Holidays on the Water: Tips for Stress-Free Onboard Entertaining

Are you planning to entertain on your boat this holiday season? Whether it is a full-blown Thanksgiving dinner, a Christmas cocktail cruise, or a New Year’s party, you must take precautions to keep all your participants safe. Accidents happen! Without a proper plan, you may end up with a bad situation on your hands that will really ruin your holiday. This article provides actionable tips for entertaining on a boat for a stress-free experience.

5 Tips for Entertaining on a Boat

Remove all Distractions

Maintaining a high level of safety requires creating an environment where you can have maximum concentration. Before driving the boat, make sure the music isn’t too loud so that you can’t hear if anyone needs your attention, and you can focus entirely on driving. 

Stick within the legal speed limits to remain safe. Put away your phone and avoid unnecessary distractions.

Life Jacket Check

Everyone onboard the boat should have a life jacket that is easily accessible. There’s no sense in having life jackets you can’t get to in time. Remember, accidents happen, and they can happen quickly. Anyone with limited swimming experience should wear their jacket at all times.

Never Drink and Drive

For some reason, people are more comfortable drinking while driving a boat. You might think that you have plenty of open water, so the room for error is larger, but boating accidents actually happen a higher percentage of the time than car accidents, so there’s no reason you should drink and drive a boat when you wouldn’t a car or truck. Whatever the occasion, a holiday activity can turn into a binge-drinking party pretty quickly. If you plan on drinking, you shouldn’t be the driver. A good captain lets others drink. You can only keep them safe if you drive sober.

Check the Weather

Before leaving shore onboard the boat, check the radar. You’d be surprised how many people just go regardless, thinking they checked the forecast yesterday, and it should be fine. Knowing what to expect from the weather is one of the essential tips for entertaining on a boat. 

Who wants to be surprised, even if it’s just by some rain, that they didn’t know was coming? Check the radar to ensure that all is well. After all, safety comes first, but comfort for your passengers is important when entertaining.

Create a Float Plan

One of the most commonly neglected basics. Take your family on a boating trip only after formulating a float plan. Importantly, inform a marina staff member, or another friend or family member how long you intend to stay out on the water, so that if an emergency happens, someone knows when and where to start looking. 

Conclusion

What kind of holiday activity are you planning? If it involves entertaining on water, then take precautions not to endanger the lives (or comfort) of your loved ones. Follow the above tips for entertaining on a boat. Besides having a good time, you’ll be able to bring your family or friends safely and comfortably back home. 

And if you are a boater that hasn’t yet built a dock on your waterfront property, check out our floating docks, our dock specialists are waiting for your call!