Who does not love a little boat & trailer maintenance? Another, awesome week has flown by. Which saw many of us out enjoying the great outdoors, fishing & exploring. Sadly, however, the past week has also been marked with tragedy. With a few people losing their lives on the water & several people surviving some very close calls.
Less than 48 hours ago, I witnessed yet another expensive boat leave its trailer while being towed from the water & up the boat ramp. The sound of a boat hull scraping along concrete signalling to everyone at the ramp that another safety chain had been left unattached.
Why This Post?
So, let’s have a chat about boating & trailer safety, I mean why not? Can’t hurt. I can guarantee we all have stories of those ‘close calls’. Be it while out on the water or in other circumstances. In many ways just reading this blog piece & having a brief conversation about boating & trailer safety could be enough to spur us into action.
And, help us to overcome what arguably could be regarded as the greatest ‘risk‘ facing us. The boaties, anglers & human beings that want nothing more than to enjoy life. And, to return home safely to our loved ones. That ‘risk’ being, the risk of “complacency”.
Complacency
Everytime I have helped someone out on the water, at the ramp or had them help me. The resulting conversation always seems to include comments such as;
‘I was just in a bit of a rush & forgot’, or ‘I had my mind on other things’, or ‘I was distracted’, or ‘with it being so busy I was feeling the pressure’ or probably the most dangerous comment, ‘oh, I just thought she would be right’.
Now, there is a lot of scientific research, highly paid professionals & self-help material out there to explain why we, human beings, become complacent. But, if you are like me & the sound of reading research, listening to someone in a fancy suit or trusting some self-help book makes your head hurt. Then you are in fact experiencing one of the key reasons why we as human beings become complacent.
The short answer is; That to “NOT“ become complacent is hard work! Especially for the grey matter in our head. And, almost without realising it, we become complacent in part to save energy & to avoid that hard work for our grey matter. So, rather than going into lots & lots of detail, why don’t we all just agree? That yes, we do become complacent from time to time & instead let us concentrate on the question of; ‘what can we do about it?’.
What Can We Do
I am a huge believer that time spent up front in planning & preparation can save many headaches & also help us to overcome complacency.
If you are not one for ‘lists’, then perhaps a quick chat with your fishing / boating buddy, loved one or even out loud to yourself could be the way to go. The key message being to take a moment to stop, think about what it is that we are doing. And then, moving forward with the task at hand.
Another good technique is to mix things up a little. Break the routine & force ourselves to think about what we are doing by doing it differently. As an example, you might drive a different route to the boat ramp, or launch from a different location. The key message here is; That while developing a safe routine can help, if it is not reviewed now & then it can also lead us into complacency.
Final Thoughts
I reckon that is about it. Sure, there is a lot of other areas we could cover in this conversation but I think we all know what we need to do to stay safe. Sometimes we just need a little reminder. We all know, that we need to ensure the safety chain is connected before driving up the ramp & we all have an overpowering desire to get home, enjoy a cold beverage & tell tales of adventure. Just remember that safety chain first!
Let’s face it, we are also human & we humans like to take risks & make things as easy for ourselves as we possibly can. The biggest culprit, working away to achieve this & without ourselves even realising it, is our grey matter.
So, before you next head outside to hook up the boat, take a quick minute to have a think about what it is you are about to do. Where you are going? What you need to do to ensure you come home safe? And, if you see something not quite right at the ramp or while on the water. Then take a few minutes to just have a friendly chat to our fellow boaties / anglers to ensure they also get home safe.