Type IV throwable

The cushion or ring you throw to someone in the water; required on boats 16 feet and over.

The Type IV is flotation that flies: a square cushion or ring buoy kept where a hand can find it in three seconds, not used as a seat pad or buried in the bow locker. Boats 16 feet and longer must carry one in addition to the wearable jackets.

It is the second move of every person-overboard drill: shout, point, throw. It buys the swimmer flotation and the helm time to bring the boat around slowly and shut down for the pickup.

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Vocabulary is easier at the helm.

The free South Carolina boater safety course teaches all of this in twelve chapters with a sixty question practice exam, and when you are ready for the water itself, one form gets you rental quotes from local operators.

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