Module 4 - Safety
Safety Equipment Aboard
What you will learn
Build and brief an accessible safety-equipment plan matched to the yacht, crew, operating area, passage and applicable rules.
A useful inventory is risk-based and usable under pressure. Equipment that is inappropriate, overdue, buried or unknown to the crew does not complete the plan.
Start with the yacht, number and needs of people aboard, operating area, distance from help, weather, water temperature, daylight, passage length and the rules that apply. A coastal plan may include correctly fitted lifejackets, suitable harnesses and tethers, alerting and locating methods, fire-fighting equipment, first aid, sound signalling, lighting, communications and a practical means of recovering a person from the water. The exact carriage requirement is not identical for every pleasure vessel or voyage.
For a UK pleasure vessel under 13.7 metres, a liferaft is not automatically mandatory, but the skipper should consider distance from other boats and emergency services, water temperature, weather and the consequences of fire or sinking. Choose, stow and service any raft for the actual people and passage; the available crew must be able to reach and launch it.
A grab bag supplements the particular raft pack. Prioritise raising and maintaining the alarm, helping rescuers locate the survivors, protection from exposure and medical needs, then food and water. It may include a registered EPIRB or PLB, waterproof handheld VHF, suitable signals, torch, thermal protection, first aid, medication, water and a safety knife. Reconcile the list with what the raft already carries.
The departure briefing shows where equipment is, who uses it and what triggers each emergency plan. Check dates, batteries, service indicators and physical access; practice person recovery and make sure someone other than the skipper can raise the alarm and control the yacht. Abandon only when remaining aboard is more dangerous and follow rescue-service direction where available.
| Function | Question to answer | Example evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Prevent | How do we stop separation, fire or flooding? | Fit, strong points, shut-offs, seacocks and checks |
| Alert | How will we tell somebody, from here? | DSC/VHF, registered beacon and backup method |
| Locate | How will a known rescuer find us? | Position, light, smoke, SART or beacon homing |
| Recover | Can this crew lift an incapacitated person? | Practiced yacht-specific recovery equipment |
| Survive | What protects people if the yacht is untenable? | Accessible raft, exposure protection and reconciled grab bag |
Turn the inventory into a crew plan
A family crew is preparing a cold-water coastal passage that will finish after dark. One person takes essential medication and only two people can helm confidently.
1. Match
Review passage risks, legal requirements, crew sizes, clothing, medical needs, communications coverage and recovery method.
2. Inspect
Check fit, condition, dates, charge, registration, service state and whether the least-strong crew member can reach and deploy the equipment.
3. Brief
Point to each critical item, assign alarm and recovery roles, and explain what changes the plan or triggers abandonment.
Sense check: Ask a crew member to locate the distress controls, fire equipment, first aid, recovery gear and grab bag without help. Any hesitation reveals a preparation gap.
Common mistake or limitation
- A generic checklist cannot decide the correct equipment for every yacht; vessel type, people, operating area, passage and applicable rules change the answer.
- A copied grab-bag list can duplicate the raft pack while omitting medication, registration details or the most useful locating device.
- Stowed is not the same as accessible: equipment behind stores, beyond a fire or too heavy for the available crew may be unusable.
Recap
- Risk, legal scope and the real crew determine the inventory; no short list is universal.
- Inspect condition, registration, service state and access, then show the crew how and when each item is used.
- A liferaft and grab bag form one survival system, and their contents must be reconciled rather than copied blindly.
Optional quick check
Section 7 of 14
Which check best shows that a yacht's safety-equipment plan is usable, not merely complete on paper?
Sources and factual review
Reviewed 2 September 2026 - Compass Revision editorial review.
Continue studying Safety
This public lesson is part of Revision Module 4. Full revision access adds the guided Learn, Practise and Test flow, flashcards and revision progress.