ADVICE ON BOARD
New advice for small-boat owners.
Ever wondered if your boat or kayak is properly kitted out for use at sea? There’s an easy way to find out with Advice Onboard, a free service provided by the RNLI. This replaces Sea Check (the name was changed because people thought it was an MoT-type inspection) and is provided by the RNLI’s Community Safety Team. These trained volunteers are supported by a full-time team at the RNLI’s headquarters in Poole.
The service is available for any leisure craft up to 13.7 metres long, and there is no lower size limit, so it includes small inflatables and kayaks. While the RNLI cannot do this for larger or commercial craft, it is able to offer specific advice, for example on lifejackets, for owners of such craft.
HOW IT WORKS
An Advice Onboard visit is requested by the boat owner. Such requests range from those who have yet to go out in a new boat, to others who are experienced, although there has been some resistance from very experienced boaters.
You must sign a disclaimer agreeing it was not an assessment of whether equipment is in working condition, as you can’t do this with flares, for instance. The form acts as a checklist, and there is space on the reverse for noting suggestions made to the owner.
The only record kept by the RNLI is the owner’s name and address (not compulsory) and a few details about the boat and some life jacket statistics. The confidential inspection takes account of how the boat is used.
Recently, I tagged along when my friends Andy Samuel and Glyn Pressley arranged for RNLI community safety officer Andrew Lowe to look at the equipment on their boat, Happy Days.