About Float Plans: Preparing your Plan

"Expect the best, plan for the worst, and prepare to be suprised."

--Dennis Waitley

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Preparing Your Plan

Preparing a float plan is a simple, but very important part of your boating preparations, and should be the first task you undertake after you decide where you are going.

Step 1: Getting Things Lined Up

Determining where you will be going, with whom, and what specifically you will be doing, is the first and most obvious task you undertake when preparing for a boating trip. After all, if you don't know where you are going, you certainly can't tell anyone where you will be. Also consider:

What equipment and supplies you will need

Who will be going on the trip with you

Who will be the person you will file your Float Plan with

Step 2: Determining The Type of Plan To Prepare

Woman preparing float plan The "Millennium Edition" Float Plan is the most recognized and most used float plan in the world. It is also the most flexible, with its ability to accommodate short day trips, long voyages, and everything in between.

To help you prepare your float plan in the level of detail appropriate for your type of trip or voyage, we recommend using one of the two preparation methods summarized below:

General Purpose Planning method:

Reusable.

Ideal for short, one-day or less trips.

Quick to prepare;

Provides essential information Search and Rescue personnel need.

Trip Specific Planning method:

One-time.

Ideal for long multi-day trips.

Requires more time and thought to prepare, commensurate with the trips complexity, duration, and risk.

Provides all of the information Search and Rescue personnel need; facilitates allocation of the most appropriate level resources, based on probable location and prevailing environmental conditions.

Step 3: Supplementing Your Plan

The "Millennium Edition" Float Plan form has provision for up to 5 crew and six waypoints. If you need additional space for a particular trip, then choose one of the Float Plan Supplementals™ to expand your plan:

To add additional crew/passengers, use the Supplemental Passenger List.
To add additional waypoints/locations, use the Supplemental Itinerary.

Attach supplemental sheets to your float plan.

There are other items you can optionally include with your plan, that would be very helpful to search personnel. Based on feedback from boating safety instructors around the country, some boating students have also included:

A map or drawing of your cruising area, with the route clearly identified.
Prepared specifically for each trip.
A photograph of their vessel.
Can be reused, but should be retaken if the overall outward appearance of the vessel changes in any way.
A photograph of the operator.
Can be reused, but should be retaken once every year. Photograph should be a full length photo.
A photograph of the passengers/crew.
Photograph should be a full length photo prior to each trip.

Now that you've completed preparing your float plan, you're ready for the next step: Printing and Filing Your Plan.