Time to get those boats decorated

Ahoy.

It’s time for my Christmas Boat Parade tips. With this year’s

theme “Celebrating America with Lights,” I thought it would be

appropriate to help you safely decorate your boat.

Next week, I will have more tips on skippering in the parade and

parade etiquette for boaters.

Only 12 more days until the 94th annual Newport Harbor Christmas

Boat Parade, so let’s get decorating.

The primary consideration in decorating is that the skipper can

still see without bright lights or decorations impeding the view. On

parade nights, there will be hundreds of boats on the water

performing impromptu close-quarter maneuvering, and most boaters do

not cruise at nighttime. Also, the parade route will lead some

boaters to unfamiliar areas of the harbor and there will be effects

from the tidal currents.

The skipper’s diminished view combined with the distraction of

on-board guests causes a high percentage of near misses during the

parade.

Prudent seamanship dictates that, should the skipper’s view be

restricted, then someone should be posted as a lookout in those blind

areas. When I am in command of a yacht, I will have crew posted to be

my eyes and ears.

First and foremost, you must remember to keep the safety of your

guests a priority when decorating the boat. Every year, I do notice

some very hazardously decorated boats. I, personally, have been

zapped by touching metal railings that have grounded a wet extension

cord.

Water and electricity do not make good partners, so here are a few

precautions. All of the exterior electrical cords should be rated for

outdoor use. Wrap all the connections with electrical tape to prevent

grounding. Light decorations or those with electric motors must be

plugged into circuits protected by circuit breakers. Know the faster

way to kill that circuit should an electrical short occur.

We will experience dew point during the parade and, in some years,

it has rained, so prepare now for wet conditions.

Boating safety regulations require that none of the decorations

obstruct or prevent the deployment of any required safety devices

aboard your vessel, including ring buoys, life rafts, life jackets

and fire extinguishers. A common mistake is to wrap a string of

lights around your ring buoy. Looks festive, but now the lifesaving

device can’t be thrown to someone who falls overboard.

Since you will be cruising at night, the decorations cannot

interfere with the vessel’s normal navigational lights. You will

notice that the more seasoned boaters will enhance their navigational

lights by using red bulbs by the port light and green light bulbs by

the starboard light.

On a technical note, most people do not know that unless you are

actually participating in a sanctioned parade, it is not proper to

display any external lights, such as Christmas lights, that distract

from the navigational lights. The Harbor Patrol and the Coast Guard

are using their discretion in enforcing this regulation during

December, so cruise safely and do not install any extraneous lights,

especially spotlights that shine into another skipper’s eyes.

On another note, boaters should be concerned that the

Environmental Protection Agency has proposed to the Federal Registry

“Control of Emissions from Spark-Ignition Marine Vessels and Highway

Motorcycles (67 Fed. Reg.157, Aug. 14, 2002).”

The EPA’s regulation will require pressurizing gasoline fuel tanks

to reduce emission vapors on boats beginning in 2008. However, the

U.S. Coast Guard, the American Boat & Yacht Council and the National

Marine Manufacturers Assn. are all against pressurizing fuel tanks

because of the danger to boaters.

I do not want gasoline vapors venting inside my engine compartment

from a pressure relief valve, nor do I like having the fuel lines and

fittings constantly under pressure, so that they could spray out.

The EPA has extended the public’s written comment period to Jan.

7. Read more at www.epa.gov/otaq/marinesi.-

htm. You can mail comments to: Air Docket #A-2000-02, U.S. EPA,

EPA West (Air Docket), 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW, Room B108, Mail

Code: 6102T, Washington, D.C. 20460. Fax to (202) 566-1741, or send

e-mail to MCNPRM@epa.gov.

Safe voyages.

* MIKE WHITEHEAD is the Pilot’s boating and harbor columnist.

Send him your harbor and marine-related thoughts and story

suggestions via e-mail to Mike@BoathouseTV.com or visit

BoathouseTV.com.