Essential Boating First-Aid Kit Supplies

Having a well-stocked first-aid kit aboard your boat is not only common sense, but it should also be considered a top priority, not just a necessity. 

While boating is generally a safe activity, you still need to be prepared for unexpected injuries, both minor and severe. Injuries can happen both on and off the boat, particularly when you and/or your passengers go swimming off the boat in shallow water with rough underwater surfaces. Legs get scraped on rocks, feet get cut with sharp objects, etc. 

Professional medical help isn’t always readily available when boating, so a basic first-aid kit to treat injuries on the spot is obviously a must. It’s a good idea to start with a pre-made first-aid kit, then customize it with extra items based on your needs and the those of your passengers. But at the bare minimum, your boating first-aid kit should have the following basic items:

• Assorted bandages: elastic, triangular, large adhesive pads, sterile gauze pads, gauze tape, etc.
• Scissors to cut dressings and clothing from a wound
• Tweezers to remove splinters, glass shards and other small items embedded in skin
• Alcohol wipes to sterilize wounds, scissors and tweezers
• Topical meds such as antiseptic ointment for disinfecting minor cuts and scrapes 

• Needleless syringe and saline solution to flush wounds 
• Eye wash for flushing dirt and chemicals out of eyes
• Instant cold pack to cover minor burns and swelling 
• Burn cream and aloe gel to treat minor burns and sunburns
• Disposable non-latex gloves to avoid contact with bodily fluids 
• Common household meds: aspirin, ibuprofen, acetaminophen, antibiotics, antacids, etc.

For excursions within a short distance to emergency services, a basic first-aid kit should suffice. But aside from the basics, it’s a good idea to carry extra supplies, no matter how close you are to land. For example, an emergency space blanket to retain body heat if a person goes into shock. 

Other items to consider include a thermometer, seasickness medication, extra sunscreen, prescribed meds, and a flashlight or head lamp for nighttime emergencies. If your boating activities include fishing, make sure you have a tool in your first-aid kit that can cut through fishing hooks. 

What Else to Consider

Besides customizing your first-aid kit with personalized items, the kit should be adequately stocked with enough individual supplies for the number of passengers you expect to have onboard. 

You should also consider how far away from access to emergency medical services you’ll be boating, and have the necessary supplies to care for injuries or medical conditions on the spot. For example, you should have auto-injector epinephrine pens available for those who need them. So the more passengers and the further the distance from emergency medical services, the more supplies you should have available until help arrives. 

Another thing to consider is that while most kits meant for marine use are packed in waterproof containers, you should still make sure any container used for first-aid supplies is sealed watertight to protect the supplies from getting wet. 

One additional thing to consider that often gets overlooked is regularly checking your first-aid kit to see if it needs to be re-stocked. Don’t just set it and forget it.

That includes checking expiration dates, and replacing any supplies that have expired or been used up. Just because you may rarely ever need it, doesn’t mean you should neglect it. Check your first-aid kit periodically to make sure it’s up to date.