I can’t say I was always diligent about writing down a floatplan. I spent hours pouring over maps, calculating distances, choosing campsites and imagining myself gliding over the water. But I didn’t capture all these details into a document that I could share with the outside world in case of an emergency.
That was dumb.
Fortunately, nothing catastrophic has happened. However, on a recent trip, my lovely bride, often the voice of reason, composed the float plan and left copies in the windows of both our vehicles (one at put-in, the other at take-out).
After the trip, as I drove down the road I noticed a business card tucked into the weather stripping of the window. I pulled over, pulled it inside the vehicle and discovered it was from a game warden. “Nice note,” it said. “Hope you had a great trip.”
Clearly, if the professionals not only approve but take the time to drop us a note, they appreciate the effort! In fact, Senior Chief Bud Holden, a Command Duty Officer during a Search and Rescue off the New Jersey Coast managed to track down six missing boaters. He said that their float plan was “critical in search planning efforts, ultimately saving the lives of these men.”
Planning a Float Plan
Designing the trip can be almost as fun as the trip itself. (Well, not “almost” as fun, but fun nonetheless!). What a great way to spend a winter evening in front of the fire.
Using maps and guidebooks, plan what you want to see and how you will get there.
Include Distances on Your Floatplan
I find calculating distance that I want to travel in a day to be the most challenging. It’s hard to tell sometimes. Headwinds make short distances seem long. Perhaps you are paddling with some new friends and don’t know how hard they paddle.
When I was in my 20’s and 30’s, a 10-12 mile day was fairly common. Now, however , I find that I enjoy the camping even more than the paddling part, although I love the environments that paddling allows me to visit. So, I sheepishly admit that sometimes I’ll paddle three miles and call it a day because I find a beckoning campsite. The 12 mile days require an early breaking down of camp and a late setting up of camp, which cuts into hanging around the fire and drinking coffee (or other beverages) time.
Sites
Choosing sites can also create challenges. How important is the view? Is it a popular site, so it might be then? What’s the back-up plan in case there’s no room? Is the site overused? Is it susceptible to flooding? (We got to one site one year and the fire pit was underwater!)
Creating the Floatplan Document
Once you’ve chosen your sites, write it all down. Fill out information like this:
Paddlers Names
Address
Phone #
Put in Vehicle make/model /plate #/ color
Take out vehicle make/model/plate #
Boat(s) make/model ./ color
Emergency Contact (someone off the river)
Day # Campsite
Day # Campsite
Day # Campsite
Day # Campsite
Day # Campsite
etc.
Print three copies. Place one on the dashboard of each vehicle and give one to a friend, your emergency contact, who is not on the river!
USCG Float Plan
You can download a USCG float plan here as well. It is geared more toward power boating, but more detailed. I choose to use my own because it fits better with the types of trips that we do.
Download Your Editable Float Plan
You can download your own editable floatplan here.
To edit:
- Download the pdf file to your google drive
- Open your drive, hover over the file and hit control/click
- Choose “open with” google doc
- Edit!
Make it easy to help you!
See you on the river!