Heading “up to camp” and putting everything back in order after a long winter, like getting your boat ready for a new season, can feel like a chore. Things that worked in the fall may not be in good shape after a seven-month lay-up. Things that were worn out or broken in October didn’t fix themselves over the winter.

While discovering that an extended family of mice has turned your best mattress into the Great North Woods Rodent Ritz-Carlton over the winter can be unsettling and costly, that discovery pales in comparison to having a fire on your boat and finding out in that moment of panic that your only fire extinguisher has died over the long off-season.

The Coast Guard uses a checklist of all the required safety equipment and paperwork items to determine if your boat is safe and legal to operate. If you’re boarded and fail to get a passing mark on one of the required items, you may get a citation requiring that issue be resolved within a given time period or face a fine. However, your boating day may come to an immediate halt if the discrepancy is a serious safety issue like inadequate life jackets for all, or faulty running lights at night.

The Coast Guard Auxiliary conducts the same inspection as does the active duty Coast Guard with one major difference: while the Coast Guard may fine you or terminate your voyage, the CG Auxiliary Vessel Safety Check (VSC) notes on the inspection form any items that don’t pass. The completed form is then given only to the boat owner. The examiner is prohibited from sharing the report with anyone.

A Vessel Safety Check is free and only takes a few minutes. Below is the 2019 CG Auxiliary VSC schedule for the Boothbay and Bath areas. The VSC events begin at 9 a.m. on Saturdays and 10 a.m. on Sundays and continue until they run out of “customers.” VSC’s can also be arranged by appointment at your home or marina, while your boat is on a trailer or in the water.

For additional information or to arrange a free Vessel Safety Check, visit the Boothbay Harbor CG Auxiliary Flotilla 25 website: flotilla25.org or the national CG Auxiliary website: CGAUX.org and select “Get a Vessel Safety Check.”

Auxiliary Vessel Safety Check schedule

Saturday, June 22 at 9 a.m.: Kennebec Tavern, Bath; Brown’s/Carousel Marina, Boothbay Harbor; Tugboat Marina, Boothbay Harbor; and Hodgdon Yacht Services, Southport. Also, Robinhood Marina, Georgetown and New Meadows Marina, West Bath

Sunday, June 23 at 10 a.m.: Ocean Point Marina, East Boothbay

Saturday, June 29 at 9 a.m.: Capital Island Harbor, Southport