"What you need to know before you go"
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Equip Your Boat for ICW Travel
A typical "snowbird trip" down the ICW can be as much as 1,600 miles in distance and can span two months or more. Although it is a long trip, you're never far away from a marina or marine hardware store. Some boaters choose to "travel light" and take a minimum of tools, spares and supplies, while others gear up for a high level of self sufficiency. Keep in mind that prices for marine items will be higher in the more remote areas of the ICW and may take some time to obtain.
The following equipment list includes the items typically needed for safe and comfortable operation of a mid-sized sailboat on coastal and ICW waters. Items are grouped by the capability that they provide.
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Equipping Your Boat for ICW Travel
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Item |
Link to Detail |
| Anchoring | ||
| Primary Anchor, chain and line suitable for the boat | ||
| Secondary anchor, chain and rode | ||
| Kedge anchor and rode | ||
| Anchor light | ||
| Bridle for anchor chain | ||
| Chafing gear | ||
| Collision Avoidance | ||
| See Other Vessels | ||
| Binoculars | ||
| Radar (optional, preferred) | ||
| Be Seen by Other Vessels | ||
| Deck light - mounted so that it can be moved to illuminate the sails | ||
| Radar reflectors | ||
| Running lights (required) | ||
| Spotlight (to shine on sails) | ||
| Tri-color masthead light (preferred) | ||
| Emergency Measures | ||
| Horn | ||
| White anticollision flares (optional) for night time use | Pains Wessex recall notice | |
| Communication | ||
| Cell Phone (backup coastal communications) | ||
| Cell phone (as backup for calling the USCG) | ||
| Spare battery for cell phone | ||
| List of USCG phone numbers | ||
| VHF Radio | ||
| Handheld VHF radio, waterproof case and spare battery pack (optional) | ||
| Permanent mount VHF radio (highly recommended) | ||
| Maritime Mobile Service Identity (MMSI) registration number for DSC equipped VHF radios. | Link to BOAT/US registration web site | |
| Crew Safety | ||
| PFD for each crew member with attached whistle and personal strobe |
||
| Type IV throwable PFD's (2) in cockpit | ||
| Dewatering | ||
| Buckets (at least 2) | ||
| High-water alarm in bilge - set for 6" above bilge pump trigger level (optional) | ||
| Manual bilge pump (permanent mount) | ||
| High capacity emergency manual pump (optional - good idea if you're sailing in areas where help may be slow in coming) | ||
| Softwood plugs for each through-hull, stored in zip-loc bags | ||
| Dinghy (prepare for extended cruising) | ||
| Spare shear pin for dinghy motor | ||
| Set of spark plugs for dinghy motor and spark plug wrench to fit | ||
| Repair kit for inflatable dinghys | ||
| Docking | ||
| Four large fenders; two small fenders | ||
| Bicycle pump and inflation needle for inflating fenders | ||
| Two 4' long fenderboards (sections of 2x6 with holes drilled in each end) | ||
| Docklines - two 40' springlines, four 25' docklines | ||
| Drinking Water | ||
| Obtain & Transport | ||
| 5 gallon jerry can(s) for carrying water from the dock | ||
| Household water filter fitted with 8" hose for filtering dock water into jerry cans | ||
| Filtering / Sanitizing | ||
| Sediment filter mounted after pressure pump | ||
| Sanitary filter mounted at faucet | ||
| Household bleach for sanitizing (Don't use if you have aluminum tanks!) | ||
| Storage | ||
| Primary water tank(s) with capacity of at least 3 gallons per person per day | ||
| Solar shower bag (optional) | ||
| Fire Fighting | ||
| Ability to cut all 12v battery power with master switch(s) | ||
| Automatic halon fire extinguisher in engine compartment (optional, highly recommended) | ||
| Fire extinguisher in cockpit, galley and each sleeping cabin | ||
| First Aid | ||
| Basic first aid kit | List of supplies | |
| Fishing | ||
| Assortment of lures, leaders, sinkers, etc. | ||
| Filleting knife and cutting board | ||
| Gaff for bringing fish on board | ||
| Gloves to handle fish with / the orange "grip" gloves are excellent | ||
| Rod and reel loaded | ||
| Fix Broken Gear | ||
| Click here for checklist of spares and supplies | ||
| Click here for checklist of tools | ||
| Generate Electricity | ||
| Source of backup energy, other than the primary engine/alternator | ||
| Digital voltmeter, amp-hour meter or some other way to monitory battery bank | ||
| House battery bank sufficient to store 2x daily need in amp-hours | 12v Energy Budget Planning Spreadsheet | |
| Heavy Weather Sailing | ||
| Roller furling/reefing system on jib | ||
| Reefing system on mainsail with two reefs | ||
| Man Overboard (MOB) Recovery | ||
| Dye marker packets (4) | ||
| MOB pole, horseshoe buoy, strobe and poly line | ||
| Helmsman's pouch containing strobe, dye marker and flares | ||
| Lifesling or similar recovery gear | ||
| Type IV throwable PFD's | ||
| Motoring | ||
| Click here for a checklist of spare engine parts and supplies | ||
| Sufficient fuel is onboard to allow for 24 hours of motoring | ||
| 5 gallon jerry can (at least one) to allow you to shuttle fuel to the boat if you can't get to a fuel dock. | ||
| Two engine ignition keys. | ||
| Navigation | ||
Manual Navigation |
||
| Binoculars / Optional: high-power stabilized binoculars are very effective | ||
| Calculator for working out time/speed/distance calculations | ||
| Compass - Hand-held and permanently mounted ship's compass | ||
| Cruising guide books for the area(s) you're visiting | ||
| Lead line for taking soundings | ||
| Paper charts for the area you sail in and for the harbors you'll likely stop at | NOAA Chart Index | |
| Tide tables (e.g. Eldridge Almanac for East Coast) | ||
| Tools for paper-based navigation - pencils, eraser, dividers, protractor, parallel rules or rolling rule, calculator | ||
Electronic Navigation |
||
| Depth sounder (electronic) | ||
| Electronic charting tools (optional) - Chart plotter and chart chips (or computer and charting software | ||
| GPS(s) - Primary and handheld backup. Make sure to have plenty of batteries for handheld GPS's. Also carry data cable(s) if you're hooking up a GPS to your computer. | ||
| Inverter (if using a 110v item like a laptop for navigation). Bring a spare inverter as well | ||
| Radar (optional but recommended) | ||
| Speed and distance log (knotmeter) | ||
| Personal Gear | ||
| Camera | ||
| Clothing / Towel | ||
| Eyeglasses or contacts (spares) | ||
| Flashlight | ||
| Foul weather gear / sea boots | ||
| Knife | ||
| LED headlamp | ||
| Prescription medications | ||
| Sunscreen lotion / hat | ||
| Wool watch cap | ||
| Repair Sails and Rigging | ||
| Sail sewing kit: - six heavy-duty needles - two spools of #4 whipping twine - needle nose pliers - sailmakers palm - spare sailcloth for patches - sail repair tape (adhesive) - |
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| Sailing | ||
| Spare winch handle | ||
| Ship's Papers / Regulatory Items | ||
Registration & Licensing |
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| State registration numbers on boat | ||
| Certificate of registration for boat | ||
| Certificate of registration for dinghy | ||
| FCC Ship's Station radio license | ||
Environmental Compliance |
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| Oil Placard posted in prominent location | ||
| Trash placard posted in prominent location | ||
| Trash plan document (required on boats 39' and longer) | ||
Other |
||
| Ship's Log | ||
| USCG Required Equipment / Items | ||
| Bell | ||
| Horn or other sound producing device | ||
| MSD - head cannot discharge directly overboard in US waters. | ||
| Trash disposal plan (required on all boats >39') | Sample form | |
| Visual distress signals | BOAT/US Foundation review of different flares | |
| Warmth - Keep the Crew Warm | ||
| Source of heat that can be safely operated while underway | ||
| Adequate fuel is on board for the heater | ||
| Wool blankets and/or sleeping bag for each crew member | ||
| Wire rack or shelf for drying wet articles in the engine compartment | ||
| Weather | ||
Receive Weather Reports |
||
| VHF radio with capability for receiving weather reports | ||
Links to Outside Resources
The following links provide links to further reading, manufacturers websites and more information on "how to"
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Item |
Link to Detail |
| Topic | ||
| Topic | ||
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