The Labor Day weekend is here, marking the unofficial end of the summer season. Many boaters will take to the water for one final fling this weekend.

With that in mind, the Boat Owners Association of the United States (BoatU.S.) has issued a few guidelines for safety while on the water.

Watch the wakes

BoatU.S. recently looked into the issue of boat wakes by combing through the insurance claims case files, where swampings, broken teeth, and back injuries are found.

“You avoid being the recipient of gestures from other skippers by using a little common sense and courtesy,” says BoatU.S. Director of Damage Avoidance Bob Adriance.

“This means coming completely off plane when you enter a no-wake zone or anywhere your wake could compromise the safety of other boats,” he adds.

Here are some tips to help prevent boat wake injuries to you and other boaters:

• Slow early: Boat wakes travel distances, so slow down before you reach a slow-speed zone, not as you pass the marker.

Just a little slowing down isn’t good enough — upon entering a no-wake zone, some boaters react by only slowing the vessel slightly, and then plow through with the bow way up and stern dug down, actually increasing the wake. Come completely off plane.

• Make her level: Without using trim tabs, a slowed vessel should be level in the water. With some smaller boats, shifting passengers around can help, as too much weight aft increases wake size.

• Watch the shallows: Shallow water increases wake size.

• Small boats aren’t innocent: Wakes are not just a big boat issue — small vessels in the stern-down position can throw surprisingly large wakes.

• When approaching a wake, slow down but don’t stop: Motorboats are more stable when underway, so stopping could make things worse. Avoid taking a wake on the beam or head-on. The best approach is at a slight angle. This will keep your passengers in the boat.

• Take care of older crew: The BoatU.S. insurance claims files show that persons over the age of 50 have the most personal injuries, mostly as a result of being seated near the bow when the boat slams into a wake.

It’s best to seat passengers — especially older passengers — amidships.

• Warn the crew: A simple “Hold, on — boat wake” should do the trick, just as long as you shout the warning well before the wake arrives.

Keep kids safe

A properly-fitted life jacket is essential for a young boat guest. For those on a budget, a no-cost Kid’s Life Jacket Loaner Program is offered by the BoatU.S. Foundation. Through this program, parents can borrow a children’s life jacket for the day or weekend.

There are 500 locations across the country to pick up a loaner jacket, with the nearest to our area in Berkeley, Walnut Creek, and at Lake Sonoma near Geyserville. Visit www. boatus.com/foundation /LJLP for a list of all locations and directions.

The Foundation is looking for photos of kids wearing Loaner Program life jackets. The best photos will be featured in a 2010 calendar. The Foundation will also use some of the images to promote the program.

Photos can be e-mailed to Life Jacket Program Manager Alanna Keating at  AKeating@ BoatUS.com.

California Legislature discussing bills that could impact hunters

There are several bills before California’s lawmakers that could negatively affect the ability of hunters to buy hunting guns and ammunition, or to own and use a hunting dog.

• SB 250: Dog spaying and neutering — This would require a special license to own, keep, or harbor an unaltered or unspayed dog older than six months of age.

Local governments would be responsible for issuing any unaltered dog licenses, and could conceivably require every dog owner to have their dog spayed or neutered. There are limited exceptions for hunting dogs.

The bill would allow an unaltered dog license to be denied or revoked for a variety of reasons.

• AB 962: Ammunition — This would require firearms dealers and other vendors of ammunition to keep a registry of all buyers of handgun ammunition, and make it available to any law enforcement officer upon request. AB 962 would also ban all mail-order and Internet sales of handgun ammunition and reloading components.

• SB 41: Firearms — This would require licensed firearms dealers to maintain information on the date of delivery of all rifles, shotguns and handguns, and require dealers to sign and to obtain the signature of the buyer or other transferee of a handgun on a special government form.

The bill would further require dealers to date and sign the form stating that the buyer of a rifle or shotgun had taken possession of the gun.

These procedures will likely increase the costs of buying a firearm due to increased dealer costs, along with the government-imposed fee associated with the transaction.

• SB 585: Firearm sales at the Cow Palace — This would prohibit the sale of firearms and ammunition at the Cow Palace exhibition facility near San Francisco, and would make a violation of that prohibition a crime.

The bill was recently amended to allow a phase-out of gun shows by authorizing up to five gun shows per year, but deleting one each time a new event is booked — thus eventually reducing the number of authorized gun shows at the Cow Palace to none.

This bill could set a precedent for the banning of all gun shows at state-owned facilities where many hunters buy firearms and ammunition for hunting.

The Legislature will adjourn on Sept. 11.

To voice your opinion on these bills, contact your local Senator and Assemblymember by visiting www.legislature.ca.gov.

Guy Carl is a CPA and partner with BDCo Accountants and Advisors in St. Helena (www.bdcocpa.com). Contact Guy at GC.outdoors@sbcglobal.net.