The Power Of Checklists

We've all been there. We leave the boat, then halfway home wonder if we remembered to close the seacocks or connect shore power or some other potentially worrisome chore. We either turn around and go all the way back to check, or have a few sleepless nights until we return to the boat. But there's a simple, old-school way to avoid this: checklists. You almost certainly already use them anyway (even a recipe is a kind of checklist), so why not use one of the most powerful tools you already have? You'll not only sleep better, you might even save your boat.

When you do something that involves multiple steps, it's easy to forget one or two of them, and sometimes missing even a simple thing can have major implications. Checklists counteract our forgetfulness. Many professionals, such as airline pilots, use checklists several times each flight. Airline pilot Brian Koda, who also flies military aircraft as a Naval Reservist, says there are no fewer than six checklists that pilots use just to get the airplane from the gate to the runway. Some checklists, he said, are "written in blood," which means they were developed after a catastrophe to prevent it from happening again. Surgeons also use checklists to make sure they don't forget something critical in the operating room. Checklists for boaters can include mundane predeparture routines to those that help you in an emergency, such as what to do if your boat is sinking.

To make them more useful, checklists should be more than just a few things jotted on a scrap of paper. You'll want to first focus on the essential stuff that is frequently overlooked or skipped that may potentially sink your boat or endanger your crew. Next, what can damage your engine or electrical system? Finally, include a couple of small things that tend to slip through the cracks (see samples below). Checklists should ideally have no more than 10 items and should be able to accomplish in 1 to 2 minutes or they may start to feel like a distraction, which is when people often start "shortcutting," thus reducing their effectiveness. As the pilot told us, you can't spell out every single detail; a checklist cannot fly a plane. If you need more items, just make a separate checklist. For example, if your "leaving the boat" checklist is too long, make one for "locking up the boat" and another for "returning to the dock."

You'll want to use your checklist, test it, and refine it a few times as needed. If something changes on your boat, like you add a washdown pump that you want to remember to switch off at the panel, add it, though you may need to combine it with other similar tasks so the list doesn't get too long. In this case, you can add turning off the washdown pump to, say, turn off the cabin lights. For most uses, checklists should be a simple, one-page document printed in an easy-to-read font and a place to clearly check off each item.

Some checklists will simply be a read-do, which means you read what it says and do it (turn off air conditioner — check; close head seacock — check) while other are do-confirm, which means do the tasks and then pause to verify that everything was done by turning to your checklist and confirming (load boat with supplies and water toys for the day — check).

You can have several checklists for different situations. For example, one for a daily outing, another for returning to the dock, another for leaving the boat for the day, another for winterizing. You may also want to have emergency checklists (boat is taking on water or smoke alarm is sounding). If you're injured or highly stressed, having a checklist can help you think clearly. And, if they are easy to access, emergency checklists can allow inexperienced crewmembers to help if the skipper is unable.