What to Do If Your Boat Runs Aground: Safety Tips for Beginners

Get back in the water using these simple instructions

Co-authored by Eric McClure

Last Updated: January 9, 2023 References

There’s an old adage among captains that goes, “You’ve either already gone aground, or you will go around.” If you find yourself transitioning from that latter group to the former right now, it’s reasonable if you’re shocked or scared. Take a deep breath. Like countless boaters before you, you will get out of this! Just know, depending on what you run aground on, this situation may be a simple and easy-to-fix mishap, or a serious emergency, so collect your thoughts and analyze the situation before doing anything else.

Things You Should Know

Whether you try reversing or pushing off depends on how intact your boat is and what you ran aground on. Do not move if you’re taking on water or on rocks.
Anchor your boat behind you in the deepest water around to avoid being pulled further inland.
Use a paddle or pole to push your boat back in the water. Try shifting your weight in the boat, spinning the bow, or kedging for additional help.
Do not hesitate to call out for help or signal emergency services if you cannot get off.

1

Turn the engine off and do a head count.

Put on your life jacket and make sure everyone is okay. Turn the boat off immediately. Then, make sure that nobody needs medical attention and that everyone is on board. If you (or your fellow passengers) need to put on a life vest, now is the time. Once you’ve confirmed everybody is safe, you can start assessing your situation.^{[1]
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2

Inspect your boat for damage.

Make sure you aren’t taking on water and check the engine. Go to your engine and angle it up out of the water for a closer look. Check to make sure that it’s not seriously damaged and operates the way it’s supposed to. Check the hull (as much as you can without falling overboard) to see what kind of damage you’re working with.^{[2]
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- Check to see if your gas tank is leaking. If it is, you cannot turn your engine back on and you should consider it functionally disabled.
- If your engine is disabled, you are now in an emergency situation if you have no way of rowing back to the dock.

3

Determine what you’re grounded on.

How serious this is depends on whether this is a hard or soft grounding. If you hit hard rocks, rough reefs, or rocks, you’re in a hard grounding, which is a mayday emergency. Even if you could get the boat off, doing so is highly likely to damage the hull and capsize your boat. Soft landings range from “no biggie” to serious emergency depending on where you are (i.e. if you’re in the middle of nowhere and can’t get off).^{[3]
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- If there is structural damage or you’re taking on water, you’re now in an emergency. Light distress flares, call the Coast Guard on your VHF radio, and signal anybody nearby for help.
- Running aground on sandbars or soil (which is the most common scenario) is usually a non-emergency if you can get yourself loose.
- If you’re in a sailboat, assume your ship is damaged if you aren’t tilted in a uniform slight angle; the keel on a sailboat should rest evenly on whatever you’ve hit if it’s intact.
- If your choices are to sit tight or dislodge yourself but potentially sink, stay with your boat. Don’t risk dislodging a potentially unsafe boat.

4

Reverse if you’re not severely grounded.

Tilt your engine up a little to avoid damaging it. Tilting your engine to point it up (or at least parallel with the water) will also give you a little directional leverage, too. Turn the boat on and run your engine in reverse. Start slow, and stop revving if you feel like you’re losing control of the boat.^{[4]
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- Aim to drive the boat either directly behind you in the path you came, or towards the darkest, bluest water, which will be deep enough to prevent capsizing.
- If you don’t move at all, don’t panic. This might take some effort, but you should be fine if you continue to make smart decisions and go slow.

5

Anchor away from the area you’re stuck on.

Before you get swept in further aground, anchor your boat. Place your anchor on the opposite side of whatever you’re grounded on in the deepest part of the water that you can identify. This way, if the waves start to move your boat, they won’t push you even further aground.^{[5]
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- If your anchor is fixed and you can’t place the anchor anywhere other than wherever you’re grounded, don’t lay your anchor.

6

Push off of whatever you’re grounded on.

Use a pole or paddle to physically push your boat back into the water. If your motor isn’t getting the job done on its own and you’re on a softer grounding, try pushing off. Use whatever long instrument you have available on board to try pushing your boat off. Try reversing your engine at the same time while pushing off if you need more juice.^{[6]
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- Pushing off is usually your best option if you aren’t on a super rocky outcrop and you’re in a smaller boat.
- If you know for an absolute fact that you’re in shallow, coastal waters, go ahead and hop over the side of the boat to push it off. You must be 100% positive there’s no risk, though.

7

Shift your weight to get the boat loose.

Changing the weight distribution may help your boat get loose. If your boat isn’t angled in the air, start by moving weight from items or passengers towards the open water (the reverse direction of where you’re grounded) and push off while running the motor. If your boat is partially out of the water, move your weight forward to level it out and try pushing off and running your motor.^{[7]
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- If you have a dinghy or water tank, reposition it to help you with the weight distribution. Those are probably the heaviest things on your boat, so you’ll need them (if you have them).

8

Spin the bow on an engine boat.

If your boat ran aground at an angle, you may need to spin it. In high wind scenarios or turbulent waters, your boat may run aground at an off-kilter angle. If that happens, reversing backwards is generally pretty difficult. Instead, turn the wheel so that your boat is positioned to move directly away from the ground. Run your engine and slowly increase the angle of your rudder to free your boat.^{[8]
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- “Spinning the bow” is a lot easier on twin-engine boats. Just take it slow on a single engine boat.

9

Stay upright and use the wind on a sailboat.

Raise your sail and angle it away from the grounded area. If you’ve got a small sailboat stuck on a sandbar or shallow outcrop, use the wind to your advantage. Keep your boat upright—that’s your first task. Stabilize yourself with the sail to get the boat as upright as possible and then angle the sail to reverse off of the ground.^{[9]
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- If the wind isn’t working in your favor, drop the sail and try to push off instead. Sailboats are usually light enough that this isn’t super difficult.
- This can work if you have a motorboat as well, but only if your motor is stuck out of the water. Raise a spinnaker in the direction opposite to the area you were grounded in.^{[10]
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10

Leverage the dinghy on a bigger boat.

Hang the dinghy out over deep water and reverse. You aren’t going to be able to push off a big boat, but you likely have enough weight on board to give you the leverage you need to reverse. Heel your boat by attaching the topping lift to the boom. Then, lift the dinghy out over the water as far away as you can. Rig a brindle to the bow and stern lines and drop your anchor in the deep water. Reverse your engine to go back the way you came to get loose.^{[11]
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- If this doesn’t work, the odds are very good you’re going to need a tow. Getting off the ground is a lot harder the bigger the boat is.

11

Try kedging as a last ditch effort.

This is the most aggressive way to get a boat loose. Deploy or toss your anchor as far as you can in the nearest deep water. Aim your engine in direction of the anchor and accelerate in reverse. At the same time, winch your anchor slowly to try pulling your boat off of the ground. With the added weight of the anchor serving as a hinge, you may successfully pull your boat free.^{[12]
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- This is the most extreme solution because it’s the most likely to cause you to lose control when you finally get the boat free. Go slow and take your time if you do this.

12

Hail fellow boaters for help.

If someone else is around, call out to them. Another boat can help tow your vessel to get it back in the water. If you’re stuck on rocks or taking on water, you’re in enough of an emergency to warrant firing distress flares. Wave your arms in the air and call out for whatever help you can get.^{[13]
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- Don’t feel ashamed about calling out for help. Every single captain with a lick of experience has run aground at least once. This is a super common problem, so don’t get down on yourself.

13

Call for help on a VHF marine radio.

Use your cell phone to call for help if you don’t have a radio. If you do have a VHF or UHF marine radio, call mayday out over the public channels to contact emergency services. Provide your location, condition, and any other info you can give them. The Coast Guard or local police will show up and help your boat get free.^{[14]
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Warnings

You can theoretically wait for the tides to change if you run aground during a low tide, but that’s not a good strategy if you’ve never been in this situation before. Estimating the tide and relying on the water level to change may end up wasting precious time you need to use before it gets dark, the weather turns, or worse.

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When in doubt, send a distress call over the radio or call emergency services. It’s not worth taking a risk if your boat is immobile.

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Do not move your boat if you’ve run aground on hard rocks, hard coral, or rocky outcrops. Even if you can get your boat free, the hard ground can tear your hull and cause you to capsize.

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