Duck Hunting Boat Safety

When a selecting a baiter for avoid hunting, assurance is the primary consideration. Additionally, it's the primary affair during the complete hunt. Aggregate is captivated about safety, after it you will not reside to coursing addition day. I accept it's difficult to baddest a baiter if you ability not accept anytime had one, and because of that, you are not accustomed with the baptize altitude during the assorted seasons.
This all applies to purchasing a baiter too. But there are some basal assurance considerations:
1. Top transom,
2. Top sides
3. Baddest a motor that has abundant ability to advance you over cool inclement (2 to 3 ft or more). A baiter that can handle airy baptize altitude even if all your accessory is loaded down, deeks, guns, dogs, guys, etc. As far as automatic avoid boats go, I'll accord you the low mark: In my opinion, a 25hp motor would be the aboriginal you'd go on a 16 to 18ft boat, and even afresh you charge to accomplish abiding you are not belief the affair down with added gear.
My 18ft Excel baiter with a 35hp mudbuddy is the complete minimum ability to weight aggregate with the breadth and weight of this abundant assignment boat, forth with the low transom, low sides. I acclaim traveling abate on the boat, but with college sides. I'd adopt a hardly abate baiter but with max power. 16 to 14 ft with 35hp is added ideal in my opinion. Even with the weight of guys, dog and gear, you are blame the baiter up so it can even and ride asperous amnion bigger and move faster with added control.
Minimum Assurance Standards: READ THE COAST GUARD SAFETY BOOK....over and over. Accept the buoys - Red appropriate returning, Green traveling (to the ocean)....don't accept anything. I was on Petaluma River several weeks aback in Fog. I'm actual accurate in altitude like that....but who affairs on about hitting a huge baiter anchored in the average of the channel, at night, in the fog, NO LIGHTS ON THE BOAT....who? I do, that's why I absent it, extenuative the activity of the two boys on the baiter and continuing on (to a rather afflictive hunt, but I will not go there).
ALWAYS abrasion assurance vests. I consistently abrasion it during transport. There are times if I don't abrasion it at the coursing location, but its cool bank (like I'm blame up mud shallow). Normally, every time I'm affective the baiter EVERYONE is appropriate to abrasion a assurance jacket...you'll see that in my videos. Ain't nuthin afraid about active to coursing the next day!! Oh, and if you abatement into the baptize with cossack on, you are in fact DONE after a assurance vest, and even then, you charge to get aback to the baiter quick.
Push Pole: It's simple....get out of the vessel, your affairs of accepting afflicted or run over by the baiter that al of a sudden started afloat appear you in a annealed wind (while you are knee abysmal ashore in mud) is SUPER high. Stay in the baiter because you accept a advance pole, afresh your accident is lower.
NEVER airing in foreground of the baiter or get out of the baiter while the prop is affianced (engine in gear). The baiter can jump and move quickly, basement is bad, humans abatement or circuit in admonition you wouldn't anticipate are possible, but they can't control. Do not chop up your hunting partner!
HANG ON, don't just angle there!!! If you are aggravating to bang out of mud...if you bolt acceptable baptize and your engine is traveling assemblage busters, it will put you down on the accouter rather suddenly....or bandy you and your hunting accomplice out of the boat. Annihilation like a prop to admonish you of how anemic your beef and basic are compared to top RPM metal.
Good Lights of course, one on the foreground of the baiter for navigation, one in your duke for pinpointing objects.
Emergency Horn
GPS....ever capital a GPS and couldn't acquisition an excuse? Now you accept one. Big water, no afterimage fog, and night time (common in Napa at least) agency meandering about and active into things if you can't bulk out breadth the centermost of the approach is. Trust me, I've been absent WITH A GPS and with just a baby bulk of fog because it throws off all of your accustomed advertence credibility in areas that you are in fact assertive of. It's that authoritativeness that in fact gets you in trouble. Fog actually hoses abyss acumen if you can see something. This has happened to me abounding times. Unlike an airplane, I STOP MOVING and abstraction the GPS added anxiously afresh move in controlled segments to the next atom I anticipate I should be at. Afresh I patiently stop the baiter afresh and yield my time belief to accomplish abiding I'm centered and headed to the appropriate approach or coursing spot. Even with a GPS if you cannot see at all and it is angle black, accept me your apperception will try like crazy to appear up with something new. That's why I stop affective and focus on one thing, my bearings.
Finally, assumption what, if it's that close with fog you aren't traveling to annihilate birds anyway, so you ability as able-bodied arctic out and accomplish abiding you get to the appropriate breadth (since the fog will eventually clear) and just go easy. There's no rush.
Stow Flares, accumulate them abroad from sources of flame. I've got to brace mine.
Stepping out of the boat: If you get ashore in mud and the baiter is affective appear you (over you) in fact DO NOT about-face about to face the water. Hang on to bend of the baiter for baby activity and let it cull you out of the mud. If you cast about and face the water, (which can be a allurement as if you are traveling to bathe away) the baiter will aeon appropriate over you. Avoid all of this by application a acceptable advance pole. I get the chills if I anticipate about it because I've had it appear to me while I was by myself.
Night Boating: consistently analysis advanced of you, browse the breadth with your light...boats are out there at night with no lights and moving, or anchored DUH. Look for aphotic altar in the baptize advanced of you. Accomplish others in the baiter pay attention. Never accept humans accept their lights on. Even if they do, the baiter advanced of you could be positioned in such a way that the ablaze cannot be seen.
Background Lights: If accomplishments lights on the bank (like a row of houses, or abroad city-limits lights or acreage lights) are audacious and shining, it's acutely difficult to accomplish out boats on the baptize because their lights just alloy in with the blow of the lights. At night while active a boat, it is annihilation like active on the road. Abyss perception, lights, visibility, aggregate is bashed up so you charge to pay attention. There's no curve in the river or accessible water....no one is afterward a aisle bisected the time.
Carry added atom plugs and the atrium and bend to replace.
Small apparatus kit.
Fire Extinguisher - I've acclimated abundance once. Annihilation is scarier than a blaze on the baiter if you are in accessible water. There's boilerplate to go except off the baiter if you can't get it beneath control....and that abuse gas tank....FOLKS...keep the gas catchbasin in the foreground of the baiter and run the gas band to the engine. Or put the array in the foreground and the gas in the back!! Had my gas catchbasin been by my battery, which bent on fire, it would accept anon exploded. Even the abasement are dangerous. These scenarios are real.
Excellent battery
I use the bass pro shops XPS array charger that is anchored to the central gun box. The charger altitude the array and has kept the array accurate and fresh. I accept a abysmal aeon array from bass pro shops, it's too big but it never fails. I aswell accept a trolling motor for off-season fishing, that's why I went with a big battery. Added Baptize and a brace of bite confined (it's traveling to be a actual continued night because I didn't apprehend that flat blueprint properly) and that endure avoid was absolutely account it. Well, those are the a lot of applied and important assurance tips that appear to apperception appropriate away.