When you own a boat for any kind of purpose, one of the main considerations is the safety of the passengers. There are safety equipment that should be kept on the boat whether you are using the boat for skiing, fishing, diving, cruising etc.

You can visit a chandlery to purchase some of the safety equipment that is listed in this article. Life jackets and wearable personal floatation devices (PFDs) are very important gear to carry on a boat. A PFD is a life jacket that each person on the boat should wear. Even if you are towing a skier, they should be wearing a PFD. This is recommended safety gear for anybody on a personal watercraft. It is best to ask all passengers on board to put on the life jacket right before departing from the dock. This way, you don’t need to worry about making sure everyone has their jacket on in case of an emergency. If you are carrying pets on board, it is best to put a lifejacket on them as well. There should also be floating devices on the boat that you can throw into the water in case somebody is drowning or having trouble. This is generally a ring buoy. Usually, only one ring buoy per boat is required but it is best to have several in case of more than one person drowning. You can throw the device into the water with a line attached so that you can pull somebody closer to the boat and get them out of the water into safety.          

In case the boat is in distress, there are visual distress signal devices to be used. Some examples of this are nighttime signals, flares, daytime signals and pyrotechnic devices. Depending on the type of flare, you may or may not need a flare gun. Some flares can self-launch. There are also strobe lights that can be used at nighttime. There are also different flags that you can use during the day to signal distress. If you are operating a personal watercraft, then you don’t need to carry any nighttime signal devices as these are not permitted to operate between sunset and sunrise. In case of fire, it is best to have a B-1 type extinguisher on board. The types of fire extinguishers to be kept on board differ according to the type of the boat. When you are travelling with guests, it is best to go over the security protocols and show where all safety devices are.

In addition to visual signalling devices, there are also sound signalling devices. These are effective when there is a fog that obscures visual signage. There are devices that you can fix to the boat such as horns and whistles. There are portable devices as well. It is best to do a check of all security equipment before you leave the dock. There are also medical kits to carry on board in case of cuts, scrapes etc. Make sure there are oars or paddles on board in case the engine stops working and you run out of fuel.