This unofficial pre departure boat checklist lists what federal rules ask a recreational boat to carry, then the boat and the trip, from the Coast Guard's guide revised November 2023. State law may add items.
Read the full guide
Check the boat before every trip
1. Press Print blank sheet, or keep the page open on a phone at the dock.
2. Work down the rows. Type 1 when a row is checked: the equipment and papers first, then the boat, then the trip.
3. Cross out a row the rules do not ask of your boat, such as the blower on a boat with no gasoline inboard.
4. Rows checked adds up the column. A sheet holds up to seven trips, one column each.
This boat day checklist runs in one order: life jackets first, a way to call for help last.
The list under the sheet names the rule section or guide page behind each row.
Your state's boating agency lists what state law adds, such as an operator card.
Questions and answers
What is on a boater checklist before leaving the dock?
Three groups: equipment and papers the federal rules name (life jackets, throwable device, fire extinguisher, distress signals, sound signal, lights, certificate of number), the boat (drain plugs, bilges, fuel, load) and the trip (forecast, float plan, a way to call for help).
Is this a boat inspection checklist?
It is an owner's own look-over before a trip. It is not a record of an inspection, and no agency issued it. State law may ask for more than these rows.
How many life jackets does a boat need?
One wearable life jacket for each person on board, under 33 CFR 175.15(a). A boat 16 feet or longer also carries one throwable device, with canoes and kayaks exempt. Each one must fit its wearer and be within easy reach.
Does every boat have to run a blower?
No. The ventilation rule, 33 CFR 175.201, covers boats built after July 31, 1980 that have a gasoline engine. Where a blower is fitted, its label says to run it four minutes and check the engine bilge for gasoline vapor before starting.
What is a float plan?
The Coast Guard's guide describes it as letting a responsible person know where you are going and when you will be back, so someone notices and follows up if you do not return. The guide points to a sample float plan form.
All 28 lines
Equipment and papers the federal rules name 12
Backfire flame arrester46 CFR 25.35-1(a) asks for backfire flame control on a gasoline engine fitted after April 25, 1940, outboards excepted. Look that it is in place.
Blower run four minutesA boat built after July 31, 1980 with a gasoline engine needs a working ventilation system (33 CFR 175.201). The label of 183.610(f) says to run the blower four minutes and check the engine bilge for gasoline vapor before starting.
Certificate of number aboardOn paper or in digital form, carried so it can be handed to an officer: 33 CFR 173.21(a) and 173.25.
Children under 13 wearing oneUnder way, a child under 13 wears a life jacket unless below decks or in an enclosed cabin: 33 CFR 175.15(c). Where a state sets its own age, the state rule applies (175.25).
Distress signals in dateOn coastal waters, the Great Lakes among them, a boat 16 feet or longer carries day and night signals; a shorter boat carries night signals after sunset (33 CFR 175.110). A date marked on a signal must not have passed (175.125).
Show all 28 lines (23 more)
Equipment and papers the federal rules name, continued
Engine cut-off link clipped onOn a boat under 26 feet with a cut-off switch installed, the operator uses the link on plane or above displacement speed: Coast Guard guide, page 12.
Extinguisher gauge and pinGauge in the operable range, lock pin firmly in place, nozzle clear, no heavy corrosion, not expired and not used before: 33 CFR 175.310(a)(3) and (4).
Fire extinguisher in reachWhere 33 CFR 175.320 asks for one, it is on board and readily accessible (175.310(a)(1)). An outboard boat under 26 feet that cannot trap fuel vapor need not carry one.
Horn or whistle soundsA boat under 12 meters needs some means of making an efficient sound signal: 33 CFR 83.33(b). At 12 meters or more it carries a whistle (83.33(a)).
Life jacket for each personOne wearable life jacket aboard for every person, sized to fit its wearer and within easy reach: 33 CFR 175.15(a), 175.19(a) and 175.21(b).
Navigation lights come onThe light rules apply from sunset to sunrise and in restricted visibility: 33 CFR 83.20(b) and (c). Our check: the lights switch on at the dock.
Throwable device at handA boat 16 feet or longer carries one throwable device, immediately available: 33 CFR 175.15(b) and 175.19(b). Canoes and kayaks are exempt (175.17(a)).
The boat 7
Bilges cleanThe guide lists clean bilges among the marks of a boat in top operating condition (page 7).
Deck free of trip hazardsThe guide asks for a boat free of tripping hazards and fire hazards (page 7).
Drain plugs fittedThe one item the guide names in its pre-departure checklist section: putting in the drain plugs (page 44).
Fuel for the one-third ruleA third of the fuel to go out, a third to get back and a third held in reserve: the guide, page 43.
Load low, even and securedWeight spread evenly fore and aft and side to side, kept low, with gear secured so it cannot shift: the guide, page 39.
No smell of gasolineThe guide calls it the sniff test: no odor of gasoline anywhere in the boat before the engine starts (page 43).
People within the plateThe capacity marking of 33 CFR 183.23 gives the most persons and pounds. The guide warns never to exceed it (page 39).
The trip 5
A way to call for helpThe guide recommends always carrying a means of sending a distress alert, and names a VHF marine radio as the most common (page 40).
Float plan left ashoreSomeone responsible has been told the destination and the return time: the guide, page 44.
Local forecast checkedThe guide says never to leave the dock without first checking the local weather forecast (page 43).
Rows checkedAdds the 1s in the column, so each trip shows how many rows were checked before leaving.
Way out and back knownKnow your location, where you are going and how to return: the guide, page 8.
Key 4
A 1 in a boxThat row was checked before this trip. Cross out a row the rules do not ask of your boat.
Not an official formA private site's practice checklist: not a Coast Guard, state or marina form, and not a record of an inspection.
Where the rows come from33 CFR parts 83, 173, 175 and 183, 46 CFR 25.35-1 and the Coast Guard's guide to the federal requirements (November 2023).
Your state may add itemsThese rows are federal. State law may add more, such as an operator card. Ask your state's boating agency.
How this list was compiled: From two public sources, both read on 2026-10-04. (1) The Code of Federal Regulations on ecfr.gov, in the text current as of 2026-10-01: 33 CFR 175.15, 175.17, 175.19, 175.21 and 175.25 (life jackets), 175.101, 175.105, 175.110 and 175.125 (visual distress signals), 175.201 (ventilation), 175.310 and 175.320 (fire extinguishers), 173.21 and 173.25 (certificate of number), 83.20 (when lights are shown), 83.33 (equipment for sound signals), 183.23 (capacity marking) and 183.610(f) (the blower label), all at https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-33 , and 46 CFR 25.35-1 (backfire flame control) at https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-46/section-25.35-1 . (2) A Boater's Guide to the Federal Requirements for Recreational Boats, U.S. Coast Guard Boating Safety Division, revised November 2023 (https://www.uscgboating.org/assets/1/AssetManager/Boaters-Guide-to-Federal-Requirements-for-Receational-Boats-20231108.pdf), pages 7, 8, 12, 39, 40, 43 and 44. Each row names the section or page it was written from. The guide's own pre-departure checklist section names one item, the drain plugs; the other rows come from the rule sections and from the guide's pages on the operator's responsibilities, safe loading, fueling, weather and the float plan. Our own work: the wording of every row, the choice and order of rows for one page, and what a 1 in a box means. Federal rows only: state law may add items. An unofficial practice checklist, not a Coast Guard or state form and not a record of an inspection. Licence: own work