How to over take another vessel...

Federal Requirements and Safety Tips for Recreational Boats

Operating Procedures

Navigation Rules

The Navigation Rules establish actions to be taken by vessels to avoid collision. The Rules are divided into two parts, INLAND and INTERNATIONAL. Inland Rules apply to vessels operating inside the line of demarcation while International apply outside. Demarcation lines are printed on most navigational charts and are published in the Navigation Rules.

The operator of a vessel 39.4 feet/12 meters or greater is responsible for having on board and maintaining a copy of the Inland navigation rules. The following diagrams describe the whistle signals and action to be taken by vessels in a crossing, meeting or overtaking situation while operating in inland waters. These are basic examples, for further information consult the "NAVIGATION RULES" International Inland (Commandant Instruction M16672.2 Series)

Copies of the rules may be obtained from the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, P.O. Box 371954, Pittsburgh, PA 15250-7954 tel. (202) 512-1800

Crossing Situations

Give-way Vessel
...give way 1 short blast
(1 sec.)

Stand-on Vessel
...hold course and speed
1 short blast (1 sec.)

Meeting Head-On or Nearly So Situations

Vessels generally pass portside to portside. However, vessels may pass starboard to starboard if proper signals are given.

Overtaking Situations

Stand-on Vessel
Overtaken

Sourece: http://www.uscgboating.org

Snook Fishing the Lake Worth Lagoon....

I love spending time on the water fishing! My pontoon is an inshore fishing machine. Last night I took and old friend, Matt Falvey, and next store neighbor, Ernesto, out for a little night fishing on the Lake Worth Lagoon. My pontoon’s shallow draft and stable platform make it an excellent inshore fishing boat. The two live wells keep the bait fresh and the ample deck space make landing the big one’s a breeze! We landed this over slot Snook free lining a live mullet. We released him back into the lagoon in an effort to preserve the fishery for the next generation.

Tight lines….

Anchoring 101....

Many recreational boaters seem to think all that’s involved in anchoring your boat is to simply toss the thing over and tie it off. Then is you wait about 20 minutes you will see them doing it again and again for the rest of the day.

A little bit of planning and understanding so some of the fundamentals to anchoring like, how the scope off the anchor line affects it’s holding power, would prevent much of this extra work.

Anchors come is a variety of styles and that’s a topic unto it self. Today I want to talk about some basic anchoring techniques.

Step 1:

You will need to survey conditions and your surroundings. Pontoon boaters should pay particular attention to the wind and current and their interrelationship. If you have the space available place your vessel in idle and watch as these two forces work on you boat. This will give you a reasonable idea of how your boat will act once you have anchored your vessel.

You will also need to consider your neighbors. A vessel that is already at anchor has claim to that spot in a 360 degree circle around his anchor. Remember, large vessel will swing in a larger radius than smaller ones because they tend to have more line/chain out.

One last thing to consider is the bottom type. Try to avoid reefs and other submerged obstacles. Refer to your chart and depth finder to be sure that your vessel will not drag into them once the engines are off.

Step 2:
Now it time to send your crew member forward. You should instructor them on how much line to remove from the locker and have them coil it on the deck. I have my line marked in 25 ft. intervals.

It’s all about the scope…

For example, in you are anchoring in ideal conditions, light wind and current, you could use a scope of 5:1. The scope is the ratio between how many feet on line you let out per foot of water depth. In the example if you were going to another in 6 feet of water you would need to let out 30 feet of line. All anchors are must effective if the anchor line and chain are at an 8% angle to the bottom or less. It’s generally accepted that an 8:1 scope will work in almost all weather condition. If you expect foul weather 10:1 is the rule of thumb.

Remind your mate to slowly lower the anchor into the water when you give the command.

Tying off the anchor to the stern or amidships could lead to swamping or capsizing of your vessel and I do not recommend it.

Step 3:

Very slowly turn into the current or wind…depending on conditions, and slowly move into position.

Once you are in the spot stop all forward motion by using a little reverse gear. You do not want any head way when lowering the anchor.

Instruct your mate to lower the anchor. Be sure that they let it out hand over hand and do not allow the line to slide threw their hands. Rope burns are nasty!
Once I know the anchor is on the bottom I like to use just a little reverse gear again as I instruct the mate to allow the need line out. I also like my mate to call out when a 25 ft. marker on the line goes out. Once you have enough line out tie it off.

Step 4:

Now with the anchor on the bottom and the engine in idle you still have one final task. Pick an object on the shoreline. For example a Water Tower, House, etc. and watch it. See if the angle from you to the object on shore changes. If it does your pulling anchor and will need to start the process over…If not have fun!

These just a few basics….anchoring is an art that you need to practice to become proficient.

Always Keep an Eye to the Sky…

Boating is a year round activity in the “Sunshine State” but Florida is also the lighten capital of the US. Thunderstorms present more dangers than just lighten and it’s important that all skippers keep an eye to the sky, especially during the summer months in Florida.

Pontoon boats for the most part won’t be setting any speeds records and you may find yourself unable to reach the home dock before the storm hits. One of the handling characteristics of pontoons are that they punch threw waves and don’t ride over them like their fiberglass counter parts. They are also get pushed around easily by the wind.

Continue reading and I will give you some helpful tips for what to do if you’re caught out in a thunderstorm.

A cautionary tale…

I speak from experience some of it learned at the school of hard knocks.

When I was 20 or so I decided to take a trip down to the keys and that I that would make the voyage entirely by boat. At the time I owned a 23 foot Wellcraft Nova run about. One morning I headed out the Boca Inlet with my good friend Matt Weller and took a southerly heading the seas where running 1 to 2 with a light southeast breeze. As we passed about two miles east of Port Everglades we spotted storm clouds on the horizon but it doesn’t seem that bad so we proceed south. As we approached Haulover Inlet we could see that this was coming our way but after a brief discussion felt we could make it to Government Cut prior to the storm hitting.

We couldn’t have been more wrong. The micro burst churned up the sea and that 1 to 2 became 4 to 6 very quickly. Since the waves where mainly wind blown they came at a very fast frequency. I was forced to reduce speed and suddenly was watching the bow break threw wave after wave and I started to become alarmed. I sent Matt below into the cabin and had him man the radio and put his PFD on just in case. The wheel to the Nova at that time was completely exposed to the weather and I had no where to hide. Next was the driving rain that reduced visibility to nothing in minutes. I took a compass course 20 degrees east of due south and did everything I could to maintain the heading and keep us into the seas.

This went on for forty five minutes to an hour until the storm passed. I was beyond wet and had consumed a tone of fuel. Not only was this green horn mistake costly it was also very dangerous as we heard at least one distress call go out to the Coast Guard that during the storm.

What experience and training has taught me…

Always assume that the weather is going to be far worse than you expect it to be. I had not one but two changes to seek safe harbor and I choose to continue on. I hadn’t given this scenario any thought before that morning and shortly after placed izing glass from the Bimini Top down to the front wind shield. My training at that point had only extended to crew qualified but I did remember to stick to my heading. Keep the bow into the seas and put on my PFD. I also kept my crew member near the radio.

Tips for foul weather….

1. Make sure that you have all the necessary safety equipment on board. PFD’s, Flares, Signal Mirror, Sea Anchor, VHF radio, etc.
2. Listen to the day’s weather reports before you head out on the water.
3. Keep an eye to the sky! We all know what a thunderstorm looks like. If you hear or see a storm headed your way make for home before the storm hits. (I know that its not always an option)
4. Look for a safe place to hide from the storm. Many of Florida’s lagoons and bays offer thousands of places to hide from the weather. NEVER TIE UP TO DAY BOARD, CHANNEL MARKER, or BOUY! Put out your anchor and give the anchor line plenty of scope. I would use 10 to 1 in this scenario. (I plan on doing a post in the future on the right and wrong way to anchor)
5. Have your sea anchor ready prior to the storm’s arrival just in case.
6. Make sure everyone on board has their PFD’s on. You never know what Mother Nature has in store!

Helpful Links:

http://www.nws.noaa.gov/os/brochures/safeboat.htm

http://nws.cgaux.org/visitors/pe_visitor/classes/boating_skills_and_seamanship.html

Photo of Thunder Head Over Lake Okachobee

A brief introduction...

Welcome to my blog and, yes, I love my pontoon boat!

My earliest memories as a child are of fishing with my dad on his old 16 ft. River Ox on the James River in Virginia. As a teen I spent many a summer’s day riding around the El Rio and Hillsboro canals in a 10 foot inflatable with 5 H.P. Gamer Fisher outboard fishing and exploring. When I turned 17 I took my savings that I earned working as a cashier at Publix and I bought my first boat. A 23 foot Wellcraft Nova with an I/O Merc-Cruiser. God I took that thing all over the place. I even crossed over to the Islands a few times and went as far south as the Dry Tortugas. It was a great boat! I owned it for over 10 years!

Shortly after I bought the Nova I turned 18 and joined the United States Coast Guard Auxiliary where I received extensive training in seamanship, search and rescue, costal navigation skills, ATON repair, and I even spent time with the Navy mapping the sea floor (read article from the Navigator cover, 1, 2, and 3 ) using side scan sonar. I am also a NAUI certified open water diver and have logged well over 100 dives in the last 14 years. I most recently completed the University of Florida’s Wetland’s Master Naturalist course but I digress…

Now that I have a family the Nova just wasn’t the right boat for our needs. I needed something that would accommodate two young boys and offered more amenities. We rented several different classes of pleasure boats from a larger cabin cruiser to a 24 ft. open fisherman but quickly realized that a pontoon boat was for us. So after we shopped around for about 6 months we settled on a 2005 2022 Sweetwater. It’s power by a 50 H.P. Yamaha Eco Series outdoor and is awesome on the fuel. A typical day on the water will run me $10 to $15 dollars. The Nova had and 80 gallon tank and required high test gas. Granted it’s not the fastest thing a float and my off-shore days are done for now but it is a stable, reliable, platform with a shallow draft. It has two live wells and plenty of rod holders and is one Snook and Red Fish hunting machine! It can cross over and be used on the many fresh water lakes in Florida something the Nova couldn’t do due to it’s almost three foot draft.

My pontoon is a great boat and I love it!
(Photo: sunset on the Lake Worth Lagoon)

I hope you come back and visit this blog regularly as I plan to address some of the unique features that a pontoon boat offers, seamanship tips that well help you understand some of the unique handling characteristics, trip ideas, fishing spots, and more!