Recommended Safety Equipment

These tip are some personal and also PWC safety tips.
Have a trailer wheel lock or coupling lock to protect your PWC from theft.
Attach rubber pads to the rear of trailer to avoid marks on the hull of your PWC.
Check you have your starter cord and alarm remote if required.
Remove your starter device while parkled at beaches, as a security precaution.
Check you have your floatation vests before launching your PWC.
Check the bungs are screwed in before your PWC is released from the trailer.
Take a tow rope for emergencies.
Always carry a bottle of freshwater for emergencies.
Have an anchor or sand anchor for parking at a beach.
Always be aware of water levels to avoid rocks and beaching.
If your PWC beaches on sand,shake rear of ski when in water to clear the impellor.
Be familiar with destinations to know of cautions.
Check boat ramp opening and closing to avoid disappointment & fines for late fees.
Check weather conditions before departure and be aware for daily tides.
Advise family or friends of your departure, destinations and expected return time.
Remember a dry bag to store your cellphone and car keys.
Remember your water resistant VHF, check battery levels before your trip.
Your VHF needs to be attached to you in case you are seperated from your PWC.
Carry a valid flare on board your PWC.
Check your first aid kit is fully stocked.
Attach all rods, net, and gaf with safety clips on every start up.
When wearing wet weather gears allow non restricting fits, for comfortable fishing.
If wearing boots, make sure zips are not able to scratch paint on foot wells.
A beanie and goggles are practical for rain and colder months.
Include sunscreen in your storage on your PWC.
Goggles should be attached, via a safety clip so they can't fall in the water.
When travelling attach hooks at low points on rods to reduce the whipping action.
Be careful not to catch hooks on seats when reeling in your line.
Always maintain high levels on your battery to avoid flat a battery on the water.
If operating a fish finder, remember to turn it off, while parked for long periods.
Be considerate to other boaties and obey local regulations.
Always complete necessary wash down after use.

Feel free to add more tips that have helped with your fishing trips safety.

Something that is important to remember for any newbies to a PWC that is not equipment related is, when riding in rough water (evenmore so if going fast) maintain some flexibility in your arms but at the same time be fairly rigid. Its hard to explain the exact amount of tension to have in your arms but you will soon figure it out. What I am talking about is very important if you are riding in rough conditions and you hit a wave and your head/body go forward and your jaw/face hits the handle bars. Luckily the two occasions that this has happened to me when riding a PWC over the last 10 years I have been lucky enough to only get a sore jaw and head. I could have been very easily knocked out which would not have been good. Without a full face helmet just remember to either take it easier in the rough or remain very focussed on whats going on.

Sorry to dull the mood but these things are important and I would hate for anyone to get caught out and not be as lucky as I was.

Just one thing to add, If you have a VHF, Lodge a trip report with the Coastguard, make sure you update the trip report as you move from spot to spot also.

Hi all as I am not familiar with New Zealand and the services provided by your coastguard the following suggestion may not be needed for where you guys fish. Over here in Aussie we quite often go considerable distances offshore to fish .We are very safety conscious and only venture out when the weather forecasts are favourable. Having said that the wind quite often blows up and conditions on occasion are considerably worse than what was forecast.

We all have VHF radios and in the unlikely event of a breakdown we should be able able to contact the coastguard for assistance and a tow home. Unfortunately that could take up to 5 hours for them to get to us from their base, its not a lot of fun bobbling around the ocean in rough seas waiting for help to arrive so we carry towing bridles on all our skis, You will need to make these up yourself as the ones sold for skiing and wake boarding wont cut the mustard towing a 400kg jet ski ( even worse if its full of water ) we have bridles that are about a meter long with a large stainless snap clip on each side and a float in the middle.

You can reach over the fish box and snap the clips onto the towing hooks on the transom without jumping in the water and the float is a must so the rope doesn't get sucked up into the jet unit. The towing rope also has a snap clip on each end and is about the same length as a normal ski or wake board rope. Not something we like to think about but it helps to be prepared and at least we can get ourselves back to shore without outside assistance.

One last thing contact your service agent about your particular brand of ski to find out if you need to fit a shutoff valve to the engine water intake line. I am told that if you tow the ski at anything over about 4 knots water can be forced up into the engine and cause some seriously expensive repairs if the ski needs to be towed back to shore certainly it would be nice to able to be towed at planning speed if you are 10 or 20 miles offshore.

Cheers Hoot

Now that is some Good Advice on the tow rope. And very interesting about the water shutoff valve.

I dunno about the other guys as im still in the process of buying my ski (this weekend fingers crossed) but I dont plan going offshore, Just mainly the hauraki gulf and the manukau harbour for me. Auckland coastguard is pretty good, Im an Ex member of papakura/manukau and have a done a few rescues and a lot of patrol hours. Most of the boats are fairly fast - 50 knots + or so, so wouldnt take too long to reach you in the gulf and its outer reaches. I can see a towing bridal being a very good idea.

Hi,

Not really safety equipment but, as we head into the holidays and start travelling longer distances, a spare wheel for the trailer could save you hundreds of dollars and a lot of hassle. Having recently got a puncture, fortunately close to home, I opted for a new spare wheel and tyre at about $125 but, I reckon you could pick up a second hand wheel and tyre for $50.

Given that the trailer had to go in to repair a mud guard, I got the guys to weld on a new bracket and the spare is now mounted on the trailer and secured with a padlock. I'll post a picture shortly.

Just a thought for the holidays; you don't want to be out there on a stat holiday with a puncture half way up the Coromandel!!!

Julian

Good advice. I have a spare new rim and tyre but it is not attached to the trailer, therefore it usually stays at home or goes into the boot on any long trip.

How much did it cost to get the bracket done..? As I would like to have it on there at all times.

Not sure I'm afraid as I had some other work done and had one of the lights replaced.

I think I'd have carried on taking it in the boot on long trips if I hadn't needed some other work doing.

Julian

Does anyone have any idea what a cobra 125 handheld VHF are like? Looks like a small compact unit which would be ideal for on the ski.

To my knowledge they are certainly ok and a good entry level priced unit that will certainly do the job. That is exactly what I would have purchased if I did no find a Uniden Atlantis at the right price, and as I have said before if you want one of the best and can afford it the Raymarine handheld unit is awesome!!