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Part 2 - Know Your Boat
By "The Bass Coach"
Roger Lee Brown
rlbrown@capital.net
Secondly, anglers need to know how to operate their boats in most any kind of conditions that may arise. Let’s say that we launched our boat early in the morning when the weather was nice, clear, and calm, and the forecast for the day was light winds of 5 to 10 miles per hour (yeah right! how many times has your local forecaster ever got the weather right?) and we went to some of our favorite fishing spots and nothing was biting, and then we went a little further and further and as the day went on before we realized it we were about 10 miles from where we launched our boat. Now, all of a sudden the wind starts to blow a little harder and harder more like 25 to 35 miles per hour instead of what was forecasted and the waves start showing white caps and grew to 2 and 3 feet high and we only have a 16’ to a 18’ bass boat (ugh-oh). The first thing we want to do is make sure that all passengers on board are wearing life jackets, especially the driver of the boat making sure that his or her life jacket is connected to the safety cord that fastens to the kill switch. Next, make sure that everything is secured to the boat deck (boxes, rods, baits, etc.) or they are put securely in compartments to keep them from flying back and hitting anyone in the boat while in motion.
Before we get started for a rough trip back to where we launched out of, I would strongly recommend two very important items you should have on your boat which are:
1. A electric trim (or tilt) switch for the outboard gas motor (which usually comes equipped on your boat when you purchase it)
2. A "Hot-Foot" (normally an option in most bass boats,) which is a accelerator pedal that is connected to the floor and works just like a gas pedal in an automobile. I have had a "Hot-Foot" installed in all my boat(s) ever since they were introduced on the market because I personally feel that this is one of the best safety features you can have when operating a boat, especially in rough water conditions. This pedal allows a boat driver to keep "Both" hands on the steering wheel especially when the water gets rough (for maximum boat control), and it will slow your boat down real quick when you let your foot off the gas pedal. The only problem that I have found with a "Hot-Foot" is that some of the boat dealerships I have visited claim that it voids ones warranty if they had one installed in their new boat, so please check with your dealership and make sure of your boat warranty before installing or having one installed.
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