First Offshore Trip: Part 3

There’s something at once thrilling and intimidating about venturing out of sight of land in your own boat for the first time. You know in your head that with modern electronics and communications, the line between where you can see the coast and where you can’t is mostly meaningless. After all, in most areas of North America, you probably still have cell service when you cross it. It’s not as if you’re alone in the middle of the ocean. But your gut says different.

With some planning and preparation, though, your first trip offshore can be safe and fun.

1. The Final Touch on Boat Safety
2. Bilge Pump Considerations
3. Redundant Electrical Pumps
4. Extra Pump Cartridges
5. Float Switches and Alarms
6. Manual Bilge Pumps
7. Tools and Parts

The Final Touch on Boat Safety

In the first part of this three-part series, we discussed boat requirements, trip planning and preparation. The second part addressed safety gear that can save your boat or your life in the event something goes wrong. This third installment concerns ways to make your boat safer — primarily pumps and spare parts.

Bilge Pump Considerations

Inshore and lake boaters (with the notable exception of Great Lakes boaters) generally don’t think much about their bilge pumps. Pumps kick on when they need to and shoot a gallon or two of water out the side of the boat.

If you notice that hasn’t happened recently, or if more than the usual amount of water pours out when you remove the plug on the ramp at the end of the day, you check the pump to make sure it’s working and likely end up replacing the cartridge every few years. Occasionally, boats with nonfunctional or undersized bilge pumps sink when their bilges flood due to a broken hose or fitting below the waterline, a crack or hole in the hull, or even sustained, heavy rainfall.

Offshore, there’s not a significantly greater risk of any of those things happening, but the stakes are much higher for pumping the water out quickly. In fact, one of the most important things you can do to make your boat safer offshore is add redundant bilge pumps with plenty of capacity.

Redundant Electrical Pumps

Bilge pumps can and do quit working for several reasons — bad electrical connections, fishing line or other junk stuck in the impeller, manufacturer defects, clogged hoses, slipped hose connections, and sometimes just old age.

When that happens, you want a second bilge pump ready to go at the flip of a switch. Ideally, it should be wired on a separate circuit and connected to a separate hose and a separate through-hull so that a single failure can’t disable both pumps.

Extra Pump Cartridges

For even more redundancy, consider carrying an extra cartridge or two. Replacing a cartridge can be a chore — depending on how easily accessed your bilge is — but it’s generally possible while on the water.

All you need in addition to the extra cartridge is a wire stripper/crimper, a couple of butt connectors and a screwdriver.

Float Switches and Alarms

Float switches, whether separate or integrated into your bilge pump, automate the pump by sensing when the water is getting high in your bilge and turning on the pump until the water drops enough to open the switch again. Most of the time, that’s very handy, but it can also create a safety issue.

The problem arises when water is entering your bilge offshore and your pump is removing it without you being aware. You can’t hear the pump over the engine(s), wind and water, so it works away quietly.

If your pump can’t keep up with the inflow of water, your bilge slowly fills until either you notice the boat feeling heavy and unstable or you lose some or all electrical power when batteries or wiring flood. By then, chances are it’s too late.

The problem arises when water is entering your bilge offshore and your pump is removing it without you being aware.

The solution is simple. Add a visual and/or audible alarm to your bilge circuit(s) so that every time the pump kicks on a light blinks or a beep sounds from your dash. It’s a fairly easy DIY project on most boats, or any reputable shop can do it.

Manual Bilge Pumps

The last line of defense is some kind of manual pump. The big advantage of manual pumps is that they work even if your boat’s electrical system fails.

They range from inexpensive handheld models to permanently mounted emergency pumps capable of moving upwards of 1,500 gallons per hour — assuming you and your crew haven’t been missing arm day too much.

Tools and Parts

Going offshore with no tools or spare parts at all is silly. At the same time, it’s important to be realistic about your knowledge of your boat’s systems, what’s most likely to actually fail on the water, and what you can and can’t do on the water.

For most boaters, the issues that are most likely to occur and that can actually be addressed at sea include electrical problems like blown fuses and failed wiring connections, dead batteries, clogged fuel lines or filters, and plumbing problems.

Which tools and spares you need to carry depends on your particular boat and abilities, but here are some suggestions for a fairly minimalist kit: