Layout Boat Safety
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- čas přidán 14. 02. 2023
- Thinking about a layout boat and not sure what to consider for safety gear?
This video helps the new and experienced hunter consider different aspects of safety when it comes to duck hunting out of a layout boat.
The big sections are:
1. Pre-hunt safety
2. Safety in the tender
3. Safety transferring to & from the layout
4. Considerations for the layout itself
I've hunted from a layout boat since 2003 and these are some of the key lessons and processes that we use to stay safe while still having a good time. Hope this helps!
***I apologize for the audio - I didn't realize my mic had gone bad just prior to filming this. If you turn up the sound, you can hear everything OK.
I recently went on my first layout hunt with Ivan and his attention to detail is second to none. There is a lot to unpack in this video, but trust me, it’s worth the watch. When Ivan was first going over our plans and his safety brief before even getting in the water, I remember thinking, “wow, this is a lot. Is it all necessary?” Afterwards, I was so thankful that he was so intentional as I was fully prepared for anything that would come up. He told us, “I promised your wives I would bring you home safely”, and he delivered. Don’t overlook the little things just because you’ve been doing it forever. Being too comfortable is often when failure occurs! Thanks for putting a great resource out there Ivan!
Wow - thanks Matt. Really appreciate that man!
One of the main reasons I started hunting with Ivan over 10 years ago was his attention to safety. As Matt mentioned above, just because you’ve been doing something for years doesn’t mean mistakes won’t happen. Even knowing the safety brief by heart, this video is still a good refresher. For me, being aware of aspects that you don’t use frequently, such radio communication for emergency response, is always helpful. The practicing of driving the boat is key too. Being able to pull your buddy safely from a layout boat when the weather starts to turn and waves are pitching is truly a “life skill”. Thanks for taking the time to post this Ivan and it will be a good reference even for the most experienced.
Thanks so much brother - we've learned a lot of this together!
A lot of good information here.
Some stuff we do. Use a buoy where we anchor the tender with a shorter lead attached to the boat we can quickly unclip from the buoy. That way you can quickly get to the hunter. I like to use a unit circle to describe downed birds e.g. 135 degrees 60 yards out, 75 degrees 25 yards out. This works great for me but it does confuse some. For most people the clock arms work better with the front of the layout boat pointed at 12 o'clock.
Whatever system works for the team is good!
Extremely good discussion, which reminded me of a few new things even though I've hunted from layout boats for a long time. Kudos on this, especially using a realistic diagram of the rig. One item I've learned is to have an anchor on the layout strong enough to hold both boat in a blow, as when making the transfer the layout's anchor has to hold a much larger load since the boats are together. And yes, we bouy our tender anchor, and bouy the anchor when gunning from the tender on the Atlantic, too, so we can go back to the same spot relative to the decoys. I'm cautious: usually have a couple of VHF radios in the layout, wear my lifejacket, and think having a zip-closed bag for handing off shells, bincos, or whatever you wnat in the layout is a better way than handing off a box of shells, or other separate items. Have already forwarded this discussion to my layout-hunting buddies.
I forgot to add that the best life jackets to use are bright orange and have reflective tape. A dark green pfd is hard to spot by rescuers
Excellent job! Very Informative
If the wind picks up and swamps the layout or an anchor comes loose the safest place to be is in the layout boat don’t be a hero and try to swim to shore
If your in the layout boat and the tender is coming don’t try to grab the tender before they captain is ready to switch you out.
Always use an anchor that’s over kill for the layout that will hold the tender in case it takes longer for a shooter to switch I have a loop in my rear anchor line that I hook on my stern cleat of the tender and even in 3-4’ waves holds the tender anchored into the wind backwards so shooters can take there time switching in and out “slow is smooth and smooth is fast”
Great additions Jayden!
Here is the link to the Layout Hunting Guide Book that I wrote in 2011. If you're just getting into Layout Boat hunting, this is a good reference for all the pieces and parts of layout hunting.
drive.google.com/file/d/0B0Z285_MyV5DYzg5YTFlOTMtM2Q3MS00YTBmLWI0ZTUtMTJkNTY0Y2UzNmZk/view?resourcekey=0-9iI_9doMWvADb8AyuDYVxw