All Things Considered

BY MARGOT ZALKIND AND MIKE DAVENPORT
PHOTO BY ED MORAN

It’s a good time to look around the boathouse and be sure that everything is ready for the spring rowing season.  

Here are some checklists from our book Water Ready. How to Get and Keep Your Rowing Equipment in its Prime.

The Boathouse Checklist: 

Things to consider for boathouse safety both inside and out.

Do you have…

• First-aid kits (stocked and checked)?
• Safety poster/reminders?
• Emergency phone contact numbers?
• Land-line phone?
• Logbook (electronic or paper)?
• Book to record all damaged/missing parts?

Inside the Boathouse 

Look around with a critical eye. Is there any way someone could get hurt here? Trip? Bang into something?

Look for:

• Sharp edges on racks
• Slippery, oily floors
• Rags
• Riggers on the floor
• Boats in the aisles
• Miscellaneous carts, wheels, parts, pontoons, ergs
• Bottles, trash, broken glass 
• Nails, screws, bolts on the floor.

Outside

The Docks and Ramps:

• Check for splintering wood or cracks
• Broken wood pieces
• Anything slippery—
  • Ice
  • Bird droppings
  • Moss 
• Any debris:
  • Trash
  • Broken glass
  • Fishing lures, lines, and hooks

We are an outdoor sport and work in open spaces and large areas. That means nature is always close at hand. Our spaces make appealing homes for all sorts of animals. Try to remove/relocate them before the season gets going.

We recommend being as proactive as possible in reducing unwanted collisions with nature. Sometimes that means removing the critter (as humanely as possible) or just removing the potential attractions.

Clean up, fix up, and row safely. Get into a safety mindset—on the water and in the boathouse.

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