Outfitting a New Boat: Things Every Boater Needs

Whether you buy a new or new-to-you boat, your first task is to outfit it. It’s pretty easy to come across lists of the things you MUST have, thanks to the Coast Guard and state authorities. But these lists don’t provide any recommendations, and we’ve learned many things about these items. You should also have many items aboard to be a safe mariner that they don’t even talk about. 

As with all boating gear, everyone has an opinion about the best options. What follows contains the ideal requirement and the equipment we’ve found best suited during our travels on the US East Coast. Your mileage may vary, and there may be better options out there. But this list should serve as a pretty good starting point.

We’ve organized our list based on three categories: legal requirements, other safety items you should have, and other items that are invaluable to have aboard. This is geared toward cruising boats and liveaboard boaters but can be modified for nearly any type of vessel.

Legal Requirements, Coast Guard and State Law

This isn’t a complete list of the legal requirements, so it’s essential to consult with the official USCG website and your state’s authority (for example, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission). 

Lifevests (PFDs)

At an absolute minimum, you must have a suitable life jacket or Personal Floatation Device (PFD) for every person onboard. These can be the bulky Type I offshore vests or the cheap orange Type II vests you can get anywhere, even at Walmart. 

• Type I Offshore life jacket, most buoyancy, turns most unconscious swimmers face-up, bulky and expensive
• Type II Nearshore life jacket, cheap and easy, keeps you legal
• Type III Watersports life jackets, for kayaking or water skiing, the least buoyancy but the most comfort
• Type IV Throwable PFD (see next item)
• Type V Inflatable PFDs and other special use vests, must be worn to count, see next section
• Learn more about the types of PFDs at BoatUS.org

If you have inflatable PFDs (see below under recommendations), you should still have enough regular PFDs to meet the legal requirements. That’s because inflatables do not count unless you’re wearing them, and no one wears them 100 percent of the time they’re aboard. 

To be legal, a life vest must be accessible (not buried deep in a locker) and be USCG-approved. To prove it’s approved, it needs to be in good enough condition to read the label. Replace your lifevests when they start to deteriorate.

We keep four big Type I vests for offshore passages and four cheap Type II vests. We always leave enough Type II vests in the dinghy so it’s legal and ready to go to shore. Yes, your dinghy needs to meet the legal requirements, too!

🛟 Throwable PFD

Additionally, you need to have a Type IV throwable PFD. These are vital; if someone goes overboard and isn’t wearing a vest, it might be the only life preserver they get. So it must always be easily and readily available to the helmsperson. Never should it be buried in a locker or hidden away. 

These take many forms, from an old-school life ring or the more modern horseshoe styles you see on the rails of many boats to the simple and cheap cushion style. 

Most cruising boats I see opt for the Lifesling, a combination throwable with a rope that mounts in a tidy bag on the stern rail (or some other convenient place). 

We have both the Lifesling and a cheap cushion-type throwable. Ultimately, the cushion is quicker and easier to get than the Lifesling. 

🧯 Fire extinguishers

Fire safety is no joke on a boat: They’re literally combustible plastic hulls holding thousands of pounds of other flammable and combustible materials. Boat fires burn quickly and intensely.

The type and number of fire extinguishers you have onboard depends on your vessel’s length. Check the CG regs for specifics. Fire extinguishers expire 12 years after the date stamped on the bottom.

Extinguishers are rated based on what types of fires they can put out. 

• A: Combustible materials fire (wood, fiberglass, fabric)
• B: Flammable liquids fires (fuels)
• C: Electrical fires

Even better than meeting the regulations is exceeding them. We carry four approved fire extinguishers rated for A, B, and C-class fires. 

While there’s no legal requirement for pleasure boats, inspecting your extinguishers regularly is important. When you shake the cylinder, you want the gauge to be green and have no apparent noises or thuds. Also, check the handle and nozzle for their condition to ensure nothing has blocked them. I inspect mine annually and place a sticker with the inspection date to remind me. 

🎇 Visual signaling devices (VSDs), day and night

Most boaters reach for pyrotechnic flares to meet the day and night visual distress device requirements. After several decades of doing so myself, I’m now the proud owner of an embarrassingly large pile of expired flares that no longer help me meet the regulations. They are impossible to dispose of.

To be legal, I now carry a USCG-approved flag for daytime and an electronic flare (USCG-approved strobe light) for nighttime. The flag never expires, and the strobe needs two new C batteries yearly. 

I keep the expired flares aboard as well, just in case. 

📢 Sound signal

My boat does not have a built-in horn or signal. I used to carry the compressed air horns, which worked fine. They rust after a while, however. And they are obnoxiously loud for many scenarios you might want to use. 

My preferred horn is a simple plastic tube with a thin plastic reed on the end. It’s plenty loud while not being so obnoxious, and it’s pretty much indestructible. 

You should also consider purchasing a package of cheap plastic whistles. These can be attached to each lifevest on board, with extras thrown in the ditch bag and dinghy.

Placards

There are a few signs/stickers you need to display on your boat to be legal. The easiest solution is to pick up a sticker placard kit at the marine store. The two key placards are the waste placard, which notes what can be thrown overboard where, and the oil discharge placard, which reminds you not to discharge oil.

Safety and Necessary Upgrades for Boaters

While the list of Coast Guard requirements might seem extensive, it’s just a starting point. There are tons more pieces of gear that you need to have aboard a boat to operate it safely. 

Inflatable PFDs/sailing harnesses

If you go offshore or out when it’s rough, investing in a nice set of inflatable PFDs is worth the money. I think these should include a sailing harness and a built-in hydrostatic release. The sailing harness is invaluable offshore, where you combine it with your tether and inboard jack lines to give you an extra set of hands when working on deck. The hydrostatic release sets the vest off automatically if it’s submerged in water — a genuine lifesaver if the person goes in the water unconscious and cannot manually inflate the vest (think, they just got smacked in the head and tossed off the boat by an errant boom).

While purchasing your life vests, don’t forget your pets. If you’ve got a well-behaved boat dog, you’ll still want them to have a good-fitting life vest for tricky dinghy rides or rough weather. If you’ve got an unpredictable pup, they might spend a lot of time in their vest. 

Our boat dog loves her Ruffwear Float Coat. 

🚨 RED ALERT! Smoke alarm, CO alarm, and High water alarm

Fire alarms are even more critical on a boat than in a house. Boats have limited methods of egress should a fire break out, and they burn readily. Early notification of any smoke is vital. You should have multiple fire alarms test them regularly and replace the batteries often.

Carbon monoxide is an odorless and deadly gas created during fossil fuel combustion. On a boat, this could come from engine or generator exhaust (yours or others nearby), cooking appliances, or heaters. The airflow around and through the vessel lends itself to collecting things like carbon monoxide, so having a detector onboard is a key piece of your safety kit. Like the smoke detector, test it frequently and replace the battery often.

On a cruising boat, you want to know what’s happening in the bilge, a place you can’t see. A high water alarm goes off when the water level gets too high and provides a loud alert should you be underway or asleep. 

You can buy hardwired systems that monitor your bilge pump cycles as well. You can also purchase small portable detectors designed for use in homes to monitor for plumbing leaks.

💦 Multiple bilge pumps

Your boat should come with a bilge pump, but it’s nearly always insufficient from a safety standpoint. Bilge pumps are designed to dewater a boat after rain, not in the case of a burst hose or failed through-hull. As a result, a cruising boat will probably want to upgrade. 

Our boat has three built-in bilge pumps. The primary is a 320-gallon per hour diaphragm pump, set to drain the bilge of any water or little leaks. Then there’s a 2,000-gallon-per-hour pump mounted higher in case of severe flooding. There’s also a manual pump with its handle set at the boat’s helm, should the other pumps fail. 

In your dinghy, you should carry a bailer. We use a milk jug with the top cut off, but commercial ones are also available. A car washing sponge helps get what the bucket can’t reach. 

Throwing line, aka heaving line

A throw line is used to pull a swimmer out of the water or a warping line to a dockhand. Dock lines may be too heavy to heave any distance, so a throwing line enables you to get more reach. 

🎒 Ditch bag

Imagine the boat sinking or on fire, and you’re off to the life raft or dinghy. The ditch bag is waterproof and contains what you’ll need when you get there. Here are a few ideas for things that most boaters keep in their ditch bags:

• Copies of important documents
• Handheld VHF radio
• Flares/signal devices
• EPIRB/PLBs
• Water and MRE rations
• First aid kit
• GPS or satellite messenger with tracker (InReach)
• Portable battery bank for phone and tracker

Offshore sailors often discuss ditch bags, but we keep one loaded and ready to grab at all times on the boat. The ditch bag does not have to be made for the purpose (I don’t recommend the ACR brand bags). Instead, use a hard-sided floating container or a roll-top waterproof bag that’s brightly colored.

🆘 EPIRB for the boat

The Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon (EPIRB) is a transmitter you set off in case of the worst: a digital Mayday call. Every boat should have one. Modern transmitters have GPS chips and transmit your position to authorities. 

EPIRBs are registered for free through NOAA, so the authorities know who they are looking for if it goes off. The registration is renewed every three years or so. 

EPIRBs are designed for boaters; they float upright and are waterproof for sure-fire operation. Some self-deploy, and others do not. All include a strobe light.

🆘 PLBs for the people

The Personal Locator Beacon (PLB) is a smaller version of the EPIRB, designed for each person onboard to carry. 

PLBs are designed to be compact for personal use (i.e., attached to your life jacket). They do not necessarily float; you must manually activate them. Some include a strobe, while others do not.

The best way to sum it up: You need an EPIRB for your boat, and each person should have a PLB. 

MOB pole and flag

Offshore sailors will want to carry a man overboard pole and flag. This tall pole is thrown overboard as soon as possible to a person going in the water. It’s tall enough that it’s possible to spot, compared to someone’s head, which is nearly impossible to keep track of with any amount of sea running.

🔥 Fire blanket

A fire blanket is designed to smother flames and is especially useful in the galley. I keep one attached under my overhead lockers, within easy reach of the stove.

🔦 Spotlight

Even if you don’t plan on running around at night, you should always be prepared to do so. You never know when unforeseen circumstances will have you coming into port on a dark night, searching for unlit day markers. 

If you have a cigarette lighter 12-volt plug at the helm, the easiest and most reliable option is to keep a powerful corded spotlight onboard. It will always work and will light up any and everything. 

Having a collection of high-power flashlights is smart, too. But these are never as powerful or as reliable. 

🔭 Binoculars

A good pair of marine binoculars is a mandatory piece of navigation equipment. In my opinion, if you’re not using your binoculars, you aren’t being a safe boater.

We always keep our ‘nockers at the helm and reach for them many times on every outing. We’re always looking for distant navigation markers and buoys, getting a clearer picture of other vessels and their direction of movement and spotting distant landmarks to aid our navigation.

The best binoculars have a built-in compass, but it’s a costly option. I currently use a pair of waterproof Steiner autofocus 7×50, which are about as perfect as any pair I’ve owned.

📶 VHF at the helm (handheld if your VHF is down below)

You should always be able to hear and speak on the VHF when at the helm of your boat. It’s not good enough to just monitor the radio with a speaker — you need to be able to reply should another vessel call you. This is doubly true in busy port areas and on the Intracoastal Waterway.

Unless your VHF is mounted at the helm, carrying a handheld radio is the simplest way to meet this requirement. Further, a handheld is an invaluable backup to have should your primary radio fail. 

⛽️ Oil boom and fuel rags

No matter how careful you are, you will one day make a mess with fuel, oil, or both. It might be a messy episode while at the fuel dock or a mess you accidentally create when doing engine work. How it happens doesn’t matter. What matters is that you’re prepared for it by having the supplies on hand to clean it up easily. These sheets absorb petroleum products but not water, so they’re invaluable to have aboard to catch any spills.

The supplies are inexpensive and available at almost every marine store: an oil boom and a package of oil-absorbant rags. We keep a rag and boom in our bilge, changing it when it gets dirty (usually from mud from the anchor chain before from oil). We also keep a package of rags on board, and anytime I’m fueling, I have one in my hand.

🗺️ Paper charts or multiple apps on multiple devices

Paper charts are an invaluable resource for planning your trips and getting inspired. Nearly all navigation is done via GPS chartplotters now, but paper charts allow you to see all the little notes and features usually hidden on electronic charts. In other words, every time you look at a paper chart, you will find things you otherwise missed when looking at your tablet or chartplotter. 

I’m also aware that any electronic item on a boat will fail one day, no matter how reliable it has proven itself. So, not only do I keep paper charts, but I also have my navigation apps installed on all my devices. I keep backups for my backups.

⚠️ First aid kit

Your first aid kit should be extensive if you’re on a boat. You’re more likely to be farther from help than you are at any time when you’re in a car. 

Consider getting a first aid kit for your dog, as well. 

⚓️ Ground tackle — Anchor and chain (cruising boats, always two, possibly three sets!)

It probably goes without saying, but your ground tackle is necessary boating equipment — and it’s a safety device, too. 

How you use your boat will determine how seriously you take your anchoring gear. But one thing should always be true: Your anchor should be set on the bow and ready to deploy with no notice at all. If you’re navigating in a tight spot and you lose power, the anchor might be the only thing that keeps you off the rocks or shoals. 

A cruising boat will ideally have multiple anchors. Your primary should be oversized for the vessel, preferably on an all-chain rode so you don’t drag anchor. Modern anchors trump older designs — they stick better in a wider range of bottoms and reset more readily.

There should be a secondary anchor that can hold the boat in a blow. This can be used when setting two anchors, such as in a Bahamian mooring, or as an emergency backup should the primary fail or be lost.

Finally, having a third anchor to keep as a kedge or lunch-hook is helpful. This anchor can pull the boat to deeper water after running aground. This third anchor should be small enough to carry around and set from the dinghy but also large enough to hold the boat in some wind. 

Each anchor should have a complete set of hardware — anchor, shackle, chain, and rope rode. 

If you use chain, your anchoring setup must also include a snubber or bridle. This length of nylon stretchy line will reduce the load placed on the ground tackle and deck hardware. A bridle allows for multiple points of attachment. I’m a big fan of Mantus Marine’s bridle and V2 chain hook.

Other Ownership Items and Supplies

While not safety-related, you need plenty of other items on your boat. Here are a few of them we think you should go boating without.

Boat hook

I’m shocked when I see boaters attempting to dock without a boat hook. A boat hook is one of those things that you simply must carry — we use ours multiple times a day. 

Here are just some of the tasks we use our boat hook for. 

• Picking up a mooring buoy pendant
• Grabbing something that flew overboard
• Pushing off of a dock piling
• Pulling into a dock by grabbing a cleat
• Retrieving a line left on the dock when coming in
• Pulling the boat to one side of the slip so you can secure lines around a hard-to-reach piling
• Fending off a dinghy or other vessel that’s coming alongside
• Poling a line to a dockhand instead of throwing it
• An extra hand to steady or fend off an object (I often use mine to align my anchor into the roller for easier hoisting)

I’m sure there are plenty of other uses that I’ve missed here. I think boat hooks are simply one of the most valuable things on board.

Over the years, I’ve had many types. I’ve come to hate the telescoping ones that twist to lock in place. The locks always get stuck until eventually you can’t extend or retract them. They also collapse or expand unexpectedly when you put a big load on them, pushing or pulling off a dock. 

I much prefer the telescopic type made by Shurhold, which uses locking pins to secure it. They take huge loads with no problem. Alternatively, they sell fixed-length poles. 

The other great thing about Shurhold boat hooks is that you can get a wide range of different heads for them, so the pole becomes a multi-tasker. We keep a boat brush, a crab net, and a dangerously sharp line cutter (in case we ever get fouled in fishing gear. We have one super-long telescopic pole and a second shorter fixed-length pole.

Those twist-lock telescopic poles use a screw-on head system that we’ve had break on multiple occasions, and the boat hook head is always there and in the way when using it with a brush.

Fenders, aka rubber bumper thingies

Every boat needs at least a few fenders. At least one large fender should always be available should a random boat come dragging into you during a blow in a crowded anchorage (or should you be that boat dragging into people). Or should you lose engine power while maneuvering in a marina; or should a boat lose control in the wind while docking near your slip in a marina. Or, or, or. 

But that’s all the worst-case scenario. Fenders are supposed to keep you from rubbing on a dock when you’re side-to. This is often the case on bulkheads or floating docks without piling opposite to pull you off. 

I like the ball-style fenders for their general usefulness, especially for the roaming fender that’s kept on deck. When picking up cylinder fenders, I find the ones that take the line through the middle to be the easiest to deal with.

To save space, I love the idea of inflatable fenders. We currently have a set from Easy Stow Fenders, which was priced well and super reliable.

🪢 Sufficient dock lines = many dock lines!

Many boaters do not carry enough dock lines with them. If you have a home slip and leave lines at your dock, you should still have lines on the boat in case you stop at a dock and dine or fuel dock. Never assume you’ll find lines when you come to a dock because you never do. 

Enough dock lines mean you have two bow lines, two stern lines, and four spring lines. If you’re docked in a typical box slip, you should have them all set. If you’re bracing for a storm, you might need to double them all up!

Bow and stern lines are typically sized at one boat length long, while springs are generally 1.5 your boat’s length. 

We’ve found some good deals on smaller-diameter dock lines on Amazon, but the bigger stuff requires a pricy trip to a marine store. Don’t undersize your dock lines, but don’t go too big, either. Dock lines need to stretch to do their job. 

🔧 Tool kit and spare parts 

Every boater should be able to change their fuel filter (any engine) and bleed the fuel lines (diesels). It would also be good if you could change the impeller on an inboard and tighten the alternator belt. 

To accomplish these basic tasks, you need a few tools. You can buy a simple mechanics tool kit appropriate for your boat from any hardware or marine store. It’s usually better to opt for quality with hand tools, but you could also try Amazon, Harbor Freight, or Northern Tools if you want a deal.

Your spare parts should always include fuel filters and impellers. 

🪣 Boat bucket

Buckets are a little like boat hooks but lower on the list. Many uses make them invaluable multi-taskers.

• Holding tools and organizing lockers
• Picking up seawater for rinsing the deck or anchor chain
• Water for cleaning up after the dog
• Hoisting parts to a person up the mast
• Holding soap and water for boat washing
• Quick laundry in a bucket (or soaking laundry after a mess)
• Bailing

I might be a bucket hoarder since I have at least five on board in various sizes and designs. The most versatile one, though, is a waterproof canvas one that collapses very small. 

💡 Portable all-around light

When anchored, we worry about small boats noticing our all-around anchor light, 52 feet in the air. It’s not other cruisers we’re worried about, but small fishing boats that always cruise fast on plane (no matter the light conditions or visibility). 

When there’s the chance of such traffic, we hoist a solar, battery-powered all-around light in the foresail triangle nearer the water. It also lights up some of the deck, making the whole boat more visible. 

Our favorite light is a Mpowerd Luci solar camping lantern with a matte finish. We’ve also used it in a pinch as a dinghy running light, and when it’s not doing that, we use it in the cockpit overhead light during meals and card games. Solar power means it’s always charged and ready to go, and the inflatable design makes it indestructible.  

📝 Logbook

I think keeping a logbook is a fun part of boating. I don’t do anything official with mine, but I record every trip, engine times, and maintenance tasks I’ve completed. I also log boat life things like pump-outs in case I pass through a jurisdiction requiring a pump-out log. But for me, the logbook is more like a bullet journal of boating adventures. I note the good restaurants, favorite anchorages, and rough passages. I even make my guests sign it like I’m a five-star B&B, even though I’m barely at a one-star level here.

My logbook is nothing more than a plain notetaking journal. It can be as fancy or as simple as you like. I have divided it into sections, with daily trip logs, maintenance logs, guest books, systems diagrams, and setup notes.

Rule of the Road quick reference

It’s no replacement for learning the rules of the road and completing your state’s required safe boat course (which you should do, even if it’s not required). But there are a lot of variations, and it’s handy to have a quick reference available to help you remember day shapes, light combinations, or sound signals. 

Pop quiz time:

• Question one: You are on the ICW and come upon a dredging operation. To the dredge’s port side, you see two black balls, on its starboard, two black diamonds. Which side of the dredge do you pass on? 
• Question two: You’re operating on a narrow river and hear three short blasts. What does it mean?
• Question three: You’re in fog in Maine and hear a gong. What does that mean?

Looking for the answers? Google works, but it is better to have a quick reference guide or card aboard to answer these questions quickly (without a computer). 

What Things Does Every Boater Need to Have Aboard?

What have we missed? What are your must-have items on any boat?

Are you still looking for your dream boat? Check out Boat Life Academy’s newest course, How to Buy Your First Cruising Boat. In the course, we cover all of the criteria for evaluating different boats and picking the best one for your boating life.