Beginning boating

Assume I am completely naïve of boating concerns, that I know the following:

• There are things that float and carry stuff across the water called boats.
• A boat needs something to make it move. Some have motors, some catch wind in sails, some you move yourself with paddles.

What are the things I should know (or do, or get, etc.) before clumsily rushing into boating?

I don't know what I don't know, so please point me in the right direction.

A commenter has suggested that the answers would be different for the different types of boats. As such, I am making questions for the types outlined above, and answers here should be about generic information which applies to all boating in general (I assume there is a lot of overlap), and can link to those other questions as well. So see also:

• Beginning paddle boating

Please treat this as a gateway for beginners who don't know what questions to ask to start with and as a lynch-pin to link together any other relevant Q&As on the site. In fact, linking in any other Q&As on the site which really should be read by the beginning boater would be great.

posted over 6 years ago

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Loduwijk‭

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