Page 14 - Mid America Boating - May 2023 issue

Boat Smart

MAY 2023 [ MID-AMERICA BOATING ] 14
The best way to

start your boating season…

• Increase speed By Capt. Fred Davis
• Reduce fuel
Captain Fred Davis, who dedicated himself to decades of continously promoting boating safety, wrote hundreds
consumption of boating columns for Mid-America Boating and other publications on the subject that were published during
his lifetime. Captain Fred passed away in 2019, but many of his discussions about boating safety remain
timeless. Here is one of his many columns pertaining to the universal message about outfi tting a boat for safety
• Eliminate before you launch it for another season.
propeller Safe Boating Week which falls in May might sound like a boring, bothersome event designed
to limit our maritime enjoyment through government mandates that carry connotations of
induced vibration Big Brother.
But it’s not true.
Nor is it intended to be the only time you practice safe boating. It just serves as a reminder to
• Enable sync of check the items that may need replacement or repair. Be sure to check the date of expiration on
your VDS (visual distress signals). Check the gauge on your fi re extinguisher. If it has no gauge,
multiple engines have it serviced and tagged. While checking your extinguisher, if it is chemical or dry powder,
invert the container and give it a couple of good slaps on the side than shake it hard before you
re-mount it.
Check out the fi rst-aid kit; make sure the tape and band-aids are still sticky. Check dates on
salves and ointments, they expire just like pills. If you carry disposable rubber gloves, they can
Propeller Optimization & Repair Bring your
melt all over and make a mess if stored in a heated area.
propellers to Peak performance
Coast Guard requirements for equipment aboard your boat address only a limited amount
2401 Sawmill Parkway Suite1 of safety equipment. Any boat that just meets the requirements is still unsafe. A review of the
Huron, OH 44839 requirements is one of the boring activities I mentioned earlier so I will just advise a complete list
may be obtained at any Coast Guard station or most marine outlets.
Boating accidents and deaths fl uctuate each year, dramatic drops one year may be followed by
increases the next. Reasons for the variations are obvious, weather and the yo-yo economy. One
419-433-9550 statistic that does not vary is currently set at 85% of drowning victims not wearing a life jacket.
This percentage has gone up year after year. Much of the safe boating media focus is therefore
www.NorthCoastPropTech.com targeted at encouraging the use of lifejackets. See Boat Smart on page 16

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