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Boat Rules for Kids


Maurer Family

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We just purchased a Wakesetter 23 lsv and have 2 kids 5 and 8. We are looking for some simple rules to go over with our kids prior to taking them on the maiden voyage. We thought we had better have a simple set of guidelines in place to protect both the kids and the new boat. We have an idea but thought someone might have made a similar list.

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The safety rules are the most important.

Rule # 1 - All butts are planted when the boat is in motion.

Rule # 2 - No reaching for the dock when approaching. Fingerwag.gif

Rule # 3 - If the boat/trailer starts rolling towards the truck... :unsure: ...run the other way. :lol:

(if only I had remembered rule # 3 :Doh:) :lol:

EDIT: Forgot

Rule # 4 - All kids are in a vest whenever the boat is moving.

Edited by NorCaliBu
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The safety rules are the most important.

Rule # 1 - All butts are planted when the boat is in motion.

Rule # 2 - No reaching for the dock when approaching. Fingerwag.gif

Rule # 3 - If the boat/trailer starts rolling towards the truck... :unsure: ...run the other way. :lol:

(if only I had remembered rule # 3 :Doh:) :lol:

EDIT: Forgot

Rule # 4 - All kids are in a vest whenever the boat is moving.

Don't forget rules for the drivers. No sudden stops (unless its an emergency), no hard turns (send people right off the seat), make sure everyone is ready when you are going to hit it. No letting people ride in the boat on the trailer (other than pulling the boat out of the water). They don't even want you pulling your boat to the tie down area with people in it around here.

Other rules for kids - no playing with the mooring lines in the water, never put hands or feet between the dock and hte boat, even if you are tied up. No playing with / wrapping in tow ropes.

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All those are great rules...

In addition to those,

Always keep your fingers and toes away from the tow line, so nothing gets ripped off.

Everyone on our crew has a job/detail. Exterior wipe down, interior clean-up, trailer wipe down, getting snacks for the ride home. etc. It will make day more manageable.

I know your kids are younger, but they can help out some how, they'll enjoy assisting with the boat.

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The safety rules are the most important.

Rule # 1 - All butts are planted when the boat is in motion.

Rule # 2 - No reaching for the dock when approaching. Fingerwag.gif

Rule # 3 - If the boat/trailer starts rolling towards the truck... :unsure: ...run the other way. :lol:

(if only I had remembered rule # 3 :Doh:) :lol:

EDIT: Forgot

Rule # 4 - All kids are in a vest whenever the boat is moving.

I think that #2 is the one that they fail at most often & as a result drives me nuts. My oldest always wants to "catch" the dock, no matter how many times I tell him not to (even when I explain why). Be prepared to tell them (as you do with most things) multiple times before it will sink in.

As woody said, giving them a job is also a good thing to both help the day be more manageable & less stressful. But it will also give them a purpose & something that they can look forward to doing as part of the crew. Even better is if you can rotate those jobs each time that you go out.

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Yup, I'd say staying in place when the boat is in gear is the big one. I would also impress upon them that the driver is in charge--follow any instructions immediately and unquestioningly. If you exercise this under ordinary conditions, they are more likely to react as needed in an emergency.

Oh, almost forgot, if you see Michael messing with his boat/trailer on an incline--run the other way! :lol:

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NEVER EVER yell HELP HELP !!!!!!!!!! unless you REALLY need help !!!

Thats a rule in boat or around water , never yell HELP HELP unless you are HURT !!

as always VEST , sit down , no jumping off boat , if ya want to JUMP lets go to a swinning POOL !! No swimming under water around boat .

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It take out a lot of kids every year with a scout group, and after showing them the business end of the boat on the ramp and relating a story of a friend who unfortunately ran over a scout after tubing, I require them to get permission from me to either get out or get in the boat. If you don't ask my permission even once, you're on the beach.

Without fail there's a kid on the beach within the first hour of getting to the lake, but after that there aren't any more.

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My 5 year old is a great swimmer, but she doesn't get on the boat w/o her jacket on. Moving or not. Not an option!

By all means let the kids have fun! Its quite easy to have fun and be safe at the same time. I also quit being anal about PB&J and cheetos. That's what the steam cleaner is for.

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Some more to add. Nobody on the swim platform or rear sundeck with the engine running. Not only is the prop a danger, but CO is an even bigger danger for kids. They are more susceptable to CO poisoning than adults.

Also, we don't let the kids ride in the bow unless the boat is at idle speed or stopped. Some may disagree with this but if the boat runs aground, they'll be in the water if they're riding up front at any decent speed.

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Great safety tips from all TMC members, as always!

My "rule" would not fall under the safety umbrella, but is an idea that I intend to implement once my kids are a little older:

-For every turn you get tubing behind the boat, you are required to take a turn at a "skill" sport, such as skiing, wakeboarding, kneeboarding, or surfing! I think tubing is a fun way to get kids started in watersports when they are very young, and can certainly be a blast as an additional watersports option, but I get really annoyed when I watch $70k watersports boats towing able-bodied 13 year olds around on a tube all day while the boards are strapped ornamentally to the tower! My annoyance is admittedly stemming partially from jealousy that I cannot afford a brand new 'bu, but I am sure I am not the only one on this site who feels this same way. With the price of fuel today, I will have to steer my kids into participating in some watersports that will tire them out a little faster than just hanging on to the tube!

As a side note to all of the great safety notes that have been posted today, I brought home a pink and black neoprene life vest for my 20 month old daughter for Valentine's day last week and she has had it on in the house for the better part of most days since she got it.......she waddles around the house with the vest and her sunglasses on saying, "boating Daddy"! Hopefully she will continue to love wearing the vest, as it is a 100% requirement as soon as we get out of the truck at the lake. :)

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On vacation, I can end up with 10 kids in the boat. Typical is 8-10. We are a large family group of about 50 that vacation together. Kids in the boat range in age from 5 to 51 (me). First off, they know to not even board the boat without a preserver. They also know to immediately sit down before the motor is even started. One will usually turn the blower on. This will all happen before the driver boards unless we are doing a kid exchange. Someone in the front will disconnect the anchor rope on cue and they will decide amongst themselves who will pull the skirope(s) in beforehand, one to a rope. The older kids will teach the younger ones and our non-stop vacation skiing runs like a well oiled machine. We get a lot of complements from the other boaters on the beach. No one is aloud to stand in the boat while in motion, and only the rope retrievers are aloud to stand when the boat is at idle.

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Great safety tips from all TMC members, as always!

My "rule" would not fall under the safety umbrella, but is an idea that I intend to implement once my kids are a little older:

-For every turn you get tubing behind the boat, you are required to take a turn at a "skill" sport, such as skiing, wakeboarding, kneeboarding, or surfing! I think tubing is a fun way to get kids started in watersports when they are very young, and can certainly be a blast as an additional watersports option, but I get really annoyed when I watch $70k watersports boats towing able-bodied 13 year olds around on a tube all day while the boards are strapped ornamentally to the tower! My annoyance is admittedly stemming partially from jealousy that I cannot afford a brand new 'bu, but I am sure I am not the only one on this site who feels this same way. With the price of fuel today, I will have to steer my kids into participating in some watersports that will tire them out a little faster than just hanging on to the tube!

Interesting side note...I had this same 1:1 rule. My daughter (7) tubed and then she skied. She has not tubed since. Yahoo.gif

My son (5) is now about 3:1 ski or wake board to tube. Also Yahoo.gif

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....

Also, we don't let the kids ride in the bow unless the boat is at idle speed or stopped. Some may disagree with this but if the boat runs aground, they'll be in the water if they're riding up front at any decent speed.

That was a big one for us, too. Solved it with our boat by going closed bow. I wasn't too wild about having adults up there either, especially when we were skiing. I know plenty who differ on this point though.

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Number 1 rule on our boat is that you can't hang from the tower while we are going more than 20 mph Thumbup.gif Only adults are allowed to do that :)

Edited by 68Slalom
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We just purchased a Wakesetter 23 lsv and have 2 kids 5 and 8. We are looking for some simple rules to go over with our kids prior to taking them on the maiden voyage. We thought we had better have a simple set of guidelines in place to protect both the kids and the new boat. We have an idea but thought someone might have made a similar list.

Here is a GREAT site for boating safety and fun online interactive activities for the kiddies to learn about boating safety: Safe Boating Campaign

Look at the Education Resources drop downs, there are some great "sidekicks" as well as the Kidsite central portion in the drop down.

Aside from the rules that others mention above, you can make learning fun with some of the stuff located on that site.

FYI...I DO NOT represent the site...just a big fan of it when I found it a few years back...

EDIT: Oh, and HAPPY BOATING...congratulations on your LSV!

Edited by The Garslayer
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