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Subject 3 of 10

Safety equipment for enclosed and open waters

Choose your equipment for the boat and the whole route. You need to know what each item does, where to find it and whether it is ready to use.

Safety equipment laid out on the deck of a trailer boat: lifejackets, an EPIRB, flares, a fire extinguisher, an anchor and a bailer.
Illustrative image

Decide

Four situations at sea. Decide first, then read why.

A lifejacket-wearing skipper holds a compact PLB on the left of a moored runabout's cockpit in Pittwater, with a marine radio at the helm on the right and no EPIRB visible.
Illustrative image

You are preparing to take a runabout 3 nautical miles offshore from Pittwater. It has a marine radio and you brought a PLB. Can the PLB replace the required EPIRB?

Key points

  1. The core kit on both watersThe main checklist applies to ordinary powerboats and sailing boats, with stated exceptions.
    1. One approved lifejacket per person; anchor and chain/line except on sailing boats up to 6 metres.
    2. Required extinguisher, sound signal and a working, floating waterproof torch; display the ordinary powerboat safety label where everyone can see it.
    3. Up to 6 metres: paddles or oars with rowlocks unless you have a second means of propulsion.
    4. Keep equipment serviceable, within expiry where applicable and easy to reach. Check the detailed list for your vessel.
    Safety equipment
  2. Remove water before it overwhelms youA bailer works by hand; pumps drain covered bilges and relevant underfloor compartments.
    1. A bailer or bucket needs a lanyard. Required pumps must drain each compartment and have strainers.
    2. The main checklist excludes airtight void spaces from its underfloor pump provision.
    3. Bailer exemptions differ between handbook and web checklist for some powerboats. Carry both a bailer or bucket with a lanyard and the required pump; check the current TfNSW page.
    Flooding and water removal
  3. Open waters add navigation and waterA short coastal trip still needs the open-water additions.
    1. Carry a chart for the area, printed or digital, and a fluid-filled magnetic compass.
    2. Download digital charts before departure. Satellite navigation does not replace the compass.
    3. Carry at least 2 litres of fresh drinking water per person.
    4. Enclosed waters include rivers, lakes and enclosed bays and harbours; calm weather does not turn coastal ocean waters into enclosed waters.
    Reading a chart
  4. Make a distress signal visibleOn open waters, carry two orange smoke flares, two red hand flares and a V sheet.
    1. Orange smoke: day. Red hand flares: day or night. All required flares must be within expiry.
    2. Keep flares accessible and dry, and make sure everyone knows how to use them.
    3. The orange-red V sheet has a black V and is at least 1.8 metres by 1.2 metres.
    Distress signals
  5. Prepare for 2 nautical miles or moreUse the stricter open-water checklist threshold for both EPIRB and marine radio.
    1. At 2 nautical miles or more from shore: registered, in-date 406 MHz EPIRB plus marine radio.
    2. Descriptive official text says 'more than 2nm', while the checklist includes exactly 2. Carry both at exactly 2 and check the current TfNSW page.
    3. A PLB does not replace the EPIRB; a mobile phone does not replace the radio.
    4. Both are recommended closer to shore too. VHF is recommended over 27 MHz.
    Search and rescue equipment
  6. Check the craft, not just its sizePWC, tenders and paddlecraft have specific equipment provisions.
    1. PWC: behaviour label visible from the steering position; wear a lifejacket at all times.
    2. A tender up to 3 metres needs the main equipment list anywhere on open waters or more than 200 metres from shore on enclosed waters.
    3. Tenders over 3 metres use the main list. A vessel more than 1 nautical mile from its parent is no longer classed as a tender.
    4. A canoe or kayak with an engine uses the main checklist on open waters. For rowing boats used as tenders, sources differ: use the main list and check the current TfNSW page. See pp. 59–62 for special craft.
    Recreational boating rules
  7. Add useful backupsRecommended extras help you deal with injury, breakdown and separation from the boat.
    1. A complete first-aid kit for the maximum number of people your vessel is designed to carry.
    2. A basic toolkit with suitable tools and spares for your boat.
    3. If possible, two means of communication, such as marine radio plus mobile phone in a waterproof cover.
    4. On a boat with a lanyard-operated kill switch, strongly recommended: connect it to yourself and wear it with the engine on and in gear.
    Engine preparation

Check what you have read

Question 1/3

Your engine stops in Pittwater and the wind is pushing you towards rocks. What is the safety purpose of your anchor?

Worked case: From Pittwater to a fishing spot off Barrenjoey

You have a 5.5-metre runabout with one electric-start outboard and four people aboard. It is not a tender. You plan to leave Pittwater for an open-water fishing spot 2.5 nautical miles from shore. The boat has covered bilges, a working pump and a PLB, but no EPIRB. Your phone has reception at the ramp.

Before you read the solution: what would you do?

    True or false?

    Decide each statement before you see the answer.

    1. At exactly 2 nautical miles I can leave the EPIRB and radio ashore.

    2. With covered bilges I can automatically leave the bucket at home.

    3. My PLB and phone replace the EPIRB and radio.

    4. Recommended extras help you deal with injury, breakdown and separation from the boat.

    5. Expired flares count as long as I have four of them.

    6. PWC, tenders and paddlecraft have specific equipment provisions.

    7. The main checklist applies to ordinary powerboats and sailing boats, with stated exceptions.

    8. Use the stricter open-water checklist threshold for both EPIRB and marine radio.

    9. A bailer works by hand; pumps drain covered bilges and relevant underfloor compartments.

    10. The sea is flat, so the enclosed-water kit will do offshore.

    11. A first-aid kit is enough extra preparation; I can leave the lanyard loose.

    12. On open waters, carry two orange smoke flares, two red hand flares and a V sheet.

    Exercise: Pack for the whole trip

    Use the main checklist for a 5-metre runabout with one outboard. It will carry three people from Sydney Harbour onto open waters, staying 1 nautical mile from shore.

    Step by step

    1. Which checklist covers the planned trip?

      Show the solution

      Choose for the vessel and the whole route. Leaving the harbour for open waters adds the open-water requirements.

    2. What is the minimum fresh drinking water for three people on open waters?

      Show the solution

      3 people × 2 litres each = at least 6 litres. Boating Handbook, pp. 53 and 57.

    3. Which flare pack meets the open-water checklist?

      Show the solution

      Carry two of each kind, even when staying within 2 nautical miles. Orange smoke is for day; red hand flares are for day or night.

    4. Which recommended addition gives you two means of communication?

      Show the solution

      The handbook recommends two means, such as radio plus phone. At this 1-nautical-mile distance, EPIRB and radio carriage are recommended. For 2 nautical miles or more, use the stricter checklist reading and carry both; the descriptive text differs, so check the current TfNSW page.

    Now on your own

    Now prepare a 5.8-metre single-engine runabout for five people on open waters, 3 nautical miles from shore.

    1. How many litres of fresh drinking water are required at minimum?

    2. You have a PLB and mobile phone. What else is required for the offshore distance?

    3. Do you need paddles or oars with rowlocks on this boat?

    4. How should you use the fitted kill switch lanyard?

    Check: 10 questions

    Questions from this subject, explained after each answer.

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    Topic 1 of 6

    Start with your boat and your waters

    The minimum kit depends on the type of vessel and where you take it. The main checklist is for powerboats and sailing boats of any size, except tenders and off-the-beach sailing boats.

    Those craft have separate rules. On boats covered by the main checklist, carry enough approved lifejackets for everyone, even when they do not have to be worn. Special craft and exempt activities are covered below. Boating Handbook, pp. 48 and 56.

    Enclosed waters include inland and coastal rivers and lakes, creeks, lagoons, enclosed coastal bays, ports, harbours, estuaries, dams and alpine waters. The handbook names Sydney Harbour, Pittwater, Lake Macquarie and Jervis Bay as examples. Open waters include coastal and ocean waters outside enclosed waters. Calm seas do not change the category. Use TfNSW boating maps and information to plan your route; do not invent a boundary from the weather or your distance offshore. Boating Handbook, pp. 129 and 133.

    Safety equipment must meet the appropriate standards, be in good condition, be maintained or serviced to the manufacturer's instructions, and be replaced before its expiry date, where applicable. Keep it easy to find and reach. Show your passengers where it is and how to use it before departure. Boating Handbook, pp. 48 and 53.

    • Check the whole route, including any open-water part of the trip.
    • A checklist is a minimum. Conditions may call for more equipment or a different plan.

    Sources

    Checked against the official sources on .