• Skip to content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Start Here
  • Articles
    • Preparing to Cruise
    • Buying a Boat & Gear
      • Buying a Boat
      • Boat Gear
      • Galley Gear
      • Personal Gear
      • Tools
      • Emergency Gear
      • Non-Electric Alternatives
      • Books & DVDs
    • Cruising & Chartering
      • Chartering
      • Skills for Cruising
      • Cruising Stories
      • Cruising Lifestyle
      • International Cruising
      • Home Sweet Boat
      • Underway
      • Dinghy
      • Bahamas
      • Dogs & Cats
    • Living on a Boat
      • Home Sweet Boat
      • Organizing & Storing Stuff
      • Laundry
      • Batteries & Charging
      • Cleaning Inside & Out
      • Composting Toilet
      • Bugs
      • Trash
    • Food & Cooking
      • Galley Gear
      • Cooking on a Boat
      • Provisioning
      • Food Storage
      • Using a Boat Refrigerator
      • No Refrigerator? Read Here
      • No Oven? Bake on the Stove
      • Boat-Friendly Recipes
      • Cooking Tips
      • Dishwashing
    • Boat Work
      • Easy Boat Improvements
      • Projects – Repairs & Upgrades
      • Boat Maintenance
      • DIY Tips
      • Tools
      • Batteries & Charging
      • In the Boatyard
    • Problems & Concerns
      • Encouragement
      • Emergency Gear
      • Fire Aboard
      • Health
      • Hot Weather
      • Bugs
      • Galley Safety
      • Hurricane Prep
  • Podcasts
  • Books
    • Cookbook
    • Store Food w/o Fridge book
  • Recipes
  • Amazon Store

The Boat Galley

cooking & food • gear • boat life • DIY tips & projects • and more!

cooking & food • gear • boat life • DIY tips & projects • and more!
  • Pre-Cruising
    • Preparing to Cruise
    • Buying a Boat & Gear
  • Boat Work
  • Food & Cooking
  • Links
  • Resource Center
Every time we got underway, it seemed we forgot something. And then we'd have a surprise as a locker would open and cans fall out. A simple checklist solved the problem -- download a template and make your own!

Before Moving Boat Checklist

July 8, 2013 by Carolyn Shearlock

As you get ready to leave the marina slip or weigh anchor, do you find yourself wondering what you’ve forgotten to do?  Whether it’s double-checking that all lockers are latched (so no cans will become missiles), or closing all the hatches and portholes, it seemed that Dave and I usually managed to miss something.

Tired of drying dishes sliding off the counter, cans falling out of lockers, dragging a bag of clams and more, Dave and I developed a “Before Moving the Boat” checklist.  Now, this is just the stuff to prep the boat in general — not the things like checking the engine coolant and oil, which are also important.

If you want such a list for yourself, I’ve made mine into a downloadable Word doc (below).  But you’ll have to customize it for your own boat — you may not have to move a rug or get the dog’s leash out, for example.  And over time, we changed some items and added others — initially, it seemed that we added items almost every time we went anywhere!

There are lots of columns so that I don’t need to print one off each time we leave an anchorage/marina.  My way of using it is to check everything off as I do it — or if it doesn’t apply.  Then, literally immediately before hoisting the anchor or casting off the dock lines, I double-check the list to make sure there is a check mark in every box in today’s column.

We taped it inside the cover of our log . . . and yes, you’ll see that I wasn’t always perfect about checking off the items that didn’t apply!

Every time we got underway, it seemed we forgot something. And then we'd have a surprise as a locker would open and cans fall out. A simple checklist solved the problem -- download a template and make your own!

Every time we got underway, it seemed we forgot something. A simple checklist solved the problem -- download a template and make your own!
Share350
Pin3.3K
Email
3.7K Shares
Some links above (including all Amazon links) are affiliate links, meaning that I earn from qualifying purchases. Learn more.

Filed Under: Cruising & Chartering Tagged With: Checklists & Downloads, Underway

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Gretchen Hannsz Witzgall on Facebook says

    July 8, 2013 at 2:17 pm

    Thank you and very timely…I was just discussing w/ Chris how having to stow everything to get going is bogging me down on wanting to pull anchor and go…this should help! Thanks!

    Reply
  2. James Giard says

    July 11, 2013 at 12:19 am

    I can see the need for a list like what you made up. For the most part if one has been doing this for a while the check list is in your mind and you check each item mentally before you leave the slip or mooring. I have a 26′ cabin cruiser tied at a marina slip.As I secured items in the lower cabin bring up the right amount of preservers one for each person that is going out on the boat. Do a final inspections of all systems and turn on bilge blower and finally turn start the engine.What has happen to me twice and it was very embarrassing between the time that I started mental check off list to undoing the ropes from the dock cleats someone would ask a question about my method of leaving the slip and or what they could do to help. and I will forget 1 very important thing, or thought I all ready took care of It….was to undo the shore power cord from the boat. I would have powered the boat 2 to 4 feet down the slip and someone on another dock boat would point out the shore power cord was still attach to the boat. I would stop the boat and unhook the shore power cord from the boat and thank the person for pointing it out and be on our way.I am sure the marina owner would not have been very impress if I pull the electrical tower off the dock and into the water.

    After the last time it happen when I got home I went to the West Marine Web site and copied & pasted two pictures of 50′ yellow shore power cords and enlarge them to fill out one page and my wife brought it to an UPS store and had them laminated. I than place laminated picture on top of the cockpit gages and would not remove it until I had the shore power cord unplug from the boat at the electrical tower storage hook on the dock if it was a day trip, or unplug from the tower and all the cord brought on the boat if an overnight trip to another marina. I never had another incident like that again.

    Reply
  3. Kerri says

    August 5, 2013 at 4:08 pm

    We have friends who laminated their list so that they can use a whiteboard marker then rub it off for next time. But whatever works!

    Reply
    • Carolyn Shearlock says

      August 5, 2013 at 4:26 pm

      Great idea! I’m a big fan of lists!

      Reply
  4. Mili Cook says

    May 3, 2014 at 11:33 pm

    Wait! You’re gonna love catamaran life. You may be able to chuck the list overboard. 😉

    Reply
    • The Boat Galley says

      May 4, 2014 at 12:45 am

      Oh, there will still be parts that are useful 🙂

      Reply
  5. Peter Shomers says

    May 3, 2014 at 11:56 pm

    Ted has got his own lists I’m sure

    Reply
  6. Carla Adwell Webb says

    May 4, 2014 at 6:23 am

    Wild I had just asked on WWS if anyone had started one and yes as cat owners many of these apply. Thanks for getting me started!

    Reply
  7. Mili Cook says

    May 4, 2014 at 8:15 am

    Lol, I woke up at 0400, thinking, that wasn’t a very nice thing to say…let’s change it to “your list may get a lot shorter”.

    Reply
    • The Boat Galley says

      May 4, 2014 at 11:28 am

      Sounds good! 🙂

      Reply
  8. Paula Spence, M/Y Sea Eagle says

    August 26, 2014 at 8:23 am

    We keep our “Moving the Boat” checklist in our smartphone. Works very well for us.

    Reply
  9. Kathy Belanger-Barber says

    March 15, 2015 at 1:15 pm

    We institute a 20 minute rule everything is stow able in 20 minutes it helps us stay organized

    Reply
  10. Sherri Brenner says

    March 15, 2015 at 3:24 pm

    We use checklists also. We have one for setting off, leaving the boat (used when we are leaving for an extended time), guest crew orientation, and heavy weather.

    Reply
    • The Boat Galley says

      March 15, 2015 at 4:31 pm

      Checklists are much better than relying on my memory!

      Reply
    • Sherri Brenner says

      March 15, 2015 at 8:22 pm

      What memory?

      Reply
  11. SV Matilda says

    March 15, 2015 at 5:05 pm

    Nice to see the wine glass safety is first on the list!

    Reply
  12. Skylar Walker says

    March 16, 2015 at 12:00 am

    Cool, thank you!

    Reply
  13. Skylar Walker says

    March 16, 2015 at 12:00 am

    Cool, thank you!

    Reply
  14. Jan Bogart says

    March 1, 2016 at 9:13 pm

    Reggie Botkin…….wheel!!

    Reply
  15. Beth Hipp Tyler says

    March 1, 2016 at 9:49 pm

    Not bringing in the swim leader gets us a lot

    Reply
  16. Terry Michael says

    March 1, 2016 at 10:20 pm

    I guess I don’t have the right kind of boat.

    Reply
    • The Boat Galley says

      March 1, 2016 at 10:56 pm

      Any boat is the right boat!

      Reply
    • Terry Michael says

      March 1, 2016 at 10:59 pm

      Well mine doesn’t have wine glasses or rugs. However we are pontooning!!!

      Reply
    • The Boat Galley says

      March 1, 2016 at 11:31 pm

      Nothing wrong with that — I grew up with one! And the good news is that your list is probably a lot shorter!

      Reply
    • Terry Michael says

      March 1, 2016 at 11:44 pm

      A lot shorter.

      Reply
  17. Joysealife.com says

    March 2, 2016 at 12:01 am

    Auto pilot not on. First time we used our boat was after we had been out on the ocean trial right after we bought it, and the auto pilot was left on. My husband had no idea why he couldn’t control the boat. What a nightmare! We were lucky to get some help to get it back in the slip.

    Reply
    • The Boat Galley says

      March 2, 2016 at 12:29 am

      Yikes!

      Reply
  18. Donna Cantwell says

    March 2, 2016 at 1:03 am

    Rich

    Reply
  19. Connie McMartin says

    March 2, 2016 at 2:20 am

    Wow, thank you for this! Looks very helpful.

    Reply
  20. Shirley Russell says

    March 2, 2016 at 12:13 pm

    Drain Plug

    Reply
    • Carolyn Shearlock says

      March 2, 2016 at 8:17 am

      Absolutely if you’ve got one!

      Reply
  21. Cindy Williams Lowrie says

    March 2, 2016 at 1:35 pm

    Agreed….always something will slide or fall out….will make one!!

    Reply
  22. Roger Danley says

    December 25, 2016 at 11:07 am

    I’m writing procedures for everything I can thin of we need to know, but hadn’t made any checklists. Great idea! Thanks so much.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

*

I agree

Primary Sidebar

Welcome

Carolyn Shearlock

Hi! I'm Carolyn Shearlock. My husband and I have been cruising over 11 years and 10,000 miles, first on a Tayana 37 monohull and now on a 34' Gemini catamaran. Along the way, we sold pretty much everything we owned (twice!), gained a great boat dog, had a bunch of wonderful times and some adventures . . . and learned a ton about what does and doesn't work!

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest

Getting Started

The Boat Galley can be overwhelming with over 1,300 articles. The Resource Center will guide you, with recommended articles and help tailored to your specific situation: considering cruising, preparing to cruise or out cruising. Click here.

Latest Articles & Podcasts

8 Bahamas internet options compared: wifi from businesses, international roaming, T-Mobile, BTC, Aliv, MyIslandWifi, Google Fi and Iridium GO!

Bahamas Internet Options

February 20, 2019 By Carolyn Shearlock

8 Bahamas internet options compared: wifi from businesses, international roaming, T-Mobile, BTC, Aliv, MyIslandWifi, Google Fi and Iridium GO! [More] Bahamas Internet Options

Projects abound. Which ones REALLY need to be done before you can go? There's a simple rule to keep in mind!

Which Project First?

February 19, 2019 By Nica Waters

Projects abound. Which ones REALLY need to be done before you can go? There’s a simple rule to keep in mind! [More] Which Project First?

West Marine price matches both brick-and-mortar stores and online retailers. Save some serious money and still have the convenience of a local store.

West Marine Price Matching

February 18, 2019 By Carolyn Shearlock

West Marine price matches both brick-and-mortar stores and online retailers. Save some serious money and still have the convenience of a local store. [More] West Marine Price Matching

Footer

TOP ARTICLES

  • Boat Shopping: An Overview
  • Boat Cooking IS Different
  • What I Needed to Know . . .
  • Dogs on Boats 101
  • Outboard Won’t Start 101
  • DIY Fuel Polishing

Contact

800 35th St. Ocean
Marathon, FL 33050
[email protected]
(305) 928-1170

Newsletter

Advertising · About · Privacy · Contact · © 2010 - 2019 The Boat Galley/Carolyn Shearlock. All Rights Reserved.