BOATsmart! USA Knowledge Base

Capsizing is the frightening experience of your boat flipping upside down in the water and it’s consistently the leading cause of all the boating-related fatalities that occur each year in the U.S.

The best way to avoid a capsizing situation is to never load your boat beyond the capacity recommendations. It can be difficult to limit the weight load—especially if more people showed up at the cabin than you had expected. However, you should never overload your boat. A heavy or unbalanced load will cause the boat to sit lower in the water, increasing the risk of being swamped by a wake. This is incredibly important if the conditions are rough—a heavy, lower-sitting boat operating in large waves makes for a dangerous situation.

Person overboard emergencies are incredibly dangerous as well. The best way to avoid a person overboard emergency is to make sure your passengers are seated at all times. Standing up in a boat, even when it’s not underway, will heighten the risk of a passenger losing their balance and falling overboard.