsters rip through my home base near the Manasquan Inlet like they’re driving their cars on the Garden State Parkway causes high anxiety for other mariners. I’m seeing throttle-happy jockeys willingly fly by slower boats as they overtake without signaling. They simply choose whichever side is most convenient to them. This is also increasingly becoming the case in Florida and other heavily populated areas where already busy boating locales are getting ever more crowded. This behavior is dangerous, which is why I always urge boaters to look astern to see what is coming their way and to prepare for being waked. It’s not a matter of if that will happen. It’s a matter of when.
Passenger overloading is another festering source of dubious behavior that I witnessed. Pontoon boat operators appear to be among the biggest offenders, especially when they leave the confines of sheltered waters and foolishly head into turbulent waterways, or worse, the open ocean. Pontoon boats are great for family fun and activities, but they lack the seakeeping abilities of traditional recreational boats with deep-V, modified-V or catamaran hull forms. Pontoon boats are not made to handle large wakes, steep head waves or following seas that are often encountered on large bodies of unprotected waters.
The helm stations on pontoon boats are also typically midship, which means passengers can gather forward of the driver. That means they sometimes obstruct the operator’s view underway, which is never a good thing. The same can be said about some bowrider-style boats. In calm water it might be doable, and on the hook the bow is a great place to relax. However, the added weight in the bow reduces the boat’s buoyancy and changes the vessel’s longitudinal center of gravity, which can create extreme bow steering. In a head sea, with the bow down, it can fill up with water with each passing wave. That can lead to another safety problem if the passengers panic and vacate to the cockpit, which can create a whole new set of buoyancy issues.
Probably my biggest beef is with operators who permit their passengers, often young children, to ride forward with their legs dangling over the side while the boat powers through the water. Even if the child is holding onto the bowrail, all it would take is a passenger from a passing boat to wave, have the child wave back, loosen their hold on the rail and slide overboard. I can’t describe the disgust I feel for the people who would jeopardize the life and safety of a child with such ignorance. Making matters worse, often those bow riders aren’t wearing a personal flotation device. Years ago, when the Coast Guard and state police marine patrols were more prevalent they would stop a boat if they saw these safety infractions. But limited government resources leave these safety decisions to the operators.
In New Jersey, children 13 years and under are required to wear an approved PFD when the boat is underway. Most states have a minimum required age for kids to wear a PFD while underway, although it varies from state to state. In Florida, children who are 6 and under must wear a PFD and in Maine it’s 10 and under. At a minimum, everybody should know what the age is in the state where they operate their vessel, and should see to it that every child of the required age has an approved jacket that fits.
Taking a boating safety course with a local Coast Guard Auxiliary chapter or an online course with BoatUS or boatersuniversity.com is a good way to get through the chill of winter. Doing so will prepare you for the boating season that’s just over the horizon. I have always believed you learn something new every day you get on the water. A winter class will teach you even more and give you a jump start to enjoy your boat next summer. Being cognizant of boating safety and being part of the solution is a good New Year’s resolution.
This article was originally published in the December 2023 issue.
