Avoid a watery catastrophe with this how to guide on preventing your boat from sinking!
Your boat represents a getaway from the stresses of life and a place to form memories and enjoy yourself with friends and family. It also represents a significant financial investment. It’s tragic, then, when boats sink for preventable reasons.
To make sure your boat never makes its way down to a watery grave, use this guide on how to prevent your boat from sinking.
- One of the most important things boat owners can do is stay up on boat maintenance. When you're working on your boat, choose parts that are marine-grade. Always follow the manufacturer’s guidelines, and regularly check your hoses, hull, suppers, drains, and bellows.
- Check the weather before you take your boat out, and postpone your trip if poor conditions are predicted. If you do find yourself facing inclement weather, slow down and turn on your navigational lights. Use your radio to stay informed and let others know of your location. Navigate to safety if you can.
- Hitting the ground is oftentimes avoidable. To prevent accidentally striking the ground, use maps and charts that show water depth when going through unfamiliar areas. When calculating if it’s safe to pass over an area, add three feet to your hull depth just to be safe! Slow down if you’re not sure what the ground underneath could bring, and have your passengers serve as lookouts. Also, keep your eye on the tides so that you never find yourself passing through an area with shallower water than you had expected.
If you do find yourself in a situation where sinking is unavoidable, your California
boat insurance policy can serve as your anchor in navigating the potentially stormy seas of recovering and repairing or replacing your boat. To get the coverage you and your boat need,
contact Fuller Insurance Agency, serving Long Beach and Los Angeles.
