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Before You Trip: The Smart Boater's Guide to Planning and Executing Great Trips
Paperback
Series: Before You Pay, Throttle, Trip & Captain
Publisher: Captain Morgan's Boat Training & Charters, LL
Published: Sep 18 2026
Pages: 176
Weight: 0.93
Height: 0.38 Width: 8.50 Depth: 11.00
Language: English
Before You Trip
The Smart Boater's Guide to Planning and Executing Great TripsThe best boating trips don't begin when you leave the dock-they begin with proper planning.
Whether you're heading to a nearby waterfront restaurant, spending a weekend at a marina, island hopping with family, or planning your first multi-day coastal adventure, Before You Trip provides the practical knowledge every recreational boater should have before casting off.
Written by Captain Morgan B. Fiszel, a U.S. Coast Guard Licensed Captain, certified boating instructor, and veteran with decades of real-world boating experience, this comprehensive guide helps new and experienced recreational boaters confidently prepare for successful trips while avoiding the costly mistakes that often ruin time on the water.
Inside you'll discover how to:
Plan day trips, overnight cruises, and extended boating vacations
Select safe routes using nautical charts, GPS, and navigation apps
Understand tides, currents, bridges, locks, and weather forecasts
Calculate fuel requirements and establish safe fuel reserves
Prepare passengers, children, and pets for life aboard
Pack the right safety equipment, tools, spare parts, and provisions
Choose marinas, anchorages, transient docks, and mooring fields
Communicate using marine VHF radio procedures and emergency protocols
Create float plans and prepare for mechanical problems or unexpected weather
Navigate unfamiliar waterways with greater confidence
Handle docking, overnight stays, and multi-day cruising logistics
Reduce stress through proven trip-planning checklists used by experienced captains
Unlike books that focus primarily on boat operation, Before You Trip teaches the complete planning process that experienced captains use before every voyage. From route selection and weather planning to fuel management, marina reservations, anchoring, emergency preparedness, and returning home safely, this book provides a practical roadmap for enjoyable boating adventures.
Filled with easy-to-follow guidance, professional illustrations, comparison tables, planning worksheets, and printable checklists, this book serves as both an educational resource and a planning reference you'll return to before every trip.
Whether you own a center console, pontoon, deck boat, bowrider, cruiser, trawler, fishing boat, or power catamaran, the principles in this guide apply to recreational boating throughout the United States.
Perfect for:
First-time boat owners
Recreational powerboat operators
Couples planning boating vacations
Families new to boating
Weekend cruisers
Coastal and inland boaters
Great Loop dreamers and future cruisers
Anyone wanting to become a safer, more confident skipper
Part of the acclaimed Before You boating series, including Before You Buy, Before You Pay, Before You Throttle, and Before You Captain, this practical guide helps ensure every boating adventure starts with confidence-and ends with great memories.
Prepare smarter. Cruise with confidence. Make every trip your best one yet.
Also from
Fiszel, Morgan B.
Before You Pay: The Smart Buyer's Guide to Finding the Right Boat and Boating with Confidence
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Before You Throttle: The Practical Guide to Storage, Maintenance, Safety and Life on the Water
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