Safety First

As a novice, I did need to consider the safety of the myself, any passengers, the boat and anyone else that got too close. I ignored the immediate suggestion to install a "Student Captain" plaque in a prominent location. That left me with the prospect of a safety course.

As soon as possible, I registered for the local US Power Squadron Boating Course. The course was offered in the late winter so the timing was perfect. After all it would only take two nights a week for four weeks and I did not have other things to do. The course covered general boating safety as well as many aspects of boat operation, navigation, and piloting. While the instructors were generally local power boaters, the course was not really biased in it’s coverage of sail as well as power. Since successful completion of the course would also result in an insurance discount and a one year membership in Boat US, it was well worth the investment.

I had already purchased all required and suggested safety equipment sufficient to pass the local Coast Guard Auxiliary inspection. That was not optional since the local water patrol will periodically set up blockades and stop every third uninspected boat. During this inspection, tickets would be issued for violations. However, if you went to them for a safety inspection voluntarily, they would tell you what to correct without issuing a citation.

One additional piece of safety equipment in my opinion is a copy of the latest edition of Chapman - Piloting Seamanship & Small Boat Handling. This reference work is vital to all boaters and I will keep a copy in a waterproof container on board for general reference.

Anchor Light

The Com-Pac 19 does not come equipped with an anchor light. The Coast Guard regulations exempt boats less than 7 meters from anchor light requirements unless they are anchored in a channel or where other boats normally navigate. A check with the local state Water Patrol indicated that they view this much more strictly. If you are not in a marina at night, you would have to show a Coast Guard approved anchor light. The concept of raising a light on a halyard each evening did mot appeal to me especially since most such arrangements would not be Coast Guard approved. Therefore, I installed an official anchor light at the mast head. The power for this light was taken by installing a switch on the mast which would route electricity to either the steaming light or to the anchor light since these two lights can NEVER be on at the same time. The expenditure of 5 amp hours of battery capacity per night would be a small price to pay for the added safety.

The Anchor Requirements

The anchor supplied with the vessel was a plow design (15 pound Spartan Plowmaster ) with 100 feet of 1/2 inch rode. I knew that this rode was heavier than required for a Com-Pac but there was no real reason to replace it. I also added a second Guardian light weight fluke anchor (model G-7) prior to my first long trip. This secondary anchor would be secured with 150 feet of 3/8 inch three strand nylon rode.

Another requirement would be to add 10 feet of 1/4 inch galvanized chain to each anchor rode with the appropriate shackles. The last ground tackle modification would be to add 25 feet of 3/8 inch trip line to the crown of each anchor. This would allow reverse pull on the anchors and minimize the possibility of having to cut an anchor free if it got buried too deeply or if the point was stuck under a rock or other obstruction. I am currently using yellow hollow braid polypropylene line for this purpose even though it is not very resistant to UV light or chafe. While this line will need to be inspected or replaced more frequently, the fact that it floats offers enough benefit that I will try it for a few seasons. The trip line contains an eye splice with a galvanized thimble and is connected to the anchor crown with a 3/8 inch galvanized shackle.

In examining the existing 1/2 inch anchor rode, I did notice that some signs of chafe and a shackle that was under sized for the thickness of the rode. Therefore, I reversed the rode (end for end) and tied the anchor line to the new chain shackle with an anchor bend. I also replaced the anchor shackle with a stainless steel wide jaw unit in order to get a better fit. I resolved to get the required equipment and learn how to make eye splices in three strand and braided line as soon as possible.

As a precaution, all shackle bolts were secured with several turns of stainless steel wire.

Safety Harness

The next investment in safety was the construction of a sailing harness. Since I would be sailing singlehanded much of the time, I felt that I really did not want to risk a trip overboard and then watch as the boat sailed away without me. Therefore, I purchased 20 feet of two inch wide nylon strap at Wal-Mart. While this was being offered as a trailer tie down, the material was identical to the nylon webbing used in seat belts. A quick trip to the local West Marine outlet provided the required D-ring, plastic harness fittings, and stainless steel snap hooks to create the harness and tether. My wife was able to sew the required seams with her standard machine even though there were four layers of material in some spots. While a sailing harness and tether could be purchased commercially, this exercise was cost effective.

Marine VHF

The last major investment in safety was the purchase and installation of a marine VHF radio. I felt that a fixed mount radio had too many benefits not to install at once. A novice without means of communication in an emergency was tempting fate. This was mainly due to the fact that my first months of sailing were to be on the Mississippi River above the town of Alton Illinois. This area is heavy with commercial river barge traffic as well as large power pleasure vessels. Sailors are definitely in the minority and from what I have heard - fair game in this environment!

While there are many models of Marine VHF radio's available, my determining criteria were to get the lowest price unit that had weather channels and a tri-channel watch capability. The tri-channel feature I felt to be important due to the progressive crowding of the Marine Bands. The capability to monitor more than the traditional Channel 16 and only one other working channel was becoming a requirement. The need for a weather channel capability is obvious and skimping on a radio that did not have this feature would be foolish..

This page was last updated: 09/14/00 05:13:52 PM

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