It may be said with little fear of successful contradiction that the motor boat has become the safest modern form of travel. The hazard which attaches to the use of a well-found boat, properly handled by an intelligent, careful person, is negligible. Analysis shows that most accidents are avoidable. Experience has proved that even minor misfortunes rarely visit the boatman who knows that his boat is sound, equipped according to the dictates of law and experience, and is handled with reasonable judgment and prudence. Examining this a little further, it is evident that safety at sea is conditioned, not upon the caprice of chance or the elements, but upon the boat and the man who is responsible for her.

Specifically, then, what can we do about it? Safety afloat begins ashore. Probably the first thought that comes to mind is that of safeguarding against fire. Fire is usually traceable to the galley or engine room, where faulty installation, improper equipment or carelessness in operation are the direct cause. All of these things are under our control. Gasoline fumes, mixed with air, form an explosive mixture. These fumes, being heavier than air, find their way to the bottom of the bilge. The obvious answer is prevention—make it impossible for gasoline, in either liquid or gaseous form, to get into the bilge in the first place. Then keep the bilge clean and ventilate the engine compartment thoroughly and there will be nothing that can be ignited. Leakage of liquid gasoline into the bilge can be prevented by proper installation, using strongly built gasoline tanks, copper tubing for fuel lines, leakproof connections, tight fittings and lengths of flexible metallic fuel hose to take care of vibration. Gasoline vapors created when the tanks are filled must be prevented from finding their way down through open hatches and companionways. Finally, avoidable sparks and flames should not be permitted in the engine room.

One of the most essential requirements in proper installation of the fuel system is that there be a tight connection between the gasoline tanks and the filling plates on deck. If the filler is located outside of the coaming, spillage will go overboard while the pipe from deck plate to tank will prevent leakage or spillage below deck. The filler pipe should run to the bottom of the tank and suitable vent pipes for the tanks should lead outside the hull. A fuel indicator if used should be of the most approved type. If the fuel supply of auxiliary lighting plants and generating sets is not drawn from the main tank, the separate tanks should be installed with fillers and vents similar to those of the main tank.

There are several precautions that may be taken in the engine room. Carburetors should be equipped with flame arresters for protection against backfire, and pans covered with fine mesh brass screen should be attached under the carburetor to collect drip. Leakage will be sucked back into the engine if a copper tube is run from the bottom of the pan to the intake manifold. When possible, switches and fuses should be installed outside the engine compartment. If this is not feasible they should be enclosed and placed as high above the floor as convenient, preferably not less than four feet. Shut-off valves should be placed close to each tank and also at the carburetor, and no petcock or other provision for drawing gas in the engine room should be allowed. A type of diaphragm packless valve for fuel, gas and oil lines is now available which is pressure-tight in any position. Tested by Underwriters Laboratories under high pressure in open, half open, and closed positions, it safeguards against leakage at the valves.

To ventilate the engine compartment, large pipes should be run down into the bilge at each corner of the engine room. It is better to leave these entirely open, with no provision for closing them, than to run the risk of having them accidently closed. The amount of water they will ship in a seaway is of no great consequence. Two of the ducts should be equipped with electric blowers. If the suction type of fan is used to draw the air out, their motors must be explosion-proof, shielded against sparking. Otherwise they must be located outside of the exhaust duct. Running the fans for ten minutes before and after starting the engine will clear the bilge of fumes and vapors. This provides a positive system that can be relied upon. A common tendency is to depend on the opening of hatches and ports to air out an engine compartment before starting but the fact remains that the heavy fumes, if present, are down low in the bilge and the only sure way to get them out is to drive them out with blowers. In cases where a boat is so small as to make the installation of blowers impractical, at least the pipes, of generous size, can be installed with ventilating scoops facing forward on two inlet pipes and two more reversed, facing aft, to draw the fumes out the outlet passages. In cases where the ventilating ducts cannot be laid out to advantage, openings can be cut in the fore and aft bulkheads of the engine compartment, as low as possible. Leaving ventilators open fore and aft in a boat, the draft produced will tend to carry out the fumes, instead of keeping them confined at the most vulnerable spot.

With an installation that provides the safety features outlined above, an important first step has been taken. Further precautions should be observed every time gasoline is taken aboard. Before the tank fillers are opened or hoses or cans brought aboard, the engine and any other motors or fans that could possibly produce a spark should be stopped. Fires in the galley or any other open flame aboard should be extinguished. Smoking at the time should be rigidly prohibited. A precaution that is frequently neglected is to close all doors, hatches, ports and windows. The obvious purpose of this is to prevent fumes from traveling down through such openings into the cabin, engine room or bilge. After these points have been checked, exercise care in the handling of the fuel so that all of it goes into the tank and not one drop below decks. While fueling have the metallic end of the filling hose in contact with the metal pipe leading to the tank. After the fueling, any spillage on deck should be wiped up. Then before any motors are started or flames of any kind lighted, throw all ports and other windows wide open and wait at least five minutes for all compartments to air out.

Extinguishers should be examined at least once a year, certainly before the boat goes into commission. The foam type should be discharged, cleaned, and recharged. If it is of the tetrachloride type, some of the liquid should be discharged, throwing the stream both up and down to make certain that piston and valves are working properly. Then it should be refilled and it is recommended that it be swung by the handle seven or eight times before being replaced in its bracket. In the carbon dioxide type it is necessary to weigh the cylinder containing the gas to see that it is exactly the same as
the full weight stamped on the valve, cylinder, or tag as the case may be. This will reveal whether or not it is fully charged. If not, it should be recharged. While the cylinder is disconnected, the pull cord of the control can be tested by removing the cover of the handle box. The cord should work easily. When the cylinder is replaced, it must stand with valve and lever in the same relative position, with no slack in the cord.

Water is of no use in extinguishing a gasoline fire. The burning gasoline floats on the surface and the use of water serves only to spread it. However, there are occasions when it might be used. It will extinguish a blaze made by burning alcohol and is also all right in other places where gasoline is not present. Consequently a bucket is a desirable thing to add to your equipment, along with an axe. Larger craft should be supplied with a fire pump and hose.

The best seaman is the one who is prepared for any contingency, before the need arises to meet it. At the call of "man overboard," seconds count and a well planned line of action will enable you to act quickly and effectively without confusion. The ring buoy should be heaved immediately, even if the person is a skillful swimmer. The engine should be thrown into neutral for an instant till it is seen that the person is clear of the propeller, and then re-engaged while the rudder is put hard over and the engine opened up for a quick turn, going ahead. Whether or not you turn to port or starboard had best be decided by experiment in advance. Ordinarily a boat with a right-handed propeller should turn quickest to port but practical experience shows that some boats behave otherwise. By this maneuver you should be able to get back to the buoy, with boat under perfect control, in less than a minute. You might find that reversing and backing will be more effective for your boat, but the odds are against it. At any rate make a few tests. Throw a paper or cardboard box overboard and experiment in recovering it until you know precisely what to do if the need should ever arise.

A well-built boat won't leak—much. But you ought to be prepared to handle a leak if it should develop, suddenly, for any cause. That doesn't mean the installation of a toy pump that will squirt a few gallons a minute, but a good sized one that will throw fifteen or twenty gallons every sixty seconds without too much effort on the part of the pumper. An additional engine-driven or separate electric pump is even better.
 
Every boat should be equipped with the means to rectify minor engine ailments, at least. This means a good kit of tools, and spare engine parts such as spark plugs, coil, condenser, distributor points, gaskets, etc. Eventually you will accumulate a considerable store of reserve supplies. You may have a few carpenter's tools, extra lines of all sizes, marlin, an assortment of nails, screws, washers, and bolts, wire, tape, caulking cotton, paint, etc. If you have sails you will carry a repair kit, containing twine, wax, needles, palm, fid, and similar articles. All of this extra gear should be kept stowed away in shipshape manner where it can be found when wanted, and not thrown loosely into lockers all over the boat.

A medicine cabinet or first-aid kit should be aboard. Another thought would be to provide some sort of emergency rations to be kept aboard at all times, such as canned foods, hard tack or pilot biscuits, and plenty of fresh water. Then if you ever find it necessary to spend a day or two away from any source of supplies it need not be a hardship. This of course will be in addition to any regular food supplies put aboard for a cruise and should never be drawn upon except in such an emergency.

Remember that the principal function of the Coast Guard is to render assistance to mariners. They stand ready at all times, and their aid is just as available to the owner of a yacht as it is to the master of an ocean liner. Try to equip your boat and handle it in such a manner that you will not require outside assistance but if you should, don't hesitate to call them. You can signal for aid by hoisting the ensign upside-down; firing a gun or any other explosive signal at intervals of about a minute; by continuously sounding a fog horn, whistle or bell; displaying the international code signal NC; or a distance signal consisting of a square flag with a ball, or something resembling a ball, above or below it. For night use a water-tight outfit containing flares or rockets should be aboard. One type of signaling equipment provides a pistol and cartridges which throw a brilliant flare several hundred feet in the air where it is suspended for more than half a minute, burning with an intense light visible about twenty-five miles. These are also useful in floodlighting a considerable area at night when entering a strange harbor or inlet, locating a buoy, launching a dinghy, or recovering one that has come adrift, or locating something that has gone overboard at night.

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