Wear a Life Jacket – 
It won’t work if you don’t wear it. They are called lifesaving equipment for a reason. The life jacket is the single most important piece of safety gear for any boater. Don’t just have it in the boat. Spend time choosing the right safety gear for you and for your craft. Find one that is right for you and wear it. Make sure everyone on board is wearing an approved PDF or life jacket of the correct size. Compare trying to put your lifejacket on in an emergency to trying to put your seatbelt on in the middle of a car crash.
Boat sober – Don’t cruise with booze. It is no coincidence that drinking too much and taking to the water leads to dangerous situations. Mixing alcohol and boating is far more dangerous than you may realize. Fatigue, sun, wind and the motion of the boat dull your senses. Alcohol intensifies these effects, leaving you with poorer fine motor skills and impaired judgment. Drinking alcohol while boating can affect your ability to think clearly, your coordination and your response time. It also increases the risk of hypothermia if you end up in the water. Remember, drinking and operating a boat is an offense under the Criminal Code of Canada and the penalties are exactly the same as for drinking and driving an automobile.
Know before you go - Avoid potential dangers. Know the weather forecast as well as water temperatures, conditions, currents and hazards before you go out. Tell someone where you are going and when you will be back as well as who is with you.
Take the right equipment – Take paddles or a manual propelling device as well as a bailer or water pump. Take a watertight flashlight or flares and take a whistle or a horn and carry a cell phone. Wear thermal protection when operating in cold water (water less than 15°C). Take spare clothing in a watertight bag (weather conditions can change rapidly). Take drinking water and high-energy snacks (drinking water is important because not ingesting enough of it can quickly lead to fatigue and dehydration). Ensuring that all equipment, whether it is lifesaving or navigation equipment, is in good working order is not just common sense — it is the law.
Drive your boat responsibly - 
Ensure everyone in the boat is wearing a lifejacket. Boat sober. Drive with caution. Operate the craft at a safe speed. Pay attention to where you are going; have a passenger be a lookout if possible. Watch the boats around you. Give right of way. "There are no brakes on a boat, so be sure that you can stop within a clear distance of whatever is ahead of you. An accident is inevitable if you let off the throttle but have too much speed to stop in time to avoid running aground or colliding with another boat. As well, there is quite a jolt to come to a sudden stop. Passengers have very little protection and they will go into the windshield, bump their heads or go overboard.
When meeting head on with another boat, shift right. Drive with proper lights after dark. Keep an eye on the sky and watch for changing weather conditions. If conditions start to change, hurry up and get to shore. If you can’t make it back home, just get to shore as waves can pick up quickly when a storm rolls in.
Don’t Overload - Avoid being swamped or sinking. Make sure the number of people and the weight of your gear do not exceed the restrictions of your watercraft. Your boat’s safety can depend on the load you put in it and where you put it. Too much weight can overload your boat and cause it to become unstable or allow small waves to come aboard. It will also reduce the amount your boat can roll before its sides dip under. Weight that is carried too high will reduce stability, making your boat more apt to roll and less inclined to return to an upright position. Never stand up in your boat.
Overloading your boat with people or equipment is incredibly dangerous and can have fatal consequences. The number of people who can be carried safely depends on the type of vessel, the weight of gear and the distribution of weight. Poor distribution of weight on board will affect your boat’s stability for the worse. Keep in mind the maximum load is calculated for fair weather conditions and evenly distributed weight. Keep the load as low as possible on board and secure equipment to prevent it from shifting and affecting the stability of your pleasure craft.
Get Training – Learn to Swim. Boaters are responsible for operating their vessels safely. This means learning the rules for recreational boating and following them. Those who do not comply with the law could be subject to penalties or fines. Take a boating safety course. You would not take ballet lessons to learn how to skydive, and operating a pleasure craft is not the same as driving a car. Before you go boating, there is a minimum you need to know.
Transport Canada sets minimum requirements for pleasure craft and non- pleasure craft. One of its programs in particular, the Office of Boating Safety (OBS), helps educate boaters about these requirements. Safety organizations like the Canadian Safe Boating Council, Canadian Red Cross and others mandated with water safety deliver prevention-based programs to reduce risks and environmental impacts of boating.
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