Knowing how to protect boat keys from loss or damageis very important.
One of the most annoying experiences is when you want to drive your boat so badly but cannot find the keys.
Apart from the inconvenience it causes, your boat is at risk of theft when you lose the keys.
That is why you should always endeavor to protect your boat keys from loss.
Some of the ways you can avoid losing your boat key easily is by;
- Boat Operator Should Use Clothes That Have a Pocket
- Keep Boat Keys In a Bunch
- Keep Children Out Of Boat Deck
- Remove Boat Key From the Ignition When Boat Is Off
- Avoid Contact Of Boat Keys With Salt Water
- All Passengers Should Be Out Of Boat Before Operator Leaves
1) Boat Operator Should Use Clothes That Have a Pocket
It is hard at times to keep keys safe when you walk about holding them.
You can easily drop them to pick up or hold another thing without remembering to pick them back.
This is more dangerous especially when you are in the boatyard where you might be in different sections.
At such a place, you might move around a lot and the chances of losing your boat key if not well held is high.
That is why a boat operator should always wear clothes that have a good pocket.
With that, you can easily store your boat keys safely even when you move around the boatyard.
2) Keep Boat Keys In a Bunch
To protect boat keys from loss, you should make sure that you keep them in a bunch.
This will help secure them well.
This is because when you hold a single key, it can easily slip from your hand without you really noticing.
But when it is a bunch, you will easily notice when they are not in your hand.
That is why you should try and keep your boat keys in a bunch to avoid losing them easily.
When using a bunch to keep the keys, make sure that it is not a plastic one that can easily break.
Make use of a stainless one that is resistant to break and also does not corrode easily.
This will help protect the boat key from damage.
3) Keep Children Out Of Boat Deck
Children play a lot anywhere they are.
It does not matter to them if they are in the house or if they are in the public.
Such playful attitude is also exhibited by children when they are in a boat too.
That is why they have to be well controlled in a lot of places.
This includes when they are in the boat too.
When children are in the boat, make sure that they are not too close to the ignition switch of the boat.
If they are, they might mess around with the boat key.
In the process of playing with the key, they can throw it into the water.
When that happens, you just say bye bye to the key of your boat.
To avoid this, make sure that you keep an eye on the children on the boat.
Also, make sure that you instruct them on where they should not enter and what they should not touch too.
4) Remove Boat Key From the Ignition When Boat Is Off
When the engine of a boat is off, make sure that you remove the key from the ignition.
This is because after the boat engine is turned off, people will be moving out of the boat.
At some point, the operator might remove sight from the ignition switch of the boat.
In such a situation, someone can easily remove the key of the boat without the knowledge of the operator of the boat.
That is why it is always important for the operator of the boat to remove the keys from the ignition when the boat is off.
The only time the key of the boat should be in the ignition is when the engine is running.
Other than that, remove the key and put it in your pocket to keep the boat key from missing.
5) Avoid Contact Of Boat Keys With Salt Water
One of the things that damage some parts of a boat is salt.
This does not spare the outboard motor neither does it spare the key of a boat.
That is why it is always important to rinse the outboard motor with fresh water when you are out of salt water.
This will help prevent the salt water from corroding the parts of the outboard motor.
This also applies to the key of your boat too.
Make sure that you keep it away from contact with salty water as much as you can.
This will protect boat key from damage due to corrosion from the salt water.
6) All Passengers Should Be Out Of Boat Before Operator Leaves
At some times when I take a boat trip, I discover some wrong actions from the boat operators.
This includes actions like the operator leaving the boat when a lot of passengers are still in the boat on reaching the destination.
Most of the times, passengers are prone to stealing something.
This is also extended to people who use a boat.
But when the boat operator is there, the chances of such happening is very slim.
That is why the boat operator must wait for all the passengers to leave before he leaves the boat.
At such point, it he forgets the key of the boat on the deck of the boat, it is easy to see it when he searches.
But if that happens with some evil minded passengers still inside, the opposite will be the case.
In worse cases as it happens sometimes, the boat can be easily stolen.
But when you wait for the passengers to leave, that is one of the ways on how to protect boat keys from loss or damage.
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