The kids' snacks were on the kitchen counter.
We discovered this approximately halfway to the marina, which is exactly the right distance to make turning back genuinely inconvenient but not quite impossible. We turned back.
I tell this story not because it is dramatic, which it isn't, but because it is the kind of thing that happens when you approach a day on the boat the same way you approach a day out anywhere else. You pack roughly, you trust your memory, and you leave something behind.
A boat is not like anywhere else. Once you cast off, whatever you forgot stays behind. There is no corner shop two minutes away, no boot of the car to check, no running back inside. What is on the boat is what you have for the next eight hours.
After enough trips, and enough things left on kitchen counters, I started keeping a list.
Here it is.
Safety — Non-Negotiable, Check It First
Life jackets for every person on board, fitted and fastened before departure. Not stowed under the seat for when conditions change. On. If you have children on board this is not a discussion.
A fully charged phone in a waterproof case or dry bag. Your navigation app, your weather app, your emergency contact, and your What3Words location all live on that phone. What3Words gives every 3-metre square on the planet a unique three-word address, and you can read those three words to emergency services so they know exactly where you are, even in the middle of a lake.
A first aid kit. The one from the boat locker that you checked at the start of the season, not the one you meant to replace.
Food and Water — More Than You Think
Water. More water than feels necessary. Two litres per person per day is the land-based recommendation. On a boat in the sun, in heat, with physical activity, drink more. Dehydration on the water sneaks up because you do not feel as hot as you are.
Food for the full trip plus one unexpected extra hour. Conditions change, trips run long, engines occasionally decide to be interesting. Pack for the day you plan and the day that might happen instead.
Keep food in a sealed cool bag. Direct sun on a boat is relentless and whatever you left in an open bag at midday is not what you want to eat by 3pm.
The snacks. Actually put them in the bag. Put the bag by the front door the night before. I am speaking from experience.
Sun and Comfort
Sunscreen, and not the bottle that is nearly empty from last summer. UV reflection off water is significantly stronger than on land. Burns happen faster than you expect and last longer than you want.
A hat that will not blow off. This sounds like a small thing until you are 3 kilometres from shore watching yours float away. A strap or a cap with a proper fit. Not a loose summer hat.
Sunglasses, polarised if possible. Glare off water is exhausting in a way that creeps up on you over a full day and makes everything harder, including concentration and navigation.
A light windproof layer for every person. Even on a hot day, moving water creates wind, wind creates chill, and the temperature on the water drops faster than it does on shore when clouds come in. The person who brought a jacket will be comfortable. Everyone else will be quietly miserable by 4pm.
Non-slip shoes or sandals with a heel strap. Bare feet on a wet deck are a recipe for a fall that ruins a day. Flip flops are slightly better than bare feet and considerably worse than proper deck shoes or any shoe that actually stays on your foot when you move.
Practical Items Worth Having
A dry bag for valuables, documents, and anything that cannot get wet. Keys, wallet, the boat's papers, your phone backup.
A small torch. Trips run late, hatches are dark, and the one time you need to check something in the engine compartment it will be after the sun has gone down and your phone battery will be at 12 percent.
A basic tool kit. Not a workshop. A multi-tool, a spare fuse, some electrical tape, and a couple of spare shackles. The things that save you from a minor inconvenience becoming a major problem.
Bin bags. There is no rubbish disposal on the water. Whatever you bring on, you take back off.
One More Thing
The list above is not exhaustive. It is the list that covers a normal day on Swiss or Italian waters without drama. Your list will grow with your experience, and the items that get added will almost always be things you once left behind.
The snacks go in the bag the night before. Everything else follows from there.
See you next Thursday.
— Ale
Pack for the day you plan and the hour that might happen instead. Water and food for longer than you expect. A layer for everyone even if the forecast is warm. Life jackets on, not stowed.
And do the bag the night before. Whatever you leave to the morning, you will leave on the kitchen counter.
A decent dry bag costs €15-25 and makes everything else easier. Phone, keys, documents, anything that cannot get wet lives in it for the whole trip. Roll it down three times and clip it. It goes everywhere on the boat and it survives everything. Any outdoor or marine retailer in Switzerland or Italy stocks them. Decathlon's own brand version is reliable and cheap, and there is a good range on Amazon. If you only buy one piece of kit before your next trip, make it this.
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. It costs you nothing extra, and I only recommend kit I would put on my own boat.
Renting a boat? I put everything I check before, during and after a rental into a free checklist, with a budget sheet at the end. Download the boat rental checklist
A properly fitted children's life jacket rated for their weight, worn at all times on deck and whenever they are near an open cockpit. For small children, choose one with a crotch strap, so it can't ride up over their head, and a head support that keeps their face out of the water. Adult life jackets are not safe for children and should never be used as a substitute. Beyond that, sun protection matters even more for children than adults: full-coverage sun shirts are easier to manage than reapplying sunscreen on a moving boat, and a hat with a chin strap rather than a standard cap. Non-slip shoes with a closed toe rather than sandals. And a change of clothes in a dry bag, because children on boats get wet, and a dry child is a happy child for the second half of the trip.
