Sunday, May 01, 2005

The winter has made it past us, though there are a few chilly breezes still hanging around that will clear out soon. The waters will be warmer and clearer and we will want to get the boats on the water.

After getting the new registration before April 30, 2005 (oops that was yesterday), there are still a few things you might need to review. Taking a look at the Kentucky Boating Regulations, I took the friendly quiz to test my knowledge of boating laws and regulations, boating and sailing etiquette and safety practices. How long have I been boating? I cant remember that far back. I know the rules and how to be safe. Well, I thought I did until I found how much I dont know.

The Kentucky Boating Course and Certificate is required for operators younger than 18, but the rules are surely applicable to all boaters whether they actually know the law or not.

The course has five parts: Know your Boat; Things to Do Before Getting Underway; Tips, Techniques and Responsibilities for Operating Your Boat; The Legal Requirements for Boat Ownership; and Operation on Kentucky Waterways. It even has a section on ways to ensure you are enjoying water sports and being safe at the same time. Finally, there is a handy list of powerboat, sailboat and PWC terms.

There is also a practice quiz that a person can take to see how their knowledge stacks up against to the actual requirements. I flunked it! Flat flunked it. Perhaps, if for no other reason than pride, I will now take the course. No, I will definitely take the course; it has good information and safety tips and will give me the tools to navigate safely and to act responsibly on the water, not to mention good boating manners and to model for perhaps some of the young folk.

OK, now you are chuckling about Ol Tom flunking the boating test. Try your luck. I had to look up the first terms in navigation. Do you know when you are the stand-on boat or the give-way boat? You dont really need to know this unless you are NEVER going to meet another boat on the lake. The stand-on boat is the vessel that must maintain its course and speed unless it becomes apparent that the give-way boat is not taking appropriate action; if you must take action, do not turn toward the give-way boat or cross in front of it. Thats nice but what is a give-way boat? Thats the vessel that is required to take early and substantial action to keep well away from other vessels by stopping, slowing down or changing course.

Is that clear? Certainly not! What makes you the give-way boat or the stand-on boat?

You had better go to the source and figure it out for yourself. In other words, dont take my word for it.

If your boat is not under power, you are the stand-on boat. All other boats, both power and sail, must give way and navigate around you at a safe and courteous distance.

If you are in a sailboat that is under way that is approached by a powerboat, you are always the stand-on boat.

If two powerboats are crossing paths, the starboard boat is the stand-on boat or the boat that has the right of way.

What if you are the stand-on boat and some cowboy is coming at you ignoring his responsibility to be the give-way boat? Here is where horse sense overtakes boating rules. Get the heck out of the way. Stand down from the stand-on and give way to the give-way to boat another day.

I need more work on this section. In the meantime I will just look for boats coming and avoid them like they were Typhoid Mary.

Signals nailed me too. Heres what I learned afterwards:

There are three main visual signaling means. To hail a boat for help you can display one hand-held red flare and two red meteors. This is for both day or night. You can also use one hand-held orange smoke signal (day), two floating orange smoke signals (day) and one electric light (night only).

Sending or receiving these signals means that help or assistance is needed. We should respond to give aid if possible. It is prohibited to display visual distress signals on the water except when assistance is required to prevent immediate or potential danger to people onboard a vessel. No crying wolf, please.

There are certain audible signals that have specific meaning on the waterways as well.

When navigating in a populated area such as docks or channels, sounding devices can let other know our intentions. Whether its horns or whistles, one short blast tells other boaters, I intend to turn to my right. Two short blasts tell other boaters, I intend to turn to my left. Three short blasts tell other boaters, I am backing up.

Out in the fog, at night or stormy conditions that cause restricted visibility, one prolonged blast at intervals of not more than two minutes is the signal used by powerboats when under way. I did learn this on Lake Barkley crappie-trolling along the navigation channel on foggy morning. The mournful HOOOONK of a barge got dangerously close before my partner and I realized we were in the barge channel. I remember that signal well.

One prolonged plus two short blasts at intervals of not more than two minutes is the signal used by sailboats under sail alone, meaning they have no motorized auxiliary power. That makes them the stand-on boat.

To give a warning signal to an unseen or inattentive boater, one prolonged blast is a warning signal (for example, used when coming around a blind bend or exiting a slip).

Five (or more) short, rapid blasts are used to signal danger or to signal that you do not understand the other boaters intentions. Beep, beep, beep, beep, beep Whassup with you?

According to the courses information, Visual Distress Signals (VDSs) allow vessel operators to signal for help in the event of an emergency. All vessels used on federally controlled waters must be equipped with USCG-approved (day and night) visual distress signals.

One final thing that was totally new to me was about loading boats onto the trailers. If this is a law it may be that I have been a less-than-responsible citizen. When trailering a boat it is tempting to use the thrust of the propeller to shove the boat all the way up on the trailer (I have seen a few folks that have almost put it in the back of their truck that way). This is not good and heres why. Propeller wash can erode the sediment just beyond the ramp surface, creating a large hole. The eroded sediment is deposited behind the propeller, creating a mound. Trailer tires can get stuck in these holes and vessels can run aground on the mound. Hum, never thought of that, but I have dropped my trailer over one of those humps and smoked tires to get back over it. Ill try to not do that again.

Go try your hand at the boating quiz and pat yourself on the back for doing really well and for being a safe boater. Twelve-year-old folk have to pass it, so I feel sure that I will too, next time. Enjoy your boat safely on the great Kentucky waterways.  Daily News ·813 College St. ·PO Box 90012 ·Bowling Green, KY ·42102 ·270-781-1700