Hey guys,
I was wondering the other day if we should have a thread concerning safety standards when deploying ours fishes, so I just start with it and shoot away:
Most of the time, I'm on my own on the boat and don't have a second person on board. Therefore I proceed like this.
1. Always wear a life vest when handling your fish.
Common sense here. Make sure the vest can handle the extra weight of the fish in case you're falling or get dragged over board by the fish.
2. Stay away from the cables.
My fish weighs 25 kg (50 pounds) plus the weight of the extended cable. I always make sure that I stay away from the cable in order not to get "looped in". If I get entangled by the cable, I for sure will not be able to stay afloat with 25+ kg hooked up to my foot, arm, body or what ever.
3. Do not operate the cable while the engine is engaged.
If caught by the cable for any reason and the boat is in motion you'll be dragged under water just by the downforce of the fish.
I rather let the fish drop to the bottom and drive it clear again, than taking the risk of having the boat running without someone on the helm/throttle.
4. Make sure that your way is clear when the fish is deployed and you're underway
Getting your fish caught in a fisher net will not just result in a unnecessary recovery operation for your fish. The owner of the net will be pretty upset if it gets damaged by someone trying to get images of the seabed without official permission or orders. I think we all know what I mean. Same story about other "known" underwater installations.
5. Check you're surroundings when you're underway.
I managed to nearly drive into a nature reservation being too occupied with the screen. Luckily I rammed a marker buoy and heard the bang when I entered the reservation....(I wrote about it somewhere here in one of my first posts). Think about swimmers, divers, other boaters, piers and so on.
That's it from my side for a start.
I'm sure you guys also had some close calls and I hope you are willing to share your experiences with us. After all, we are all in the "same boat" and old enough not to be too embarrassed about our screw ups and to share them with others so they don't have to go the same road
. Maybe we even come up with some funny stories as well.
So jump in and fill this thread with life.
Regards from the sandbox / Harry