Panama City Beach is one of the most desirable and reasonably priced U.S. vacation destinations. Often, visitors come to enjoy our white sandy beaches, emerald blue waters or any one of dozens of visitor attractions and dining establishments.
Often, visitors as well as locals will rent pontoon boats, personal water craft, go fishing or engage in any number of other water activities.
As well, I have quite a few customers who have purchased a vacation home and have decided to also purchase a boat.
Many of my customers are not only first time vacation home owners, but also first time boat owners.
For those of you both visitors and customers who may not be familiar with owning or renting a boat or other watercraft, there are both safety and maintenance issues that should be addressed prior to launching your boat.
Many of these issues should be addressed annually prior to launching and are easily managed with a few simple items.
Here is a short list of some tasks and issues you should address prior to launching your boat…
- Check the engine completely and perform any and all required maintenance. You may want to read your owner’s manual. If you don’t have one, many can be found on the internet and downloaded to your computer.
- If your boat has been sitting dormant for awhile you may need to replace the ethanol gas. It can clog your fuel lines and your engine.
- Check and charge the battery if necessary
- Check and change the filters as required
- Check the trailer and perform any needed maintenance
- Put air in the trailer tires as needed
- Check and grease wheel bearings as needed
- Always perform a safety check before casting off
- Verify there are enough lifejackets in the boat for each person on boardBefore putting the boat in the water make sure the plug is in the back of the boat
- Do you have a sounding device on the boat such as a horn or whistle
A few things that are often forgotten and/or not thought of …
- Is your insurance paid?
- Is your registration up to date? Remember to carry the registration card with you.
- Do you have Sea Tow insurance? If not, you may want to thing about getting it: http://www.seatow.com/
- 5325 North Lagoon Drive, Panama City Beach, FL 32408 (850) 234-2323
Buying a vacation home is fun and rewarding, buying a boat to go along with that vacation home is also fun and comes with added responsibility.
It is highly recommended, that if you own or rent a boat you complete a boating safety course provided by the U.S. Coast Guard: http://www.uscgboating.org/safety/boating_safety_courses_.aspx
For a complete list of safety and maintenance issues for your boat, visit:
U.S. Coast Guard: http://www.uscgboating.org/
In addition, you obtain a free Vessel Safety Check (VSC) by visiting the Visual Safety Check Web site: http://www.safetyseal.net/
The Panama City Beach local coast guard
1700 Thomas Dr # 1,
Panama City
(850) 234-2031
Panama City Homes for sale
Owners, put my technology to work for you. If you are interested in selling your home or condo, contact me today (850) 774-6582 for a free no obligation Home value report.
Buyers, when you’re ready to purchase a Panama City home or condo, contact me directly (850) 774-6582 for the latest information and pricing on any of the Panama City homes sale.
Jennifer Mackay
850-774-6582
Panama City Real Estate | Florida
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May 6th, 2011 
Jennifer Mackay 
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