1. Copyright © 2010 by Boat Ed. All rights reserved
Copyright © 2010 by Boat Ed. All rights reserved. No part of this Paddlesports America PowerPoint® presentation may be reproduced or copied in any form or by any process without permission in writing from Boat Ed.

3. Chapter Three Operating Your Boat … Safely

4. Key Topics Boarding and Exiting Your Paddlecraft
Securing Your Paddlecraft
Learning Strokes for Emergency Situations
Sharing the Waterways With Others
U.S. Aids to Navigation System (ATONS)
Learning About Local Hazards
Fishing and Hunting

5. Objectives You should be able to …
Demonstrate how to board a canoe and a kayak from a shoreline and from a dock.
Demonstrate how to exit a canoe and a kayak.
Demonstrate how to secure a paddlecraft on shore or at a dock.

6. Objectives (cont.)
List safety procedures to take when sharing the waterway with others.
Explain what to do when encountering the buoys and markers of the U.S. Aids to Navigation System.
Describe the hazards that may be found on rivers, lakes, and coastal seas.
List safety practices to follow when fishing or hunting from a canoe or kayak.

7. Boarding and Exiting Your Paddlecraft
Boarding a Canoe
From a shoreline:

8. Boarding and Exiting (cont.)
From a dock:

9. Boarding and Exiting (cont.)
Exiting a Canoe

10. Boarding and Exiting (cont.)
Boarding a Kayak
From a shoreline:

11. Boarding and Exiting (cont.)
From a dock:

12. Boarding and Exiting (cont.)
Exiting a Kayak

13. Learning How to Paddle Take a hands-on course.
Practice what you learn.

14. Securing Your Paddlecraft
On a smooth, sandy shore
On a rocky shore
At a dock

15. Sharing the Waterways Safety Procedures
Always be sure other boaters are aware of your presence.
Be considerate of other boats. Allows all boats to navigate safely.
Paddle as close to shore as is safe. Avoid channels used by larger craft.
Operate according to Homeland Security measures.

16. Sharing the Waterways (cont.)
Tell other paddlers about any hazards, such as eddies or rapids, you have encountered.
Render assistance to other paddlers in need, unless you would place yourself or your boat in danger.
When a powerboat passes, turn bow into the wake to help prevent a capsize.
Know the navigational rules for your state.

17. U.S. Aids To Navigation System
(ATON)
Lateral Markers

18. U.S. Aids To Navigation System (cont.)

19. U.S. Aids To Navigation System (cont.)
“Red Right Returning”

20. U.S. Aids To Navigation System (cont.)

21. U.S. Aids To Navigation System (cont.)
Non-Lateral Markers

22. U.S. Aids To Navigation System (cont.)

23. Local Hazards on Your Waterway
Rivers and Lakes
Low-head dams: always avoid

24. Local Hazards (cont.) Strainers: always avoid Rapids: check them out
Waterfalls: carry boat around falls
Bridges: proceed with caution
Changing water levels:
Stay in deeper channels
Beware of seasonal changes

25. Local Hazards (cont.) Coastal Seas Tides Rip currents Waves
Shipping lanes

26. Fishing & Hunting
From 1996 to 2002, approximately half of those killed in a canoe or kayak accident were fishing. More hunters die each year from drowning and cold-water immersion than from gunshot wounds.

27. Fishing & Hunting (cont.)
Many accidents occur when:
An angler leans over the side to grab a fish
A hunter leans over the side for a decoy
An excited angler jumps up suddenly when he or she gets a bite
An excited hunting dog paces back and forth
Hunters fire their rifles in the same direction at the same time, causing an imbalance

28. Fishing & Hunting (cont.)
Safety Precautions
Wear a life jacket at all times
while on the water.
Never overload your boat.
Take extra precautions to avoid falling overboard, capsizing, or swamping.
Dress in layers and take precautions to avoid hypothermia.

29. Review Questions
When boarding or moving around in a canoe or kayak, what rule should you remember about your hands and feet?
Answer: maintain three points of contact

30. Review Questions (cont.)
Should you pack gear into a paddlecraft before or after you put the boat in the water?
Answer: after

31. Review Questions (cont.)
How can you use your paddle for extra stability when you board a canoe from a dock?
Answer: Place your paddle straight across the gunwales, and hold onto the paddle as you board.

32. Review Questions (cont.)
What are your primary goals when sharing the waterways with others?
Answer: keeping a sharp lookout and avoiding a collision

33. Review Questions (cont.)
What are the “traffic signals” that guide boaters safely along some waterways?
Answer: buoys and markers

34. Review Questions (cont.)
What phrase can you use to help you remember the correct course in the lateral system of U.S. Aids to Navigation?
Answer:
Red Right Returning

35. Review Questions (cont.)
What does a solid green buoy
with an odd number indicate?
Answer: the edge of the
channel of a boater’s left side
when entering from the open
sea or heading upstream

36. Review Questions (cont.)
What does a white buoy with
an orange open diamond
indicate?
Answer: danger

37. Review Questions (cont.)
What does a white buoy with
an orange crossed diamond
indicate?
Answer: areas that are
off-limits to vessels

38. Review Questions (cont.)
What type of hazard can be created by water flowing around and through fallen tree branches?
Answer: strainer

39. Review Questions (cont.)
What are three river hazards that paddlers should avoid?
Answer: (any three)
Low-head dams
Strainers
Waterfalls
Bridges
High water or low water

40. Review Questions (cont.)
What are three coastal hazards that paddlers should avoid?
Answer: (any three)
Tides
Rip currents
Waves
Shipping lanes

41. Review Questions (cont.)
From 1996 through 2002, what were approximately half of those killed in a canoe or kayak accident doing?
Answer: fishing

42. Review Questions (cont.)
What should hunters who are in a canoe or kayak always wear?
Answer: life jackets