Safety on boats.

Hi Folks.

Yep I am posting twice in one day. I have something on my mind and so felt the need to post.
What is on my mind you ask???

Boat safety that is what is bugging me. Not the boat safety we all have to have every few years and which we all get a certificate to prove that our boats are safe. This boat safety is what is mostly common sense and yet it seems there are some boaters, who either don't know they are taking risks with their lives or just don't care.
This morning when I took the mutt for his stroll, I noticed that the hirers on a Canal Breaks Hire Boat had their back doors padlocked from the outside. So I thought maybe they were off of the boat. At 9.30am that thought was proven wrong, because a couple stepped off of the boat to go to the Museum. They had slept on the boat with the back doors padlocked, which meant that if there had been a fire on the boat, their only escape would have been through the front doors.
What if the fire had been at the front of the boat???
They would now probably be dead.
Why did this disturb me so much?
It disturbed me, because a friend of ours died on his boat a couple of years ago, due to smoke inhalation, this was all because his back doors were locked from the outside. Which meant he had to try and fight through the smoke to get to the front of the boat. In doing so he tripped over, hit his head and died. I do not want this sort of thing to happen to any other boater.
When the couple arrived back at their boat. I asked them if they had been told to lock their back doors with a padlock at night. They said " No, they do it because the feel safer at night". I explained to them what could happen in the event of a fire and that they need a second escape route if a fire should take place. But I could see by looking at them, it fell on deaf ears. They just shugged their shoulders and went into their boat, which left me feeling a little deflatted. I did what I thought was right. I was thinking of their safety. After all how would I be feeling if overnight they had died and we were moored behind them and I had said nothing. I just hope that this evening, they may give a second thought to padlocking those back doors, because I would hate anything to happen to them. I wonder also if this is a practice the hire company uses??

Another safety issue, I have been noticing more and more, is the stern rope. Why oh why do people leave their stern rope around their feet on the back counter?
They only have to get a foot or feet caught up in the rope. This could result in the falling over, they may either hit their head or worse still fall overboard and get caught in the propellor. All ropes should be in view. You should take your stern rope off and lay it in front of you on the hatch. That way you can see it and it is to hand at all times. You should also never hang your rope on the tiller, because that can also prove dangerous. But sadly I am seeing more and more of this happening. I know if I were to say anything, I would probably be given a mouthful or ignored, because they have done it like that for years and never had an accident. But it does not mean it is right. Safety needs to be taken seriously, so please stay safe out there.