Seaworthiness; what does it mean?

Since my toon remains out of commission with a half-rebuild carburetor, I will take a look at a frequent topic among boaters - is a given boat seaworthy?

Seaworthiness is defined as a vessel's ability and suitability to operate in a given body of water in specific weather conditions.  Sounds like a lot, but there is a reason for such a complicateed definition.  First thing, we are not considering the crew's skills in the equation.  Next we have to consider that waterways come in many different types, such as small lakes and rivers, large lakes and rivers, salt water bays, coastal and offshore waters.  All of these have different typical conditions as well as differeing types and liklihood of severe weather. For example, most boaters would not expect to find the same weather conditions in a medium size inland lake as they might encounter in coastal Alaska.  Given all that, let's narrow our seaworthiness down to three attributes for each boat; suitability, condition and equipment.

Suitability means is the vessel's design suitable for the area or activity the boat will be used in?  We could easily spend a few posts just on this topic; for now, let's keep it simple.  Some boats are lightly constructed, open to air and water and do not have space for more than basic equipment, such as life jackets/PFDs, a radio or cell phone and other survival gear.  Boats like this are suited for areas where conditions are usually nice and, if anything should happen, rescue/assistance is nearby.

Condition refers to how good a shape the particular boat is in.  Does it have leaks or other issues with keeping water out?  Is the engine reliable? Does it hold enough fuel for the trip, with a little extra just in case? A boat designed to operate offshore in heavy seas loses a lot of its design capability if it is allowed to deteriorate without adequate maintenance - in fact, any boat can lose its seaworthiness without proper upkeep!

Equipment affects seaworthiness a great deal.  Like we stated earlier, a boat running around a mid-sized lake on a sunny weekend does not need more than the basic equipment.  Venture out into more open waters with bigger waves and fewer sources for help, and you need more and better equipment to keep the water out and your crew's heads above water.  Visual distress signals, a VHF radio if within sight of land, a single-sideband (SSB) radio of real offshore work, and Type I PFDs are all upgrades that a lake boater need not bother with.

Keep in mind that if you rely a lot on a piece of equipment, you had better have more than one!  Spare radio, backup bilge pumps and additional batteries to power them are just a few examples.

Good stuff... we will discuss this more another time.

Ready for battle?

Finally the barge is fixed - at least that is what the mechanic tells us.  After a new ignition coil, a carburetor rebuild and new fuel filters, I hope the engine is again reliable.  The carb and coil should correct the idle issues caused by the carb flooding and weak spark.  A new battery will complete the fix, but we have one strong battery and one that can power bilge pumps and radio, but that's all.  Replacing that one and adding a solar charger/maintainer and power will be a non-issue!

Sea trials tomorrow or Thursday! Boat US towing service is on standby, just in case!