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Safety Items
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Description
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Life Raft
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Life Rafts are self inflating for emergency use. They are normally stowed on deck inside a container with hydrostatic release. They maybe of coastal or offshore rated. The offshore version will be of higher quality and have multiple chambers in the event of puncture. A Coastal Raft can be used when expected rescue would be within a few hours.
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Ditch Bag
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A Ditchbag will be used in case of emergency evacuation. It should be made closed cell "life jacket" foam construction and will contain emergency survival equipment.
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EPIRB
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Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon. (EPIRB) will give rescue crew your position automatically after it is triggered by water or manually turned on.
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Flares
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Flares are required equipment by USCG Regulation. They are either hand held or Parachute type.
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Water maker
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water water everywhere and not a drop to drink, If crossing an ocean an emergency watermaker is very important equipment. The survival rule of thumb is: 3 hours without shelter, 3 days without water, 3 weeks without food.
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VHF Radio, hand held
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A handheld VHF only has a range of a few miles (line of sight)
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Radar Reflector
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See and be Seen, Make sure other vessels see you on radar by installing a Radar Reflector
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Fire Extinguishers
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USCG approved fire extinguishers are required on board. an automatic engine room fire extinguishing system is recommended
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Bilge Pumps
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Sufficient bilge pumps including manually operated diaphragm type recommended
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Tapered Plugs
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Should be secured next to each through hull for emergency closure
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Throwable Floatation Device
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Type IV - required by regulation
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PFD’s
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Inflatable type recommended for sailing activities. Type I,2 or 3 for Kayaking or small boat sailing.
PFD's for offshore sailing should have strobe and whistle attached.
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Sound Making Device
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Required by regulation, Fog Horn and for sounding during passing.
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Safety Harness
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Recommended for sailing to tether to the vessel
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Man overboard Pole
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Recommended to be in easy to deploy location on deck or cockpit. It is very difficult to locate a person after they inadvertently take a plunge off the boat. Just a head in the waves can easily be lost. A reflective MOB pole can save a life.
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First Aid / Medical Kit
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Either Offshore or Coastal Cruiser first aid kit should always be included in your vessels equipment list.
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Hypothermia Protection
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An average healthy person can only survive 15 minutes in 50 degree water. If cruising in temperate climates a survival suit should be included in vessel equipment list.
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Foul Weather Gear
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For comfort and safety, fleece or wool is a very good choice
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Electronics
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Description
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GPS Chart plotter
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Nothing more comfortable than knowing exactly where you are at all times. The chart plotter will place your vessels position on the electronic chart and have a moving map display.
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Radar
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Will allow you to see through the fog and night for vessels and other obstructions
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AIS
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(Automatic Identification System) All ships are required to have AIS installed. If your vessel has an AIS receiver installed and integrated to your chart plotter via NEMA 183 or NEMA 2000 connection. Ships will display on your plotter with vessel name, course and speed. Very handy information
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VHF Radio
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Fixed mount VHF Radios can transmit at 25 watts of power and have a range of up to 30 miles
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SSB Radio
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Can transmit server thousand miles, they also require an antenna tunner and large antenna.SSB Radio can be coupled to a computer for weather fax and email at sea capability as well.
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Depth Sounder
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Knowing how deep you draft and the depth of the water is sort of a no brainer.
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Auto Pilot System
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Even if your super human, eventually you will need to sleep. Putting the autopilot in charge of steering is a great relief but obviously still requires the vessel operator to keep a proper watch. Electronic autopilots can fail so having a back up system is recommended. Windvane steering systems can be complicated to install but once installed and rigged require no electricity and are reliable.
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Navigation
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Description
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Charts
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in the event your chart plotter goes tango uniform, back up charts and good ole dead reckoning is required. Having a chart book is a handy to have multiple charts and also good for planning.
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Plotting Tools
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Having the skills and tools to use plotting tools is very gratifying experience and every captain should have at least the basic knowledge for plotting a course and safely navigating with dead reckoning.
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Hand Bearing Compass
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Handy for figuring vessels position by triangulation from fixes on a chart.
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Ships Compass
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a good quality compass is very important. Having a flat compass card is handy for reciprocal heading reference. Remember, when all else fails a compass will at least let you find land again.
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Navigation Lights –Mast head
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See and be Seen, a sailboat should have a masthead Tri-light for visibility
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Spot Light
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Nice to have a good flashlight or spotlight unless you can see in the dark like night vision.
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Flags
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Quarantine flag and courtesy flags for countries you intend to visit is standard protocol
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Barometer
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Good way to gauge what weather to expect using a barometer for barometric pressure
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Battery Charging
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Description
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Alternator Spares
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If running the engine is how you plan to make electricity, have spares for engine and alternator.
Redundancy is the word here. If electricity is not available the no auto pilot or Navigation lights mean many hours up at night looking for ships and hand steering.
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Solar Panels
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Good way to backup the engine battery charging, provided the sun is shinning.
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Anchor Gear
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Description
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Anchor and chain or rode
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At least two anchors and one for emergency use
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Sail & Rigging Repair
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Description
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