Since my grandson will most likely always be around boats, I’m trying to get him started on running the boat, and being safe. Its a lot easier letting him take the boat back and let me relax. And you never know if I may go down and we are 30 miles offshore.
So far I’ve let him drive the boat back from offshore, from the gulf to the harbor, and then the canal to the house. I still dock the boat, he jumps off and ties us off. He’s good at holding a heading using the compass, I’ve told him 90 degrees and he will find land, you can’t always trust the electronics to work.
He recently turned 9, so next trip out I think we will go over the radio, how to deploy the life raft, and epirb. I think I’ll let him take us back from a dead stop, have him start the engines, electronics , and see if he can get us back on his own. We always have more than just the two of us offshore, but I want him to be able to handle it when he gets a little older.
My auto pilot is inop, so he fills in.
