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Boating Do's and Don'ts

By KFBB News Team

Story Created: Jul 3, 2009 at 9:57 AM MST

Story Updated: Jul 6, 2009 at 7:10 AM MST

According to Auxillary Coast Guard member Carl Hutchinson, "The fun usually starts in the parking lot, if you're launching your boat on the ramp, things can get very interesting very quickly."

Lakes and rivers will soon be crowded with boaters of all skill levels, but unless you're a seasoned veteran, your inexperience may not only frustrate you, but also those that have to come to your rescue, causing you to go into their blooper file.

Some dont's to consider when taking your water craft out this holiday weekend: Don't for get about the plug:

"On your trailer, your boats got a drain plug and you usually pull it so that the water that may collect in your ditch runs out of it or rain water while your boats on your trailer and people go a head and launch their boats and they wonder why it keeps getting lower and lower."

Your boat is not a mini ship and it does have a capacity limit, so don't over load it.

Yacht Basin Employee, Brandon Weis recalled this story, "There was a bunch of people that rented a boat, well, it was just a little aluminum boat and there had to be 8 or 9 people in it. Should've only had 4 in there at the most and they just had a bunch of people shoved in there, probably wasn't the safest thing they could have done."

And as much as you may want your boat to be the party boat, remember that bad things can happen if you mix alcohol with too much fun and witnesses remember such blunders.

Yacht Basin Employee Taylor Hronek was witness to this incident: "There's this one time when where there's 3 people on a row boat and they came in on the dock and you just knew something was wrong and all of a sudden, you see one fall in the water and you realize that all 3 of them are just wasted and we have one of the people on the porch or deck come down and help them, they cant get back up on the dock, it was just funny to watch."

There are plenty of things to do however; Do make sure all equipment is in check before trying to launch, make sure you have a life jacket for everyone on board and make sure to have water packed away to prevent dehydration on these warm summer days.

All of these tips will help you be a courteous boater this summer and avoid being added to the blooper files.

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