Fishing in the Central Valley: Be safe, be smart when launching your boat

Launching a boat into the water can be one of the most dangerous times of a boating trip. Here are a few recommendations for avoiding some of the more common mistakes that happen when launching a boat.

Pulling a boat out of the water is a different issue that I will cover at another time.

• Be patient

When you’re excited and poised to back your boat into the water for some fun, be patient and make sure that everything is ready before you launch. I have found that I get distracted if someone comes over to talk to me while I am launching my boat. My system of prelaunch protocols get messed up and I make stupid mistakes such as not unhooking a rear tie down or not putting in a bilge plug. Yep, I’ve done it a few times. A proven system is important when launching and it keeps you safe, efficient and on track, even when someone is talking to you.

• Listen

As you back down the tow vehicle toward the water, turn off the radio and roll down the windows so you can hear everything going on outside the vehicle. I can’t overstate the importance of this habit. This is the first key to clear communication and responding quickly to unforeseen problems, like kids running around. You want to be able to know what’s happening around you.

• Communicate

In addition, make sure you can clearly see the person handling the boat, whether they are in the boat to back it off the trailer, or standing on the dock handling the attached leash line. Too many times, I have seen the vehicle driver begin to pull out of the water while the boat is still partially on the trailer, and the boat handler screaming for the driver to stop.But the driver couldn’t see or hear the handler.

It needs to be clear to the driver and the boat handler that the boat will not be backed into the water without clear visual and verbal communication and confirmation. This unchangeable simple rule has saved the day untold times for me.

• Have a plan

Do a full walk around the boat

I also suggest that it always pays off to take the time to do a full walk around check of the boat as the final step before backing down. Making sure that all the tie downs are undone, the bow leash line is connected and the bilge plug is in.

Back down slowly toward the water. Too many boaters back down too quickly, wanting to be sure the boat gets shoved off the trailer and into the water.

In most cases, a gentle water launch does the trick – and if something does go wrong you’ve got a better chance of recovering from it.

• And once in the water

When you’re at the dock, secure your bowline before anyone steps in. I’ve seen more near disasters at this tage than any other.

Transferring from the dock to a moving platform can be simple – or dangerous and this is the time to be on guard.

It is critical to lash the boat to the dock and to get the boat as close to the dock as possible, so no one has to jump or stretch out to reach the boat deck.

And be sure someone is available to help your passengers transfer safely and avoid an inadvertent trip and fall.

Docks and water are not forgiving. My Coast Guard course trainer told me that the dock was the most dangerous place at the lake.

Do not take it for granted. I had a near fatal accident seven years ago. That too is a story for another time.

Shortcuts can be costly. But having a sound system leads to safe, quick launches. And who doesn’t want to remain safe? Never give up.

This story was originally published July 4, 2025 at 9:43 AM with the headline "Fishing in the Central Valley: Be safe, be smart when launching your boat."