Inspection Of Pleasure Craft for Federal Requirements (1970s)

Okay, let's open this thing up and see what you'll do. >> Sure. Great. >> Go. >> Let's go. Well, here we go again. When will people learn that that's no way to have a safe good time? >> Okay, let's check that guy out. >> You can hail the operator of a boat you want to board by holding your arm straight out, but it can be misunderstood. If the guy you're hailing misunderstands or doesn't stop, you can use a stop sign. >> Okay, let's give him the blue light. >> Since a flashing blue light can be seen in daylight as well as night, it's an even better attention getter. I could have used several other devices. A police whistle. A loud hailer is especially good, but even it fails sometimes. There's no mistaking this one. But it can embarrass the heck out of the guy by drawing the attention of the other boatman. So I turn it on only as a last resort. Anyway, in this case, the blue light did the job. So we prepared to pull alongside a board. >> Uh-oh. What did I do now? >> When I get within about 100 ft of the vessel, I check the number for proper display. >> Sir, place your engine in neutral gear. We'll come alongside your starboard side. I also check to see if enough vendors are out and enough personnel to handle the boarding. Good afternoon, sir. I'm Chief Thomas, US Coast Guard, a federal boarding officer. I'm going to board your boat and examine it to see if it meets the minimum federal requirements. >> Okay, sir. I always remain courteous, but I never ask if I can go aboard. I don't want to give him the chance to decline and place me at a disadvantage right at the start of the examination. Sir, I'd like to see your certificate of numbers and some means of identification such as a driver's license, something with your home address on it. >> All right, sir. >> Here's a registration card. >> Fine, thank you. Just the card, sir. >> Your name's Mr. Bard, is it? >> That's right. >> All right. Would you take it out, sir? Just your uh driver's license would be sufficient. >> All right. >> What's your middle name, Mr. Purge? >> Gunther. >> Gunther. All right, fine. Thank you very much, Mr. Sarn. When I get these papers, I give them to my other petty officers on board the boat. It records them on a form 4100. It also tells me the boat's length, and if there is any doubt, I'll measure it. This is the official report of boarding. First, the boat's number is checked to see if it tallies with that noted by us on the approach, and that it has been properly displayed. Sir, next I'd like to see three lights saving devices or personal flotation devices. >> There's one right behind me here. >> All right. >> All right, sir. Sir, what I'm doing is examine this personal flotation device. Underneath this cloth covering is the flotation material itself. It's kpock or fibrous glass that's in it's in a heat sealed plastic bag. I'm looking for uh pin holes, tears, rips, and punctures induced perhaps by the snag of a fish hook or even a lady's hair pin. And I take and squeeze each section. If it if it has a puncture in it, you hear the air escaping and will give off a hissing sound. So I squeeze and when it bubbles up just like that, we know it's good. We do each individual section. If any section has a hole in it, the entire device will be rejected or not acceptable. Then we take the straps and give them a little tug. All right, >> here's one more. >> All right, fine. All right, so this is a little different. This is made out of unisellular plastic foam. It's just foam rubber under the cloth covering. You cannot puncture this type. It's most important that every flotation device be marked with an official stamp of Coast Guard approval. This signifies that it has been tested and should be safe for use. Again, the straps. >> Fine. >> Got some more over here. >> That's all right, sir. We can't accept these in these plastic containers that are not readily accessible. You're going to have to open up one end of this plastic bag. Also, the fact that they're from the dealer and they're tied up and so forth, they they're not really readily accessible. When you have a fire or an explosion or a collision, you need these things right away. Can't even untie the thing now. We don't. These things should be adjusted to the person's body. Where did they go? >> All right, sir. Sir, I'd like to look at your flame arresttor, the backfire flame arresttor on your engine. >> And how many horsepower is your engine? >> 120. 120. >> Yes. >> All right. Let's see if they're on tight. This is supposed to be a flametight fit. We checked to see if there's any dirt, debris. It's pretty clean there. Looks pretty good. Coast Guard approved. Fine. All right. So, while we're back here, I'm going to check your ventilation on the engine compartment, the cow and ducking so forth. Make sure there's no bird nests, leaf, and so forth. Make sure the ducking's the proper size. That looks pretty good. I can see that one's fine there. All right, sir. Next, I'd like to hear your horn. Do you have a horn or whistle on board? >> Yes, sir. >> All right. All right, sir. Do you have a fire signature on board? >> Yes, sir. It's back here. >> All right. Oh, no. >> Somewhere back here. Yeah, here it is. >> Sir, you shouldn't have this stowed in the same compartment as your engine chainsaw. If you had a fire, you'd probably have it right back here where you have this fuel and so forth. Should have this thing mounted out near the operator where everyone could see it. You need this thing in a hurry. Not accessible. Not readily accessible. Vincent. All right, the gauge is up. I hit it here to make sure the needle is free. Checking the nozzle. See, there's no foreign matter where a wasp or mud diver is building stuff a little cocoon. Coast guard approved. That's fine, sir. You ought to leave this thing out uh where you can get it pretty easily. Should be mounted out. Recommend it's mounted out. >> All right. >> Not not in the engine department. That's really an unsafe thing. >> How about if I mount this up there at the by the wheel? Yes, sir. >> That would be an ideal place. Right near the operator. >> All right. Fine. Let's check the rest of your ventilation system here for your fuel tank compartment. All right. This is to remove the explosive vapors and fumes from the fuel and engine compartment. That looks pretty good. All right, sir. So, the reason why we stopped your boat was because you were coming in a posted area here by local authorities. This is a six mile zone and you're up on a plane and traveling very fast. You can get a cinder in your eye or a mosquito or something. uh grab the wheel and grab the ride with one hand, make a sharp turn, perhaps strike a swimmer or another boat and this is very dangerous. Also, I'd like to remind you that the have marinas and boats in this area and so forth, you are responsible for any and all damage that is caused by your weight. Going to give you a verbal warning on that this time. If you continue to operate like that, uh I would stop you again and issue a notice of violation for that. If convicted of a criminal offense, the penalty is could go as high as $2,000 in a year in prison or both. So, I urge you to really slow your boat down. Uh Vincent, are you finished with the 4100 for him? >> Okay. >> Right. >> License registration. >> All right, Mr. Sarge, here's your state registration card or certificate numbers, your driver's license, and sir. Colonel, your boat was in violation of federal law for the following reason. That is, upon the time of boarding, your fire extinguisher was not readily accessible. >> All right, sir. We are correct to that and sure be mounted there before we come back out again. >> All right, fine. Have you ever been examined by the Coast Guard before within the past 3 years? >> No, sir. I've never been stopped before. >> All right, fine. Let me have a warning sticker. All right, Mr. Pursge. Sir, I'm going to issue a warning on this. Based on the premise that the discrepancies noted will be corrected before the next use of the boat and your statement that this was your first citation for a violation of federal voting laws and regulations within the past 3 years, no penalty action will be instituted. This warning will be kept on file 3 years and will be considered in the event of a future violation. This is your copy of the not notice of violation. Also, >> there's some Coast Guard literature here, sir. >> Okay. Thank you. >> This will tell you all you need to have about the equipment on your boat and about the accessibility of the life saving devices and the firefighting equipment. >> Okay. I'll keep my speed down for >> Thank you very much for your cooperation. Have a good day and a safe summer, Mr. S. >> This one was a pretty routine boarding operation. The whole thing took less than 15 minutes. It's wise to detain a guy as short a time as possible, just long enough to get the job done. You're not there to harass him, just to look out for his safety. Though sometimes when a guy really lets loose at you with some foul language, it takes all your cool to keep from flipping right back at him. But it's part of the job. Being a boarding officer is no place for thin skinned people. And don't feel you have to do it exactly the way I do. You can develop your own technique. Your basic guide is right here. Form 4100. It's all in the check off list. How you go about it depends a lot on your own style of doing things. Just remember, courtesy is the by word. Boarding officers examine vessels they don't inspect. And in this business, the guy who checks out AOK gets the color sheet and not the white one. Okay, let's get underway. It's a good sunny day. Let's keep it a safe one. Heat. [music] [music] [bell] [music] Heat. [music]