Thread: Safe Winter???

After reading Floater's post on "Done for the year" and people started talking about falling into cold water, and birdman having to ride home in his whitey tighties....lol:D, I thought I would ask what kind of safety tips everyone can give for boating in the winter? What do you have in your boat for safety? Extra steps you might take to be extra safe in the winter? Items in you might have for safety? Winter on the water is very unforgiving. Just thought I would get some opinions and ideas to help everyone be extra safe.
dkb

Good post! I think having a life jacket goes without saying. No way you could keep your head up if you fall into cold water. Also having a ladder to re-board is also extremely important. I know I couldn't pull my fat butt over the side of a boat without one...especially in soaked clothes and freezing cold! There's a good article on this very subject on the welcome page of crappie.com.

I would say use same safety rules as applied to any other season...Fish with a partner i guess...just amek sure the ice is thick enough when ice fishing..

Any stories or lessons learned would probably be helpfull too.
Thanks

watch the weather closely, make sure your batteries are in good shape, fish with a buddy, normal movements are hampered with all the clothes so move slow don;t get in a hurry. have a couple of rods tied up because cold fingers don't work well tying on jigs.
I fish all I can in the winter and safety is on my mind everytime I launch use common sense

I glad this got some of my crappie friends talking.
Something we could do is to try to at least keep each other in sight while on the water. Sort of a crappie support group afloat, a fishing buddy system just in case one of us were to get into trouble.
DKB is right, cold water is very unforgiving. The shock of the cold water, the energy draining out of you very quickly and if you do manage to get back into the boat, hyperthermia can set in before you get back to shore. Seconds count in freezing conditions, not to mention heart and other complications due to such shock.
So, if I were to fish this time of year:
A make shift rope ladder to get back in the boat or one of those water ski boarding ladders that fold up? Just put it out when you stop. It might look funny, but not if you're the one in the water.
Army surplus wool blankets, nothing works like wool, even when wet.
Some of those one time use hand and body warmers, I keep some in the emergency box on the boat.
I'd have to check, but EPIRB's are widely used in the Pacific Northwest, not sure about inland waters, but if you fall overboard, it automatically sends a distress signal.
These are just some thoughts.
Keep safe, have fun and I look forward to fishing with you all in the spring.
Floater

This is a good topic. I wanted to post a picture of my lifejacket. It is made by a company called Mustang. It is not your typical bulky lifejacket. When you put it on you are not aware that it is even on you. I wear this thing all day and forget i have it on. It contains 2 small CO2 canisters that inflate the jacket. It is automatic....meaning it has a sensor in it that triggers the canisters as soon as the jacket reaches 4 inches of water. So if you get knocked out it will still save you! It also has a manual pull cord. It works. I forgot I had it on last year and jumped in for a swim and the thing blew up like an air bag and had my head 2 feet out of the water and secured like a donut in about 3 seconds. Scared the heck outta me! They are on the pricey side....but you get what you pay for in this case. Here is a link: Mustang Survival Corporation

Another thing I just read yesterday...and I cannot find the magazine I read it in...perhaps it was online...anyway a guy was talking about drownings. He said of the last 10 or so drownings in his area 4 of them were a result of guys standing up on their deck and taking a leak...and losing their balance. He devised a funnel out of a milk jug so he simply stands on the floor of his boat at the edge and pees into the funnel as he hold is out over the boat....think about it...sounds silly but how many of us just carelessly take a leak up on the bow deck. I know I have.

Thanks for the information CP. Great ideas and great post. You know what....I do not wear a life vest! I have thought many times about this, especially in the winter. The older I get the more that I think about safety. I think my family and kids have alot to do with these thoughts. I want to still be around so they can take the old fart fishing some day when they are grown. I will definately look into this jacket. I have seen them before but always turned away from them because of price. BUT........can you put a price on safety of your life for that fact???? Thanks alot CP.
dkb

Hey Carp--Do you have to refill the CO2 tanks after use(like when you went swimming) or every so often or what? I have looked at these also and it is almost a no brainer to get one Ijust havent..There has been a few times where I almost went overboard takin a leak, i get unzipped and greg throws the TM in high speed to the next spot..