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Safe Boating: an essential guide

The Safe Boating: an essential guide booklet provides information about being safe on the water – seas, rivers or lakes. It’s about understanding the environment, knowing the rules, being a responsible skipper, having all the right equipment, and using plenty of commonsense.

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You can download a copy of Safe Boating here as a PDF file. Safe Boating: an essential guide [PDF: 928Kb, 44 pages]

If you'd like a print copy, please email your details (and the name of the publication) to: publications@maritimenz.govt.nz

A summary of the contents covered by this booklet follows.

Get the basics right

Buying a boat
Being a responsible skipper
Essential equipment
Buoyancy aids

Voyage preparation

Marine weather
Sources of marine weather forecasts
Keep in touch

Operating the boat

Launching and retrieving
Overhead power lines
Starting out
Steering
Boat handling – power craft

Safety on the water

"Rules of the road" on the water
Radio
Navigation
Charts
Lights for small craft
Buoys and beacons
River bars
Emergencies
Distress signals in life threatening situations
Preventing injuries on boats
Boats and young children

Other information

Water-skiing and towing, diving, board sailing, jet boats, rowing dinghies, canoes and small sail boats, kayaks, personal water craft
The environment
Terms used in boating
Coastguard Boating Education
Further information
Boating checklist