Section 3 • Using Your Boat
•Shut off gas burning appliances (gas stove, etc.).
•Close all hatches, doors, and keep engine compartment closed to prevent gasoline fumes from entering the cabin or cockpit area.
•All passengers must leave the boat until it is refueled and engine is safely started.
•Assist passengers back into the boat.
4.Boarding
!WARNING
Wet decks are slippery.
You can be seriously injured if you slip and fall.
•There must be no smoking or any flames within
20 feet of the boat, before, during, and for at least 5 minutes after fueling is completed.
Wear
•Open fuel fill cap and insert hose nozzle into the fuel fill opening. Fuel fill hose nozzle must contact the fuel fill opening BEFORE adding fuel to prevent discharge of static electricity.
Filling The Tanks
•Check the fill plate label to ensure that fuel is placed ONLY in the fuel tank. The fuel fill plates are located on the port side of your boat (Figure 3.2.1).
•Keep nozzle in contact with fuel fill opening at all times during fueling.
•Listen as tank fills and stop adding fuel before it spills from the vent. Fuel must have room for expansion.
•Look for leaking fuel near fuel fill and near tank.
After Filling
•DO NOT wash spilled fuel overboard. Wipe up any spill with rags or paper towels and dispose of them properly on shore.
•Open engine compartment and look for fuel leaks or smell for fumes. This is especially important if your boat is equipped with gasoline engines. Leave compartment open until no odor is apparent. Close compartment.
•If fumes in the engine compartment do not disappear, do not turn on blower or start engine. Get help from trained and experienced persons before using the boat.
•Turn on blower for four minutes, then restart engine.
•DO NOT overload the boat.
•Board one person at a time and give assistance as needed.
•Transfer gear and equipment by handing it from a person on the dock to a person on board. You can lose your balance and be injured if you attempt to board while carrying equipment or gear.
•Distribute the weight of equipment and passengers as evenly as possible to keep the boat balanced.
•Stow gear and equipment so that it is accessible, but everything is to be stored in places so as to prevent it from flying about if the boat encounters rough water or weather.
5.Personal Flotation Devices
(PFD’s)
•Operator must instruct all passengers on location and use of PFD’s (See Section 1- Safety, page 4 for type and usage).
•Children and all
•ALL passengers should wear PFDs. By the time someone falls overboard, it can be to late for them to put on a PFD and fasten it properly. This is especially true in colder waters, below 70oF, where survival time, before hypothermia sets in, is measured in minutes.
H2X® | 3.3 |