Boating Safety for Hunters
General Guidelines for Safe Hunting From a Boat
Many hunters use small craft to reach their favorite hunting spots. Hunting safety includes respecting basic boating safety principals.
Hunters that use boats often think of boating and boat safety as secondary to their primary pursuit. Boating is just a means to an end. Small boats can greatly improve access to productive areas and ease the recovery of game from the field. Hunters can take a few boating safety precautions to insure their wellbeing and a successful outing.
General Safety Guidelines
Let someone else know where you will be hunting, file a float plan. Check the weather before venturing out on a trip. Anticipate poor weather and return home early. Avoid alcohol use while hunting from a boat. Alcohol affects operator reaction times, impairs decision making, and accelerates heat loss promoting cold injuries. Avoid wearing waders while onboard a boat. If you fall overboard with a pair on, their added weight when filled with water can make rescue impossible.
Life Jackets and Cold Water Injuries
Every person onboard should be wearing a Personal Flotation Device (PFD). If you fall overboard in cold water, your first reflex will be to grasp. A PFD will help keep your head above the surface and prevent inhalation of water. Manufacturers like Mustang Survival Systems sell float coats and anti-exposure overalls that are well suited for hunting in cooler weather. A brightly colored PFD will make you more visible to other hunters. After an inadvertent fall overboard, reenter the boat from its stern to prevent capsizing. Never enter a boat that has its motor running. Stay with your vessel if it capsizes. Most capsized boats will still float and you can climb up on their hull to get out of the cold water.
Gear Considerations
Carry extra dry clothes in a waterproof or dry sack. Be sure the dry sack is well secured to your boat, so it isn't lost in an upset. Carry a well-provisioned survival kit. Many hunters have a larger kit onboard their boat and smaller one that can be carried along in the field. Be sure your vessel is equipped with required safety gear like signal flares, whistles, fire extinguisher, and lighting. Carry good charts of the area being traveled and a compass. Only carry a GPS receiver as a supplement to your charts, a chart's battery will not run down.
Vessel Loading
Hunting gear is heavy and the boats used by hunters are often small. Smaller vessels are easy to capsize. Check the capacity plate of your boat and distribute the weight evenly within the boat. Remain seated while hunting, tending decoys or handling a dog. If movement is required on a small boat, stay low in the center of the craft and consider the changes you are causing to the boat's center of gravity.
Firearms Safety
Take a state approved Hunter Safety course in the off-season. Respect the rules of firearms safety and transportation. Stow any loaded firearm with its safety on and the muzzle pointed outboard. Keep firearms unloaded and cased in your boat after dark. If shooting is conducted from the boat, establish zones of fire and avoid shooting across the path of another shooter.
