Exercise: Make a lifejacket plan before you leave
You have a 4.4 m powerboat, two adults and a ten-year-old. You will stay on enclosed waters in Pittwater and return after sunset. Choose your preparations.
Step by step
How many approved, correctly sized lifejackets must this boat carry for these people?
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One for each person: three. A jacket being worn counts towards that person's equipment (Handbook, p. 39).
Who must wear a lifejacket on this boat before sunset, assuming no other trigger or skipper's direction?
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The under-12 child must wear one at all times on a boat under 4.8 m. With two adults aboard, the alone trigger does not apply (pp. 34, 42).
You are still on enclosed waters at sunset. What is now required?
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For a powerboat under 4.8 m, night is sunset to sunrise. Everyone must wear Level 50S or above on enclosed waters (p. 34).
An adult's inflatable has a pierced CO2 cylinder. What do you do before departure?
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An unpierced, firmly fitted cylinder is part of the pre-wear check. A faulty jacket cannot be relied on as that person's ready-to-use lifejacket (pp. 39, 45–47).
Now on your own
Now plan a separate trip: a 6 m powerboat with two adults and a seven-year-old will cross the Ballina coastal bar in daylight. The child will sit in the open cockpit.
What must the adults wear for the bar crossing?
What does the child's open-cockpit position mean while underway?
Which jacket is the recommended choice for the child?
Before reaching the bar, the skipper tells everyone to put their jackets on. When do you comply?