"MUDHEN" CHECKLIST
Recently "Maryland Yellowthroat" published my article on boating and
birding ('Boating and birding on the Eastern Shore,' vol. 22, no. 5, 2002,
pp. 1, 6-8). Here is a checklist of items that may be of interest to
boating birders. I try to take all of this each time I go boating. Since
I am often in remote areas it is important to think of safety, comfort,
food, drink, and communication concerns. Obviously a canoer or kayaker
won't have room for all of this but should, however, take some of these
items. Many of my boating forays last for 10 hours or more so it is vital
to have a good variety of supplies and gear.
I am prepared to overnight in the boat in the event of whatever mishaps may
happen. Sooner or later THEY WILL. I have had 2 melanomas so it behooves
me (and everyone else) to keep the sun off. Skin cancer incidence is
increasing alarmingly. My dermatologist, an M.D.-Ph.D. and closet birder,
informs me that even with the boat canopy (Bimini top) deployed,
long-sleeved clothing, and a hat with a wide brim the reflection of the sun
off the water can damage skin of the face, ears, and hands. Increasingly I
wear white cotton gloves, even in summer, to keep the sun and bugs off and
they also reduce the swelling in my hands from gripping the helm for long
periods while the engine is blasting away.
All of these items, believe it or not, fit easily onto or into my rather
small, 16' 8" Hydra-Sports power boat with a 50 H.P. Johnson outboard, "the
Mudhen", which does have 7 small storage areas. A half-full medium-sized
cooler functions well as an extra seat as well as a temporary storage area
for items one needs to keep dry. Once under way I usually put my wallet
and car keys in the cooler; they won't do me any good on Bloodsworth
Island.
What I don't take aboard, unfortunately, is much knowledge of what to do if
something goes wrong with the engine. All the more reason to be
well-provisioned and supplied. Many of these items are good to have in a
car also, in which certain de facto voyages are taken. When it is quite
windy and rainy handling a car can be similar to handling a boat, adjusting
to wind currents.
Behavior of captain and passengers. For some reason piltoing even a small
boat sometimes lends itself to occasional Bligh-like behavior by the
"captain", including the swearing of great oaths. This sort of syndrome,
in my experience, is worse with sailboat operators, who can be especially
tyrannical, particularly with their spouses or children, and are endowed
with a superiority complex over any and all power boat operators. In as
much as there IS potential danger in boating plus occasions when prompt
action is necessary, this offhand behavior, totally unacceptable ashore, is
somewhat understandable and justified. Obviously the boat operator should
be concerned about the safety of everyone but this does not give them a
blank check for acting out.
"Avast, Matey. STAND OFF from binnacle and capstan. Get thee AMIDSHIPS to
the galley for pepperoni, Gatorade and Tastykake. PUMP THE BILGE. GO AFT.
Lay a chum slick for mossbunker gulls, Mother Carey's chickens, mutton
birds, tarrocks, tuna birds, strikers, and bosun birds. AND THEN sit YOUR
ARSE on the POOP DECK and BE STILL! BLITHERING IDIOT!! Unfit to swab the
head."
But by the same token passengers should try to be perceptive and stand by,
ready to help with poles, boat hooks, lines, fetching food or drink, etc.,
or whatever. I am amazed at how often passengers have no idea about when
is a good time, or how, to fend off, drop (rather than throw) anchor,
secure lines around pilings, offer helpful comments on how the trailer is
oriented at the launch site, and so on. The boat operator needs to tell
the passengers what might be expected of them, what to do, and how to do it
and never assume they know, otherwise the passengers will be equally amazed
by him/her/it.
The lists below are ideals. In practice I usually neglect to bring several
items but having a complete armamentarium is at least a goal to shoot for.
TOP PRIORITIES:
drain plug (is it in? carry extra one)
gas up, top off tank and oil container
check and re-check trailer connections, fit of boat on trailer, etc.
determine if passengers know how to swim
check if outboard is correctly tilted and resting on its supports for
trailering
check trailer tire inflation
cock outboard up high when launching
Make sure engine is lowered into water when starting it
ITEMS:
ace bandage
anchors, 1 small, one medium-sized
binoculars
boat hook(s)
boots (2 pairs)
bug spray
camera
cans of drink (no glass)
cell phone(s)
chartbook - navigation
chocolates
chock(s) for rear tires (safety feature for use during launching/pulling
times)
clothes - complete change incl. belt
coathanger (good for cleaning out drainage areas)
cookies
cooler
crab net
crowbar
cushions (flotation)
dashboard note (w/ boat description, itinerary, estimated time/date of
return, names of boaters, phone number to call if there is concern)
documents (boat & trailer registration, fishing license, outboard motor &
owner's manuals)
duct tape
ear protectors
first aid kit
fishing gear, extra lures
flags, orange for tide markers (determines after 1/2 hr. or so which way
tide is going)
flares & flare gun
flashlight(s)
fly swatters
fruit
fuel fluid (forget correct name; absorbs, helps burn off, water if there is
condensation in the fuel tank)
funnel
garbage bags (for temporary waterproofing if there's sudden rainfall)
gloves, both cotton and heavy duty plus long rubber gloves & "scouring pad"
fishing gloves
G.P.S. unit (I don't have one yet but plan to acquire one soon)
hammer
hand pump (if bilge pump fails)
hats
hearing aids
hydrogen peroxide
ice
itinerary (leave with family or other people ashore)
kaopectate or equivalent
keys to boat, car, padlock
knives, Swiss Army plus a large knife
life preservers
matches
notebooks, small ones for recording data
oil, at least 2 gallons
padlock
pants, long
pens
pencils
phone numbers/directory incl. Sea Tow, Coast Guard, my marine service
company
pliers, regular & needle-nosed
poke stick/long pole
poles, short sections to prop open storage areas
potato chips in Pringles tube (mediocre chips but the tube protects them
from breakage and moisture)
power winch connection
pulleys & hooks
rags
rain jacket, pants, suit, Grundens cap
rail tape
reef shoes
river bag for dry storage of complete extra set of clothes, optics, tape
player
ropes, extra (carry minimum of 200 combined feet for the 2 anchors plus an
extra 100')
safety pins
sandwiches
scissors
screwdrivers, Phillips and regular
shirt, oversized, long-sleeved
shock cords
spanner/wrench, large, for drain plug
sponges
sprocket wrench kit
starter fluid (sprays on engine cylinders to facilitate ignition)
strap for securing boat on trailer
sunscreen
swimsuit
3-in-one oil
tissue, moistened
toilet paper (store in old coffee with plastic lid can to maintain form &
dryness)
toothpaste/brush
topsiders
towel(s)
umbrella
watch
water, 2 one-gallon jugs & numerous small bottles of "designer" spring
water
WD-40 (but not R2D2 or C3PO)
weather radio
whistle
wirecutter
RENEWABLE PAPERWORK:
trailer registration
boat registration
fishing license
Talbot County launch ramp permit
INSTRUMENTATION ALREADY EBEDDED IN (NOT embedded with; O.K. to say imbued
with but not embedded with; please make note, Rummy) THE BOAT:
water temperature gauge
water depth gauge
mileage odometer (mine does statute not nautical miles)
compass
r.p.m. gauge (tachometer)
engine tilt indicator
light, bow
light, stern (anchor)
horn
bilge pump
oil gauge (emits piercing whistle if oil is low; impossible to ignore.)
"I sing o' the Bay,
my song is of the islands,
ere they wash away.
what creatures lived on
Sharp's, Long, Nelson's, the Roystons
vanquished by the waves?
but gentle tides sough
Spartina and Juncus grass
skies full of Willets. ...
so sing it yourself.
put this poem back on the shelf.
shove off from the landing.
shove off from the land.
go sing o' the Bay." - "Cheaspeake haiku"
Best to all. Harry Armistead, 523 E. Durham St., Philadelphia, PA
19119-1225. 215-248-4120. Any off-list replies, please to:
harryarmistead at hotmail dot com
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