You probably hear the phrase, “take a kid fishing” quite a bit and I believe it is truly a privilege to take kids fishing. I do wonder how many of us take the time to teach a kid boating safety? This thought came to me as my son was helping me run transducer wiring from the console under the deck of our boat to the transom. As I opened up the floor portal and the rear portals, he asked me a million questions about the fuel tank and the existing wiring under the floor. As we worked I went on to talk to him about trouble shooting motor problems and explained where the fuel water separator was and a few other things.
As he has been growing up we have fished together several times with just the two us us. It occurred to me one day that if something were to happen to me I was not sure if he would know what to do. That day while we were on the water I taught him how to make an emergency call on my phone as well as on the VHF radio. I also taught him how to crank the boat and drive it if needed. Over the last several years I’ve taught him basic boat operating including the rules of the road and how to boat safely. Each time we go out, he is becoming the driver more often and learning how to run a boat in current and other obstacles. He is learning to respect other boaters and not to assume everyone else knows the rules of the road.
Today I can say that if something were to happen to me, he would know what to do as far as contacting emergency services and getting to a nearby boat landing if he needed to. This is obviously continuing education. Moving forward I will try and make sure he learns to be a safe a knowledgeable boater and learn a thing or two about fishing along the way.
Andy Pickett
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