This past weekend, a friend of mine unexpectedly lost his steering ability on his small powerboat, a disconcerting experience at least and a potentially disastrous one at worst. Some lessons he learned included: Perform a VHF radio check before exiting your home waterway to ensure you have access to responsive help if necessary – new equipment may have a different interface than replaced equipment, and emergencies are difficult times to get educated. Check your anchor and line to confirm both are within reach and ready to be put to use quickly-anchor lines not used frequently can get kinks and snarls, [...]