we have the same rule YZ, you get in, you either be able to hang on to the swim deck, or you are jacket'ed up!
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we have the same rule YZ, you get in, you either be able to hang on to the swim deck, or you are jacket'ed up!
Know your guests and their abilities before you go out on the boat swimming. give them a quick swim or tread water test if unsure, you will see what kind of a swimmer you have quickly
We have rules as well as activities. we have taken six plus kids 8 to 13 at the time and swam across the lake one mile across with the boat as a chaperone. life jackets were on and off ( kids want to do it unassisted of course)and we had multiple adults supervising, it was actually nerve racking to monitor the heads as well as the mild traffic on the lake.
If the adults are hanging and socializing not lifeguarding then all kids in the water wear Pdfs, if not then and adult is responsible to be on guard duty and all heads are at one end of the boat.
If you all remember a few summers back , i had a friend who lost a co -worker off his boat, albiet alcohol was involved and he drown and sank within three feet of his friend after he jump in to save him , found him two days later in 90ft of water.
know your situation and always be on the safe side.
My rules are all kids under 12 must have lifevests on at all times, in the boat or out of it. Nobody tubes, skis, etc. w/o a vest, even though I used to LOVE wakebaording w/o one when I was a teen...(wasn't req'd to be worn in MI, only in the boat). After 12 it goes by their abilities as-to whether they need one in the water. After the kids have been in the water a while we'll make them get one sometimes when we can see they're getting tired. Most people I've taken out are very aware of their abilities, and we don't do alcohol on our boat. The scary thing is that most of the time we're in 50-300' of water, so if somebody goes down you're NOT going to find them. We always make sure we can see all heads at all times. Having grown up on a lake, i'm definitly more comfortable around the water and more relaxed than my wife.
As for body surfing, we used to do it all the time when we were kids. Dad would set the speed on his Nautique a little above idle and we'd hold onto the platform. You'd have to work pretty hard to get your foot moved forward enough to kick the prop, esp as a kid and with the boat moving forward over an idle. I have let my kids do it a couple of times, but the fumes from my Moomba seem worse than my dad's old inboards used to be...Not sure why... I dont' let them do it anymore though.
Another safety point that we need be mindful of is the boat running while people are getting on and off the platform. I'll shut it off when somebody's getting back on the boat if they want, but I don't have a habbit of it. Growing up on inboards, we never shut it off, and I guess I picked that habit up from my dad... It never goes back into gear unless I can see all of their body up on the platform though.
We don't ever shut off either because it seems I'm the only person who knows how to set moomba cruise. Of we had PP I would probably shut off more often
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I have the same rules as Sandm pretty much. However, my wife is usually all over the life jacket situation. If she sees you jump off without one, you better cover your head because you are going to have one coming right at you shortly.
It's always a tough call but I'm a firm believer in "MY BOAT MY RULES" don't lik eit then enjoy the view from shore! Little kids must ALWAYS wear life jackets. I made my daughter(s) take swimming lessons from the time they were young. Oldest is life guard trained and p*sses me off as she could work making lots of money at the local pool but chooses to work for minimum wage!
Piont being I'm very comfortable with my girls in/around water. They also know to respect it and what can happen FAST? We spend lots of time in the middle of the lake and the kids like to swim out there. Always watched as they are usually brining friends? It's their friends that scare me only because if they are new to the boat we really don't know how well they swim? The funny thing is how often the kids will ask us to toss them a life jacket when they're playing in the water?
No matter your opinion it's personal but I still remain steadfast in my personal rule stated above. And if I was to go on your boat..................I'd follow your rules no matter what they are?
Stay safe everyone and have a WONDERFUL boating season!
My wife will not go near the boat unless everyone is wearing them while we're in the boat. This was the rule since the kids were little. Doesn't bother me, but the kids don't agree (22 and 24 now). However they comply and tell their friends about the rule. Just as well, because they have some friends that can't swim. She has the same phobia about walking/driving on ice in the winter. The water police love us. They've done safety spot checks on us and commented about the life jackets.
You can barely tell a person is wearing a floatation device anymore anyhow.