I love visiting new locations to take out Freedom boats! New people, new towns, new boating conditions and new waterways to explore. Like a breath of fresh air, it's just the change we need from time to time. However, the very source of the excitement we feel can also lead to accidents. One particular problem highlighted by our dockmaster incident reports is irreverence for small bridges and low hanging tree branches. Biminis and t-tops are almost a necessity in the heat of our Florida sun but are easily rendered useless if the required clearance isn't acknowledged. All too often, a boater believes a bridge clearance is sufficient without taking into consideration the tidal change since their last visit. Sometimes at full speed! Not only can this be incredibly dangerous, but it's always expensive to repair and can even take that boat out of service for upcoming reservations. So, what's the solution?
1. Be aware of your surroundings and take time to research where you're going so you know what to expect. Use all resources available to you (video, photos, maps, charts, blogs, etc.)
2. Know your boat! Do you have a pontoon which is relatively high off the water or a skiff which is relatively low? If you stood on the surface of the water, would the bimini be over your head by a few inches or a few feet?
3. Keep track of the tides (or water level for lakes) so you know how it will differ from the last time you went through.
4. If the wind picks up and you need to run full-speed, put the bimini top back and use your dock lines to wrap it up. This will prevent the high wind from damaging it.
While these three preps work to help avoid colliding with overhead objects, the general rule is:
IF YOU DON'T KNOW, GO SLOW!
This is pretty sound advice for all situations in boating. It's very similar to the DRIVE DEFENSIVELY mantra we use when traversing local channels. Cutting down on these easy-to-avoid damages allows our marine technicians catch up on all the more difficult issues that plague boats on a daily basis.
