“I have everything on board” is a phrase too vague to check security. Annex V does not contain a universal list: it crosses distance from the coast, people boarded, type of unit, propulsion and CE marking. Each navigation requires a precise configuration, to be physically controlled before departure.
Effective checklist starts from the maximum course and goes down to the individual object. For each voice asks for presence, quantity, requirements, integrity, accessibility and validity. The general requirements and equivalences are read together with the table: a replacement is allowed only when it meets all the conditions indicated.
1. Mark the maximum distance, not the average
The first box indicates one of Annex V bands: without limit, within 50, 12, 6, 3 or 1 mile, within 300 meters or internal waters. It is used the farthest point provided by the coast or by the shore, not the distance normally maintained.
The route is observed on adequate cartography. You consider stages, deviations and alternative port. If the floor leads into a more demanding band, the entire checklist is rebuilt before leaving the moorings.
2. Register how many people will really be on board
The capacity of collective means and the number of vests must cover all persons, including the crew. The card reports the actual number for that departure. The theoretical maximum value of the unit does not replace this operational verification.
When an extra guest rises, the count is repeated. The availability does not deduce from closed packages: we read capacity and identification. An insufficient medium remains such though technically perfect.
3. Identifying CE, not CE, sail or pneumatic
Before the equipment, the unit is classified. The rules on extinguishers change between CE and non-EC units; the sail units have an additional section; the CE tires can access a specific exemption within twelve miles only with all the requirements indicated.
The checklist keeps manual, markings and data needed. It does not apply a rule by similarity. “It’s a gommon” or “has an extinguisher” are not sufficient verifications.
4. Choose the correct collective medium
The table distinguishes life rafts for the most distant bands and coastal rafts within twelve miles. The capacity covers all people. They control type, approval, documents, status, location and employment possibilities.
Special conditions for navigation over twelve miles within the national area of research and rescue also require electronic geolocation tools. The line is closed only after checking all the conditions together.
5. Evaluate the tender as an equivalent without shortcuts
Within twelve miles, the pneumatic service boat can replace the collective medium only if marked CE and conforms to the standards recalled, ready to use, hand-operated, with lifts and survival kits, and able to accommodate everyone.
The checklist contains five separate boxes. If the tender is unflattered, blocked, without kits or too small, the equivalence is not declared. Even steam and ski lifts are tried with the set of navigation.
6. Check CE tyre exemption
A rigid or soft tire can be exempt from the self-flatable raft within twelve miles when it has marking, category and compliance with the specified standards and brings the expected survival kit.
Each requirement has a proof. The absence of a document or kit prevents the line from ticking. The decision is recorded in the file and re-examined after modification of the unit.
7. Use a checklist with verifiable results
| Area | Question | Closure |
|---|---|---|
| Root | What's the maximum band? | Column identified |
| Persons | How many bars are there? | Verified capacity |
| Rescue | Type, number and correct access? | Physical Testing |
| Signals | Quantity and validity coincide? | Inventory updated |
| Navigation | Tools and cards work? | Completed test |
| Sailing | Expected harnesses present? | Tried dress |
| Incense | Followed manual or table? | Controlled extinguishers |
8. Count your vests and check the category
In the most distant bands you need jackets at least 150 category; in those coastal ones indicated at least category 100. The number covers everyone. The automatic light mounted on the vest also occurs for the planned navigation.
Cut, locks and status are part of control. In the night navigation in solitary the jacket must be worn. When applicable, the identification shows the registration number of the unit.
9. Rescue separa and four families of signals
Rescuer with top, light bushing, smoke bomb, hand fires and parachute rockets are different lines. Fascia and quantity change. They do not compensate each other by accumulating devices of one type.
For each signal we read integrity and validity. The led device can replace the hand fire only with the specifically requested compliance. An edge lamp is not automatically equivalent.
10. Check lights, balloons and sound signals
Regulatory lights must work and be shown correctly. The black base ball affects the units over seven meters in the expected bands. A whistle and bell cover those over twelve meters, with the equivalent allowed for the portable sound device.
The test includes power, mounting and visibility. The material does not remain in the packaging. The crew knows where it is and how to use it without looking for instructions at the critical moment.
11. Test compass, cards and tools
Compass, deviations, clock, barometer, binoculars, scandaglio, Colreg signals, cards and carding instruments appear according to the band. The electronic compass can replace the magnetic compass; the electronic cartography must comply with the discipline referred to.
The checklist does not accept the only presence of a phone. Check operation, power supply and availability during navigation. The deviation table is updated when technical changes produce magnetic differentials.
12. GPS head, VHF and rescue device
GPS, VHF and EPIRB have obligations associated with different bands. The EPIRB for seamless navigation operates on the expected frequencies. The satellite telephone can only replace it if it has rescue and compliance with the requirements.
The test respects procedures and instructions, without generating false alarms. Battery, recording and access are checked. An apparatus turned off and not known by the crew does not offer the waiting function.
13. Add specific rows for sailing
For sailing units, bridge harness and safety line are required in the specified ranges and quantities. The harness can be integrated with the vest or with other certified individual device.
They control connections and paths. The proof of clothing highlights incompatibility with clothing and vest. Having two harnesses is not enough if there is no safe way to use them.
14. Reminds permanent wear for individual means
On boards, sails, kitesurfs, water bikes and similar units, conductors and transported wear permanently an individual floating device at least of category 50, CE marked according to the norms mentioned.
The line occurs by observing clothing and closures. Floating aid deposited in the compartment does not meet the obligation of wear. The sizes are suitable for people present.
15. Control pump and bilge with simulated water
The pump or other exhausting tool of the bilge appears in the indicated bands. The checklist checks access, power supply, pipes and drainage. A switch that lights up does not demonstrate alone the ability to evacuate water.
The test is carried out in a controlled manner and without damaging the unit. After use, the configuration is restored. Any anomalies receive responsibility and time before departure.
16. Apply the correct rule to extinguishers
On the CE unit the extinguishers are identified by the owner's manual. For those not CE the table distinguishes boats and boats, installed power, driving place, engine compartment and other premises. The preceding number B represents the minimum extinguishing capacity.
The control ensures preservation and pressure indicator in the loading area when present. A greater capacity extinguisher may be adequate, but does not delete the requirements of number and position.
17. Reexamine the tender within a mile
The service boats, including water bikes considered to be born, used within a mile from the coast or from the unit, do not have the obligation of general equipment, except for individual means of rescue. Checklist records the operating limit.
If the mission exceeds that radius, the exemption is not extended. The driver receives clear instructions and wears the individual device. The position of the mother unit is not estimated with approximation.
18. Close the checklist only with the material on board
Each anomaly remains open until the spare has been received, verified, boarded and placed. Order and invoice do not replace physical presence. After each use, quantities, seals and deadlines are updated.
Before leaving the commander repeats the lines that can change quickly: people, accessibility, signals, apparatuses and state of equipment. Security does not come from having “everything”, but from being able to demonstrate that every element required for that route is ready and usable.
19. Organize the range by function and priority
The location of the equipment is shown in a simple map. Rescue, signalling, firefighting, communication and exhaustion remain recognizable to those who go up for the first time. The most urgent material is not placed behind spare parts, luggage or equipment that require time to be moved.
The crew performs a recovery test with the boat set for the cruise. The verification includes keys, straps, lighting and opening of the containers. If a equipment can only be reached by the owner who knows a hidden compartment, the organization must be corrected.
20. Record replacements and changes during the season
A new device, a changed battery or a different internal layout may alter the checklist. Replacement is recorded with date, features and new location. When a change produces magnetic differences, the update of the compass deviation table is also considered.
Periodic review compares inventory and physical reality without erasing the historian. Recurrent abnormalities indicate a defect in the purchase, delivery or delivery process. The checklist thus becomes a live system, able to maintain the correct configuration throughout the season.
