Cold Weather Boating Gear
While some boaters stick to warm weather for their excursions, many others choose to boat recreationally all year or have a job that demands they use their boats year-round. Boating in cold weather is tricky and somewhat dangerous. Temperatures are colder on the water than onshore to begin with, and getting wet significantly increases your risk of developing hypothermia.
If you take the time to prepare yourself and your boat with the right gear, you’ll reduce the dangers of cold weather boating. To help you out, Germaine Marine has created this guide to cold weather boating gear. We serve the states of Arizona and Utah, so pay us a visit if you have any further questions.
Emergency Locator Light
To help rescuers find you in an emergency, you may want to invest in emergency locator lights. While you could use mirrors or reflective surfaces in a pinch, actual lights will shine brighter and further. It’s more of an investment, but it’s worthwhile to spend the money for safety in cold weather.
Personal Position Locator Beacon
When conditions worsen or you’re feeling too cold and tired to keep boating, you can always head to shore if your boat functions well. However, if your boat’s engine stops working or you get lost because of low visibility, you’ll be in more danger.
Get a personal position locator beacon (PLB) to have on your person at all times. Every passenger should wear one and the boat should have her own as well. These devices automatically activate when submerged in water, so you don’t even have to trigger the beacon to alert rescue crews during an emergency.
Whistle
If you have no other signalling device with you, you’ll at least want to have a whistle. Whistles are cheap and very simple, but extremely effective because their loud noise carries very far. Their sound can cut through high winds and hard rain, so they can help you alert rescue crews to your location. Learn how to blow the SOS signal to show that you need help.
Signal Flares
Flare guns or signal flares are essential to have whenever you’re boating so that you have a way to signal your location to rescue crews in an emergency. Flares are a universal signal for requesting help, so if you’re in distress, simply set one off so that you can be seen.
Dry Suit
To slow the onset of hypothermia, you may want to get a dry suit. Dry suits are designed specifically to be waterproof so that your insulating layers won’t get wet and become useless. This is a useful feature for anyone who boats often in rough, cold seas where battling below-freezing temperatures is routine.
Flotation Coat
If you want to upgrade your personal flotation device to something more insulating, consider getting a flotation coat. Also called a “float coat,” these PFDs can help you fight the cold while you’re piloting your boat, and they’ll also give you some buoyancy and warmth if you do fall in the water. If you spend a lot of time boating in cold waters, you should consider making this investment.
Looking for a boat that will get you through the cold weather? Come down to one of our dealerships today to see our wide selection of new and used boats for sale. We carry many types of boats by all the top brands. Germaine Marine proudly serves the states of Arizona and Utah for all our customers’ boating needs.