Have Fun During A Family Boating Without Damaging The Ecosystem

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Have Fun During A Family Boating Without Damaging The Ecosystem

If you are looking for a fun activity that the entire family can enjoy, consider boating. It has the added benefit of being educational, and relaxing as well.

Bear in mind, though, that boating can be hard on the environment if not managed properly. If you are reckless or careless, you can pollute the water and disturb marine habitats. To keep your boating experience enjoyable as well as environmentally sound, follow the tips below:

1. Bring a trash bag: One of the basic rules of nature is that you take nothing but memories (or pictures) and leave nothing but footprints. Everything you bring in, you have to bring back out.

2. Stop fuel drips: Be careful when refueling your boat. Spilling fuel can be very damaging to marine life. Add fuel slowly, and keep any spills from dripping by using a rag to sop them up. Always leave 10% of the fuel tank capacity empty. And never, ever "top off" your tank. This practice can lead to overflows and larger spills.

3. Perform maintenance on land: Whenever possible, avoid doing any sort of maintenance on a boat if it is in the water. Wait until you are back on land. It is far better for paint chips, fuel, or debris to fall on land than into the delicate aquatic ecosystem.

Just to be sure, it's best to have an 'out of the water' policy for all boat maintenance.

4. Use clean non-toxic paints: When you paint your boat, use non-toxic paint. Even though the paint will be dry by the time it goes into the water, using a toxic paint is dangerous to marine life. Paint can chip, and the chips can then dissolve into the water.

Inexpensive paints are often toxic paints. Don't think that because the paint will be dry before you go back in the water that this will be safe for wildlife. Even dry paint can be toxic to marine life. Paint chips can come off of the boat and dissolve into the water.