The Trouble With Buying Kids' Life Jackets

"You'll Grow Into It" Doesn't Work!

Kids grow fast. That's why frugal parents often buy their kid's shoes a little bigger than the actual size. However, when buying a kid's life jacket that's too large - a common mistake - the results can be heartrending because children in a wrong-sized life jacket can easily slip out. 

"I've sent my own kids to school with slightly bigger shoes," says BoatUS Foundation for Boating Safety President Chris Edmonston. "However, if a too-big life jacket slips off a child when their arms go above their head, there could be tragic results." Edmonston, himself a father of five, knows what he's talking about. Here are some tips on having the right-sized kids' life jacket:

• Kid's life jackets come in three sizes: infant (under 30 lbs.) which offer greater floatation for the head; child (30-50 lbs.) and youth (50-90 lbs.). Any child more than 90 lbs. should wear an adult life jacket. Only purchase life jackets that are US Coast Guard approved.

• "Every season I have my kids put on their life jacket to check for comfort and the proper size," said Edmonston. If you boat year round, it may be good to do this a couple times a year.

• To check for proper fit: 1.) Have the child stand with the jacket on and all buckles, zippers, crotch straps fastened. 2.) Grab the life jacket's shoulder area and pull straight up. The jacket should not move up to (or over) the child's ears. If it does, it's likely to be too big, and mom or dad need to find another one.

• The best fit for a kid's life jacket is one that fits snugly yet comfortably. If all of the fasteners cannot be attached, it's likely too small.

"If a child has a good fitting life jacket, they won't complain about wearing it," added Edmonston. "Better yet is to set the example and wear one yourself." 

A short video on how to pick a right-sized kid's life jacket is available at http://www.BoatUS.com/Foundation/LJLP/fit_video.asp. BoatUS also offers a Kids' Life Jacket Loaner Program at 530 locations where right-sized life jackets can be borrowed for the day or weekend. To find a location near you, go to www.BoatUS.com/Foundation/LJLP/map.

"Towing" And "Salvage" Who Pays for Each?

On-the-water breakdowns, running aground or other mishaps can ruin a day of boating or fishing fun. But when the towboat arrives on the scene, do you know if the service is a "tow" or a "salvage" job? If you?re ever in doubt, the safest bet is to ask the towboat crew. That?s because there could be a big difference in the cost of each service, and it also determines who pays the bill, says Boat Owners Association of The United States (BoatUS). 

While there is sometimes a fine line between the towing and salvage, there are a few clear indicators that point to each. "Salvage requires the existence of ?peril? to the distressed vessel or persons aboard, or peril to the rescue boat and its crew, or the marine environment," said Vice President of BoatUS Towing Services Adam Wheeler.

Historically and legally, salvage is any voluntary and successful rescue of a boat, its cargo, and/or passengers from peril at sea. Today that definition includes the successful avoidance of damage to a legally protected marine environment. 

Vessels hard aground, on rocks, taking on water or sunk are salvage, as are collisions, fires, breakaways or other types of immediate danger. Salvage also comes into play when specialized equipment such as pumps, air bags, or divers are called for - even if the boat is at the dock.

All TowBoatUS and Vessel Assist companies are committed to informing the owner of a boat - before beginning any work - if the procedure will be declared salvage. If the owner is not on board or the conditions are so perilous and the rescue of the boat requires immediate action, they?ll be notified as soon as possible after saving the boat. 

"On the other hand, when there is very little or no peril or damage to the vessel - you have a towing situation," said Wheeler. "A typical example is when you run out of gas or have a dead battery, and have subsequently dropped anchor to await assistance. Waters are calm, you?re no threat to navigation, your crew and boat are fine and there?s no peril to those on the response boat." Of the 65,000 requests for assistance made last year by boaters to BoatUS 24-hour Dispatch Centers, 98% were for routine towing services.

When it comes to soft ungroundings, BoatUS members enjoy a special agreement with the TowBoatUS and Vessel Assist on-the-water towing fleets which ensures that if there is little peril and no damage to the BoatUS member?s disabled boat, and only one towboat is needed to remove the softly grounded vessel from a shoal, it?s a simple towing job. Other commercial towing companies may or may not honor this agreement. 

The Costs
Nationwide, towing and soft ungrounding costs average about $600 and $800, respectively. These are either paid by an annual towing service plan or out-of-pocket by the boater. 

Salvage cases are usually covered by insurance - or out-of-pocket if self-insured - and are much more expensive than a tow. Salvage continues to be the way to award a rescuer who maintains a 24-hour state of readiness to risk life, limb and vessel for others, and often results in a charge based on the length of the vessel saved or a request for a percentage of the boat's post-casualty value. While it?s a reward for extraordinary service, the dollar amount awarded factors in the degree of peril as well as the risk to the salvor and their crew.

"There are significant expenses in operating and maintaining a professional towing operation," says Wheeler, "such as Captain?s and staff salaries, insurance, equipment maintenance and increasing fuel costs, not to mention capital expenses such as towboats and other specialized recovery equipment - and it all has to be ready to go at a moment?s notice," he added.

Time and circumstances permitting, Wheeler suggests that if it?s a salvage job, boaters should try to call their insurance company so they may attempt to negotiate with the salvor before the operation gets underway. If circumstances don?t allow this, ask the salvor for a fixed price and try to get it in writing. 

Wheeler also says that boaters should review their boat?s insurance policy to ensure it fully covers salvage. Some policies have limits, high deductibles, or may not include environmental damage - all of which would have to be paid out of pocket.

BoatUS also suggests having a copy of the BoatUS Open Form Yacht Salvage Contract aboard at all times, which assures that any salvage claim will go to local binding arbitration if negotiations between your insurance company and salvor fails. Designed to be more understandable, relevant to US laws and potentially money saving for all parties, the Open Form Contract is available free of charge at BoatUS.com/salvage or by calling 800-937-1937. 

For more information on BoatUS towing plans, go to BoatUS.com/towing or call 1-800-888-4869.

FOUR SALVAGE TIPS:

• Protect yourself by having both a towing service plan for basic towing assistance needs and an insurance policy that fully covers the costs of salvage.
• If you do have an incident, ask questions first, not later, to confirm whether the job is towing or salvage.
• Have your insurance claims department phone number aboard. If it?s salvage, you?ll want to try to contact them to help negotiate a fixed price.
• When all else fails, have a copy of BoatUS Open Form Yacht Salvage Contract aboard. You can get one for free at BoatUS.com/salvage.

How to Keep Working Waterfronts at Work

National Symposium March 25-28

Preserving and Growing Working Waterfronts 

Waterfronts are getting squeezed. Traditional activities once considered vital to coastal communities -- boat building, fishing, recreational boating and other water-dependent businesses -- must now compete for limited space on the shoreline. Residential development, zoning changes, shifting populations and energy production are just some of the pressures against a robust working waterfront. There's also a new factor -- more frequent, massive storm events -- that is inflicting massive change, begging the question: "How should devastated areas be redeveloped?" And if so, what are the best uses for waterfront land? 

All of these topics and more will be presented at the National Working Waterfronts & Waterways Symposium in Tacoma, Washington on March 25-28 and presented by Washington / Oregon; Sea Grant Programs. Boat Owners Association of The United States BoatUS; is a Patron Co-Sponsor and created the first Working Waterfronts Symposium in 2007 to draw national attention to the critical loss of recreational boating access. Local policy makers, elected officials, government agencies, planners, economic development, tourism and marine interests, non-profit organizations, community activists, grassroots groups and interested citizens are all invited to attend.

Topics on deck include economic and social impacts of working waterfronts, successful local, regional, state and federal strategies to address working waterfront issues, the future of working waterfronts including the potential impacts of changing climate and how to keep water-dependant businesses commercially viable. Sessions include: Coastal Smart Growth Approaches, Government Funding Programs, Strategies for Recreational and Commercial Fishing, Dynamics of Port Sizes on the West Coast, Sustaining Small Community Waterfronts, as well as Financing Tools, Economic Strategies, Sustainable Seafood and Environmental issues and more. 

In one panel, BoatUS Assistant Vice President of Government Affairs Ryck Lydecker will discuss the Federal Boating Infrastructure Grant (BIG) program that can help attract cruising boaters to local communities. Shepherded by BoatUS through Congress in1998, the program offers matching grants to build transient slips or moorage for people who travel by boat. "The BIG Program is the off-ramp and safe parking lot that delivers the economic impact of passing boaters ashore," said Lydecker.

Lydecker will also represent recreational boating in a symposium wrap-up session intended to chart a course for the future of the nation's working waterfronts. 

The Symposium begins March 25 with a full day of field trips around the Tacoma waterfront region. For more information, go to http://depts.washington.edu/uwconf/workingwaterfronts/ or contact Nicole Fagin at wwaters2013@uw.edu or 206-685-8286.

Learning from Sandy: Securing Boats to Protect Marinas, Clubs

Three Webinar Series March 5, 12, 26, Looks at
Cause and Prevention of Hurricane Damage

 

Hurricane Sandy was the single-largest recreational boating industry loss ever recorded, with over $650 million in damage to boats alone. Not included in that figure are the hundreds of millions of dollars in damages to marinas, boat yards and yacht clubs. Boats that didn't stay put in Sandy's exceptional storm surge caused damage to other boats, marina infrastructure, and private and public property. The Association of Marina Industries (AMI) and the Boat Owners Association of The United States (BoatUS) are teaming up to offer a series of three online webinars on March 5, 12 and 26, 2013 at 2:00 EST for marine facility operators and others interested in learning about how to secure boats to avoid damage in future storms. 

"When boats get loose in a storm like Sandy, it creates problems both within and beyond your marina's property line," said BoatUS Technical Services Director Beth Leonard. "It is a double whammy: your boating facility is devastated and the surrounding community's recovery is impacted as well, so keeping boats in place is essential to limiting damage. Our goal is to give boating facility operators the information that can help them make informed decisions about planning for the next big storm, with an eye towards reducing damage to their own infrastructure, their neighborhood, and their customers' boats."

The first in the series, "Sandy Overview: What We've Learned," (March 5), will look at what made Hurricane Sandy so destructive and the types of damage it caused to boats and to marinas, and share some survival stories. It will also try to answer the question: Was hauling boats, as BoatUS has long advocated, the right answer this time? 

The March 12 webinar, "Securing Boats on Land," will focus on the challenges of securing boats inside storage structures as well as outside on the hard, and discuss some potential solutions and best practices.

The March 26 webinar, "Securing Boats in the Water," will look at the challenges presented by moorings and by various dock structures such as fixed or floating docks, and also look at solutions and best practices. 

Much of the information included in the webinars comes from the industry-leading BoatUS Catastrophe (CAT) Team, which has over three decades of storm salvage and claims experience, and faced its biggest challenge ever with Hurricane Sandy. The team, which hit the ground running just one day after the storm made landfall, was the largest ever assembled in the Association's history and worked in seven states recovering hundreds of boats. 

The cost to attend is $10 per webinar for members of AMI or BoatUS, and, for non-members, $25 for one webinar, $40 for two and $60 for all three. NY and NJ facilities are invited to attend for free, compliments of AMI and BoatUS, but they must still register. Any proceeds after costs will be donated to the NJ Recovery and Relief Fund to aid recreational marine businesses damaged during Hurricane Sandy. 

Online registration begins Monday, Feb. 18. Go to http://marinaassociation.org/training/online-webinars, or, for more information, call (866) 367-6622 or visit MarinaAssociation.org.