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"Spring Line"

by Doug Taylor

ts hard to believe that it’s been a month since we had our last chat in Harborwatch. Time does go by when you’re having fun and the lake is high, but here we are to once again regale you with entertaining insights into the world of boating safety.

The lake is finally starting to drop to more seasonal levels and the water temperature is starting to climb toward its late July peak. There was lots of extra debris in the lake the past month, and some of this is just starting to wash up on shore as the lake level recedes. We want to thank those foolhardy souls that, despite the presence of water-logged deadheads and submerged logs, ran full speed up and down the lake in an attempt to find as many of these obstacles as possible with hull and prop.

Seriously, there’s still a lot of junk floating out there, much of it just under the water’s surface. It pays to go slow unless you enjoy the company of your local fiberglass repair person or outdrive mechanic.

Submerged debris is not the only hazard this time of year. With water temperatures still in the low 60’s an unexpected dip in the lake (aka falling overboard) presents a real challenge to the safety impaired . Not only can you get a good dose of hypothermia (remember the 50-50-50 rule? - 50% chance of survival, for 50 minutes, in 50 degree F water) you can go flat-line on the heart monitors. This is doubly true if you are not wearing your PFD, ‘cause you can lose consciousness in much less time. In fact, there is only about a 4 week period, late July thru early August, when the lake temperature is above 70 degrees and hypothermia is not a major concern on Champlain. So it's a good idea to keep those PFD’s on at this time of year while you're out ramming into submerged debris.

Speaking of PFD’s it's probably old news but worth repeating. the Coast Guard had finally approved inflatable life jackets for use on recreational vessels. These new type V PFD’s are designed to inflate with 35 lb. of buoyancy upon immersion in the water. Designed to be more comfortable to wear, it is hoped their approval will lead to more boaters wearing PFD’s while underway. The vast majority of boating fatalities occur as the result of a person falling overboard and drowning because he or she were not wearing a life jacket. Most such drownings occur on small boats and on calm water in good weather.

Don’t expect to see a flood of these new PFD’s at your local marine store just yet. According to the May issue of Boat/U.S. Reports, while the Coast Guard has published the final version of manufacturers’ standards, government red tape will not allow the regulations to go into effect until September 24, 1996, a bit late for our boating season here in the north, but worthwhile for an early entry on the boating Xmas list.

Still speaking of PFD’s, both Vermont and New York have state laws that are more stringent than Federal requirements. Both states require persons less than 12 years old to wear a PFD if above deck and the boat is underway. In VT, any USCG approved PFD, Type I, II, III, or V is allowed.. In NY, only a Type I or II meets that state’s legal requirements on boats less than 40 ft. in length. There are some real problems here. A youngster wanting to water-ski has a dilemma because at present there are no type I or II PFD’s that are impact resistant to wear when waterskiing.

According to USCG Station Burlington’s own Chief Brosnen, boaters on Lake Champlain may be finally getting it. Early in the season, the Chief stated “The Coast Guard are finding less violations while performing boarding inspections than in years past.” Three cheers for the Auxiliary and Power Squadron in their boating education efforts and the CG Auxiliary’s Courtesy Marine Exam activities.

What problems do the CG find, you may ask? The answere is mostly those related to PFD’s stored in inaccessible locations or not having the proper size PFD’s for people on board. Of course, there’s the old stand-by; boating under the influence. Both the Coast Guard and local law enforcement are using breathalyzers and observed behavior to detect BWI offenders. So consider this a word to the wise... keep it in the cooler while underway.

Last month while talking about safety related spring commissioning, we mentioned visual distress flares with expired date codes. While you should have the required number of flares with valid expiration dates, if the ones with expired dates are in good shape, don’t throw them away.

How many of you have actually fired a distress flare? Not many if affirmative answers to the same question in USPS boating safety classes are any indication. Most people don’t really know how long flares last, and the answer is not long... typically 4-6 seconds for the types of flares most of us have on board, so here are a couple of suggestions for those expired flares.

First, with Fourth of July coming up, that’s a good date to fire off one of the expired flares just to have the experience of knowing what will happen if you have to use one seriously. We suggest doing this on the 4th, so most people observing the flare will assume it's someone setting off fireworks, and will not report a vessel in distress. As a courtesy, you should also call the Coast Guard on the VHF and inform them that you are testing your safety flares and give them your location in case they do get a report.

Gather the regular crew around and take time to read the directions (something you won’t have time to do in an actual emergency). Be very careful in handling and discharging the flare. DO NOT DO THIS IF THERE ARE OTHER BOATS NEARBY! Sometimes the flares are still burning when they land, and you might have a very upset neighbor if your practice flare burns a hole in his new canvas top or leaves burn marks on his deck.

Now, see how short a time the flare is actually visible? Imagine only having 3 of these (the quantity required by Federal law) for someone to see in an actual emergency. So take the rest of the expired flares and put them safely back in the storage container. As long as they have not degraded they will be valuable as extra flares in an actual emergency.

In the May 30 edition of Harbor Watch, Henry Keyserlingk of Quebec wrote to complain about the Vermont law that required non-VT registered boats which were in Vermont waters for 30 days a season to obtain a Vermont validation sticker and demonstrate that a sales tax was paid on the vessel or pay VT sales/use tax of 5% of the value of the vessel.

One of the points in M. Keyserlingk’s letter needs emphasizing. Few boaters (both VT residents and visitors) are aware of this requirement. Vermont does a terrible job in notifying boaters on this requirement and even makes it difficult to comply with. In order to obtain a validation sticker, the owner has to first find and then fill out the form and then submit it with the same fee required for motorboat registration. At least with state registered motorboats, they send you a renewal notice each year. Not so with validation stickers. The owner has to jump thru hoops for the privilege of paying. Come on Vermont, Get with it. Gov. Dean. If you’re serious about collecting these fees, then at least you could do is get the DMV off their duffs to automate the process. This is almost the 21st Century, after all.

Do you have a really dumb, unsafe boating incident you’ve witnessed that you would like to share? Send it to springline@harborwatchpub. We’ll see that it gets into next month’s column, so the idiot that pulled the stupid trick can see himself or herself in print.