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Riding Your Boat during the Winter Months

If you plan on taking a boat ride during the colder months of the year, you need to prepare for the challenges you may find. To make sure you have a safe and positive experience, read this post by Factory Direct Oil Inc. in Moyock.

The winter season comes with beautiful landscapes. However, if you want to enjoy those landscapes on your boat, you should prepare for the challenges that can come with navigating when the weather is colder. If you still want to have safe and joyful rides even when the temperatures are freezing, here are a few tips on how you can do just that.

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How to Boat during Winter

Guarantee You'll Stay Safe and Warm

When you're on a boat, you and your passengers need to stay protected from the water (wearing your life jack, for example). But since you're cruising over winter, you also need to stay protected from the cold (with thick, warm, and waterproof clothing). To that end, you should also have towels, blankets, and a change of clothes on board.

Have a Fully Equipped Emergency Kit

You never know what could happen on your boat, which is why you should prepare for emergencies with an emergency kit. The kit should have a first-aid kit, enough potable water, non-perishable foods, throw rings, a fire extinguisher, flares, and communication devices. All of these should be fully stocked and in good shape. You should also ensure that you know how to use them before leaving.

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Keep an Eye on the Weather Forecast

Going for a boat ride during the winter is already challenging enough without adding harsh weather conditions to the mix. That's why before each ride, you should check the weather forecast. If you notice it will rain, hail, snow, or other, you should postpone your outing for another day.

Provide the Necessary Maintenance

And since the conditions are harsher and you wouldn't want to stay stranded in the middle of the water, you need to provide your boat the maintenance it requires. To guarantee that won't happen, take your boat to a mechanic regularly. It's also recommended that you do a quick inspection before each one of your outings.

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Make up a Plan

A way to make your ride as enjoyable and safe as possible is to make up a plan. This will help you prepare effectively for what may occur. For example, your plan should include the places where you're going and how you're going to get there. Once you have your plan, make sure that a family member or close friend on land knows about it.

Try to Avoid Slipping

Slipping is dangerous enough on itself without adding freezing cold water to the situation. That's why you should avoid slipping as much as possible. To that end, you and your passengers should be very careful when walking, they should hold on to the rails, and if needed, they should be wearing special shoes.

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Navigate with the Lights On

As you've probably noticed, during the winter, the days are much darker and shorter. For that reason, it's imperative that you always navigate with the boat's lights on. To guarantee all goes well, check that the battery and headlights are in good shape before leaving, so you can see and be seen out on the water.

Deal With the Ice Carefully

Finally, the colder weather means that you may find some ice as you're cruising around. Depending on the type of ice you encounter is how you should deal with it. For instance, for thin ice, you can ride right through it. For slightly thicker ice, you may have to carefully break it up with a pole. As for thick, thick ice, you shouldn't try to break it. Instead, turn around and go home.