Safety Equipment Every Small Boat Should Carry

There is nothing quite like a quiet morning on the river, or the first push of tide under a small boat in an estuary. But the difference between a lovely day and a long one is often just a few items of kit. You do not need a locker full of expensive gear to be safe. You need the right basics, kept in good order and close to hand.

Start With a Proper Lifejacket

For most small boats on UK rivers and estuaries, a 150N automatic lifejacket is the sensible minimum. It turns an unconscious wearer face-up far more reliably than a foam buoyancy aid, which is really designed for sheltered inland paddling and dinghy sailing. Fit matters as much as buoyancy: tighten the waist and chest straps, fasten the crotch strap every time, and make sure the jacket cannot ride up over your head.

Check your jacket before every season. Look at the gas cylinder for corrosion, weigh it, and inspect the firing mechanism. Replace the rearming kit if it has been fired or is out of date. Add a light, a whistle and a small knife. Children need child-specific jackets, not adult ones cinched down, and they should wear them from the pontoon onwards.

Communication That Actually Works

A fixed VHF radio with digital selective calling is the single most useful safety item on a small boat. It reaches other vessels and the rescue services far beyond mobile phone range, and Channel 16 is monitored. A handheld waterproof VHF is a good backup, or the main set on a very small open boat. Keep it charged and stowed in a dry bag or on a lanyard.

Your mobile phone is not a substitute, but it is a useful second line. Put it in a waterproof pouch, keep it charged, and know that 999 or 112 works at sea. If you use a phone, ask for the coastguard and be ready to give your position, boat description and number of people aboard. A laminated card with your details, emergency contacts and route saves precious minutes.

Distress Signals and Visibility

Flares are still carried by many small boats, and if you have them, treat them with respect. Store them in a waterproof container, check expiry dates, and know how to use them before you need to. A red hand flare, an orange smoke and a parachute rocket cover inshore and coastal use. Never fire one as a joke, and never point it downwind at another boat.

Electronic distress flares and a powerful waterproof torch are increasingly popular alternatives, especially for inland and estuary use. A torch with a strobe mode, plus spare batteries, helps you be seen in the dark. Add a radar reflector if you venture into busier waters, and a high-visibility sprayhood or jacket with reflective tape. In low light, being seen is as important as seeing.

First Aid and Personal Care

A basic first aid kit should live on board in a waterproof case. Stock it with assorted plasters, sterile dressings, a trauma dressing, bandages, medical tape, scissors, tweezers, disposable gloves and a CPR face shield. Add blister plasters, seasickness tablets, painkillers, antihistamine cream and rehydration sachets. Keep prescription medicines on board and tell your crew where they are.

Cold water is the real risk in UK waters, so pack a foil blanket and a spare fleece in a dry bag. Know how to treat hypothermia: get the person out of the wind and wet clothes, insulate them, and warm them slowly. For burns, cool with clean water for at least twenty minutes. For cuts, irrigate and cover. A short first aid course is worth more than any kit, but the kit buys you time.

Tools, Spares and a Plan

Small boats break in small ways, and a few tools prevent a small problem becoming a call for help. Carry a bailer or bucket, a manual bilge pump, a paddle or oars, and a spare kill cord. Add an anchor with enough warp for your area, a sharp knife, a torch, cable ties, tape, spare fuses, spark plugs and a basic tool kit. For outboards, a spare impeller and fuel filter can save a day.

Before you leave, check the weather and tide tables. In estuaries, a falling tide can leave you on mud for hours, and wind against tide can turn a calm river into a washing machine. Tell someone ashore where you are going and when you expect to be back. Keep a waterproof grab bag with your radio, phone, flares, first aid kit and warm layers. Stow it where you can reach it without moving from the helm.

A Simple Check Routine

Kit only works if it is ready. Before every trip, run through a two-minute check: lifejackets on and fastened, kill cord attached, radio on and set to the right channel, flares in date, first aid kit sealed, fuel topped up, and the weather forecast noted. After every trip, rinse and dry everything and rearm any used lifejacket.

You do not need to be an expert to be safe on the water. You need to be prepared, visible and able to call for help. Get those basics right, and you can relax into the real pleasure of UK waterside living: the light on the water, the pull of the tide, and the quiet satisfaction of a day well spent afloat.