The Purpose of Filing a Float Plan

Float plans have gotten complicated with all the apps, forms, and optional fields flying around. As someone who’s been running boats for over twenty-five years—from small bay cruisers to offshore powerboats—I learned everything there is to know about why filing a float plan can save your life. Today, I will share it all with you.

Understanding a Float Plan

A float plan is essentially a detailed itinerary of your boating trip that you share with someone who stays on land. This person becomes your critical link to rescue services if something goes wrong on the water. Think of them as your emergency backup system.

The plan includes essential details: your vessel’s description (make, model, registration number, color, distinctive features), names and contact information for everyone aboard, your planned route with waypoints, departure time, and estimated return time. Quality float plans also list your emergency equipment—VHF radio, EPIRB, flares, life rafts, whatever safety gear you’re carrying.

Importance of a Float Plan

Here’s the reality: when something goes wrong on the water, time is everything. The person holding your float plan can alert authorities immediately when you don’t check in as planned. They provide crucial information that speeds up search and rescue efforts dramatically. Without a plan, responders start from scratch—they don’t know what boat to look for, where you were headed, or even when you left. That delay can mean the difference between a routine rescue and a tragedy.

I’ve seen this play out firsthand. A fellow boater I know had engine failure fifteen miles offshore. His wife had his float plan and called the Coast Guard when he didn’t return by his ETA. They had him located and towed in within two hours because they knew exactly what to look for and where to start searching.

Components of an Effective Float Plan

Probably should have led with this section, honestly. Here’s what makes a float plan actually useful in an emergency:

Vessel Description: Include the make, model, registration number, length, color, and any distinctive features. “White center console” isn’t helpful—”28-foot white Grady-White Freedom 275 with blue bimini top, registration FL 1234 AB” gives rescuers something specific to spot.

Contact Information: Names, phone numbers, and emergency contacts for everyone aboard. If you’re carrying passengers, their families need to know too.

Trip Details: Departure marina, planned route with specific waypoints or destinations, fishing spots you’ll hit, and your departure and expected return times. Be specific—”going fishing” is useless, “trolling the 100-fathom curve from waypoint N 26° 45.123′ W 79° 58.456′ to N 26° 52.789′ W 80° 01.234′” is actionable intel.

Safety Equipment: List your communication devices (VHF with MMSI number, satphone, EPIRB), life jackets, flares, life raft, first aid kit, and any other safety gear. This tells rescuers what resources you have available if you’re in trouble.

Who Should File a Float Plan?

Everyone. Period. I don’t care if you’re going out for two hours or two weeks—file a float plan. Weekend recreational boaters need them just as much as people making long passages. They’re especially critical in remote areas with less marine traffic where help isn’t just a VHF call away.

Canoeists and kayakers on extended trips absolutely need to file float plans. You’re facing unique hazards on water bodies often inaccessible to larger rescue vessels. A detailed plan helps authorities locate you faster when you’re paddling rivers or coastal areas with limited access points.

Even if you’re just running to the fishing grounds you’ve visited a hundred times—file the plan. That one time you have a medical emergency or hit submerged debris, you’ll be incredibly grateful someone knows where to look for you.

Sharing the Float Plan

Choose someone reliable and responsible to hold your float plan. They need to understand its importance and take it seriously. This person must know who to call if you don’t check in by your specified return time—usually the Coast Guard or local marine police depending on your location.

Many regions now have official channels for filing float plans. In the U.S., services like the Coast Guard Auxiliary offer float plan filing systems. Some marina associations and yacht clubs provide this service too. Use these official channels when available—they’re set up specifically for emergency response coordination.

Tips for Filing a Float Plan

• Keep it updated. If your plans change—different departure time, new destination, different route—inform your contact immediately. An outdated plan is almost as bad as no plan.
• Include every detail, even if it seems trivial. That “unnecessary” detail about your blue gear bag might be what helps a rescue swimmer spot you in the water.
• Make your plan easy for your contact to access quickly. They shouldn’t have to dig through emails or texts to find it when every minute counts.
• Factor in weather conditions and how they affect your timing and route. If conditions are marginal, build extra time into your return window.
• Always—and I mean always—close your float plan when you return. Call your contact and confirm you’re back safely. False alarms waste Coast Guard resources and can put rescuers at risk.

Technology and Float Plans

Modern technology makes filing float plans easier than ever. Several mobile apps allow seamless sharing and real-time updating of your plans. Apps like Float Plan by BoatUS or Savvy Navvy can share your position continuously via GPS tracking. Some even integrate with AIS systems so your contact can watch your progress in real time.

That said, don’t rely entirely on digital systems. Weather, dead batteries, or technical glitches can knock out your phone or tablet. I always keep a paper backup of my float plan aboard. When your electronics fail twenty miles offshore, that waterproof paper copy in your grab bag becomes invaluable.

Real-life Scenarios

The effectiveness of float plans isn’t theoretical—it’s proven by countless successful rescues. In documented incidents, timely rescues occurred specifically because diligent contacts alerted authorities and provided detailed information. Search and rescue coordinators will tell you that having a float plan can reduce search time by hours or even days.

There’s a famous case from a few years back where a sailboat lost its mast in a storm off the Carolina coast. The crew’s float plan included their planned route, vessel description, and safety equipment inventory. When they didn’t check in, the Coast Guard knew exactly where to search and what to look for. They located the disabled vessel within three hours and rescued the crew safely. Without that float plan, they might have been searching hundreds of square miles of ocean.

That’s what makes float plans endearing to us boaters—they’re our safety net when everything else fails. It’s our way of looking out for each other on the water.

Making It a Habit

The key is making float plans a routine part of your departure checklist, just like checking your bilge or confirming you have enough fuel. I won’t cast off until I’ve sent my float plan. It takes five minutes and could save my life—that’s an easy trade-off.

Teach your crew and family members about float plans. Make sure everyone aboard knows who has the plan and what the check-in procedure is. If something happens to you, another crew member should be able to communicate with your shore contact.

There’s no finish line in boating safety—it’s an ongoing commitment. Having a float plan is fundamental to that commitment. It brings peace of mind knowing that if the worst happens, someone knows where you are and will send help. That simple document might be the most important thing you bring aboard.