Chapter 7 · Lesson 5Practical demonstration · about 5 minutes

Finish the session properly

Call a session before it becomes untidy, then rinse, inspect, dry and reset the equipment for its next use.

Video coming soon

Finish the session properly — demonstration

In the video

  • Recall first: people and craft accounted for
  • Aftercare for the actual equipment, including the hidden wet areas
  • A battery defect versus an active failure
  • Tomorrow's readiness report

From the captain

Before you start

The session is not finished when the guest steps back aboard. It is finished when the kit is clean, dry, checked and back where the next crew member can find it. That last part is where enthusiasm tends to fade, usually at exactly the same speed as the sun is setting.

By the end of this lesson

End a session with everyone accounted for, equipment checked and the next crew told what is actually ready.

See it

See it for yourself

Finish the session properly

The session is finished when the kit is clean, dry, checked and back where the next crew member can find it.

  1. Step 1: Call it early

    If the limit is reached or the safe margin is disappearing, report it and use the agreed stop or recovery procedure.

    People first

    People and craft accounted for before attention shifts to the locker.

  2. Step 2: Rinse

    Each item's own aftercare instructions. No water into electrical parts.

  3. Step 3: Inspect

    As you clean: folds, bags, valves, connectors and hidden pockets.

  4. Step 4: Dry

    A wet locker is not a drying system.

  5. Step 5: Batteries

    Not straight onto charge. Inspect first; charge or store only under the exact procedure.

    Active failure

    Hissing, venting or vapour: raise the alarm and keep people clear. Do not pick it up and move it.

  6. Step 6: Reset the locker

    Matched parts together, lines coiled properly, flotation left dry.

  7. Step 7: Report

    Charge state and damage recorded. Not ready tomorrow? Tell the right person tonight.

Stop in good time. Rinse, inspect and dry. Charge or store batteries only under the correct procedure. Leave no surprises for morning.

Illustration · no times shown · each item's aftercare instructions and your vessel's battery procedure govern

What to look for

  • Account for people first

    Use the agreed recall and recovery procedure. Confirm people and craft are accounted for before attention shifts to packing the locker.

  • Aftercare follows the equipment

    Clean, rinse, flush and dry only as the actual equipment instructions require. Do not direct water into electrical parts or assume every powered craft uses the same flushing sequence.

  • A battery fault changes the job

    Do not charge suspect equipment. Report damage, water ingress or abnormal behaviour through the vessel's battery procedure. Heat, vapour, hissing or other active failure signs require the emergency response; do not pick up and relocate a failing battery as routine pack-down.

The lesson

The lesson

  1. 01

    Call it early enough

    Keep watching conditions, traffic, guest fatigue and equipment throughout the session. If the vessel's limit is reached or the safe margin is disappearing, report it and use the agreed stop or recovery procedure. Be polite and clear with the guest. Do not apologise for applying the plan everybody agreed before launch.

  2. 02

    Rinse, inspect and dry

    Use each item's actual aftercare instructions to remove salt, clean, rinse, flush and dry it. Do not direct water into electrical parts or treat every powered toy as the same machine. As you clean, inspect for damage and check the folds, bags, valves, connectors and hidden pockets as instructed. A wet locker is not a drying system.

  3. 03

    Treat batteries as batteries

    Do not put every e-toy battery straight onto charge. Follow the exact manufacturer's condition, cooling, dryness and charging instructions and the vessel's battery procedure. Keep suspect equipment out of use and report it. If a battery is hissing, venting, giving off vapour or showing other active failure signs, raise the alarm, keep people clear and follow the vessel's emergency response. Do not pick it up and move it as a routine pack-down task.

    Inspect first. Charge or store second.

    Follow a battery from the end of the session. Only a battery with nothing abnormal goes on to charging or storage.

    Nothing abnormalAnything abnormalAt any step, if it fails:Inspect before chargingCase, seals, connectors, cablesDry and cool firstKeep connectors dry, let it coolExact charging or storageCharger and target, or storageIsolate and reportDo not use or chargeActive failureHissing, venting or smokeRaise the alarmKeep people clear

    Inspect first. Charge or store second. Battery construction, cooling time, water indicators, safe charging range and storage state vary: the manufacturer guide and the vessel's lithium-battery procedure control every step.

    Illustration · the manufacturer guide and your vessel's lithium-battery procedure govern every step

  4. 04

    Reset the locker

    Return matched parts together, coil lines properly and leave flotation equipment dry. Record charge state and damage in the vessel's normal system. If something will not be ready tomorrow, tell the right person tonight. Surprising the bosun and the guest at the same time is poor theatre.

Where it goes wrong

A powered toy comes back wet and warm. Its battery is connected to the charger immediately because 'ready for tomorrow' has been mistaken for 'charge now'. The correct cooling, inspection and water-ingress checks are skipped. Readiness never outranks the battery procedure.

Your call

What would you do?

Pick one, then read the feedback on all three.

The situation

During pack-down, an e-toy battery begins hissing and giving off vapour. Another crew member suggests carrying it into the battery locker.

Take it aboard

Hand over tomorrow's readiness

Do this during your induction or first weeks, with the person responsible for your work.

Walk-through aboard

At a planned pack-down, observe the responsible crew and complete a sample readiness report. Use a labelled dummy for any defect example.

  1. 01Confirm the people and craft count with the session lead.
  2. 02Identify each set's aftercare instructions.
  3. 03Check drying, matched parts and the authorised charging or storage decision.
  4. 04Report one item as ready, one as drying and one as out of service.

What a useful result looks like

  • People are accounted for before equipment becomes the focus.
  • A drying item is not labelled ready.
  • Defect and emergency responses are distinguished.

Stop: Do not handle a hot, hissing, leaking or venting battery for this exercise. Follow the alarm and emergency procedure if a real abnormality appears.

Deckhand Foundation · Job card

Session closed, readiness handed over

From the lesson: Finish the session properly

  • Recall and recovery complete; people and craft accounted for.
  • Equipment-specific aftercare followed.
  • Folds, connectors and storage condition checked as instructed.
  • Battery condition assessed under the vessel's procedure.
  • Matched kit returned; defects kept out of service.
  • Ready / drying / unavailable status passed to the next crew.

People / craft count confirmed by

Equipment state / defect

Person informed / next action

Your vessel's procedures and senior crew come first. Nothing on this card is stored.

Quick check

Four decisions, then move on

This check confirms the principle. Your vessel's own induction still comes first.

QUESTION 01When is a watersports session properly finished?
QUESTION 02A battery is still hot and its connector is damp. What should you do?
QUESTION 03You find damage during pack-down. What is the useful response?
QUESTION 04A guest wants another run as the safe margin is disappearing. What governs the decision?

0 of 4 answered

Answer all four to check your understanding.