What a float plan is (and what it isn't)
A float plan is a short written record of who is aboard, what boat you're on, where you intend to go, and when you expect to be back — left with someone ashore who will raise the alarm if you don't return on time. That's the whole idea. It isn't a permit, it isn't a device, and it isn't a form you file with an agency before you leave the dock.
It matters because of a hard fact about the water: a boat is small and the ocean is large. If something goes wrong out there — an engine that won't restart, a tow that turns into a long night, weather that pins you down, someone hurt aboard — and you don't have a distress beacon you can activate, then the biggest factor in how fast help reaches you is how quickly someone ashore realizes you're overdue and can tell searchers roughly where to look. (A registered EPIRB or PLB, which we list in the template below, shortcuts that step by alerting rescuers directly with your position — carry one if you possibly can.) A good float plan shrinks the search from an open ocean to a corridor. And it's worth being honest up front: no app and no gadget does the overdue-alerting part for you. A float plan is a shore-side habit built around a person who knows your plan and will act on it.
Who to leave it with
Leave your float plan with a reliable person ashore — a spouse, a friend, a fishing buddy who stayed home, the marina office. What matters is that they're dependable, reachable, and willing to follow through. Pick the person who will actually notice the clock, not the one who's easiest to text.
Here's the common misconception worth clearing up: you do not file a float plan with the Coast Guard in advance. They don't collect them, store them, or monitor your trip. Their role begins only when someone reports you overdue. That makes your shoreside contact the linchpin of the whole system — they hold the details, and they're the one who makes the call. Agencies and boating groups publish float plan forms you're welcome to use; you keep the completed form with your contact, you don't send it in ahead of time.
Give it to them in a form they'll still have when it counts — a text, an email, a photo of the filled-in sheet, a copy stuck to the fridge. Then tell them the one thing most boaters forget to spell out: exactly when to worry, and what to do about it.
What goes in a float plan (a free template)
Below is a complete template you can copy, paste, and fill in. Keep it thorough but short enough that you'll actually do it before every trip — a plan you skip because it's a hassle protects no one. It breaks into four parts: the boat, the people, the trip, and the instructions for whoever holds it.
The boat and its gear
A searcher needs to recognize your boat from a distance and know what you're carrying to stay alive while they look.
- Vessel name and registration or documentation number: ____
- Make, model, and length: ____
- Hull and topside color, plus anything distinctive — hardtop, tower, outriggers, canvas color: ____
- Engine type and number of engines: ____
- Fuel type, tank capacity, and usable fuel aboard at departure: ____
- Home port and where the boat is normally kept: ____
- Safety gear aboard — life jackets (how many), EPIRB or PLB, life raft, flares, first-aid kit: ____
- Communications — VHF and the channels you'll monitor, cell numbers, satellite messenger, and your MMSI if you're DSC-equipped: ____
The people aboard
If you turn up overdue, responders need to know how many people to search for and who to reach.
- Number of people aboard: ____
- Each person's name and a contact number: ____
- Anyone with a medical condition worth flagging in advance: ____
- Tow vehicle and trailer description and where they're parked — a rig still sitting in the ramp lot is often the first sign you're still out: ____
The trip: route, waypoints, and times
This is the part that turns a search into a look. The more specific your route and times, the smaller the box anyone has to search.
- Departure point — ramp, marina, or dock: ____
- Destination and intended route, with key waypoints, reefs, or fishing spots: ____
- Date and time of departure: ____
- Expected date and time of return: ____
- Alternate plans or stops if the weather turns: ____
If we're not back: instructions for the holder
This is the most important part of a float plan and the one people leave off. Numbers and colors help searchers; these instructions are what actually starts a search. Write them as plain directions to the person holding the plan:
- If you haven't heard from us by our return time plus a short grace window — say an hour or two — first try to reach us at: ____
- If you still can't reach us by [time], call the Coast Guard or local marine authority at: ____ and read them this plan. If that number is blank or you can't get through, call 911, tell them you're reporting an overdue boat, and read them this plan.
- We'll check in when we depart, when we arrive, and when we turn for home; silence past the deadline means act. Don't wait to spare us the embarrassment — a false alarm is cheap, and a late one is not.
Make it a habit (and close it out)
A float plan only works if the habit is real and the times in it are honest. Two things keep it reliable. First, always close it out: the moment you're back at the dock, tell your holder. Forgetting to say you made it is the most common false alarm there is, and the fastest way to burn a holder's willingness to take the next one seriously. Second, update the plan if it changes on the water — a new destination, a later return, a mechanical problem. A quick VHF or phone call keeps the plan matching reality.
One line on the template quietly does double duty as a go/no-go check: usable fuel aboard. Filling it in forces the question that decides whether the trip is realistic at all — do you have the range for where you're headed, with a solid reserve on top? Our guide on how much fuel a boat uses walks through measuring your real burn and the one-third reserve rule. A float plan that promises a return you don't have the fuel to make isn't a plan; it's a wish.
What a float plan can't do — and where Far Enough fits
Be clear-eyed about the limits. A float plan doesn't track you, and neither does any app on your phone, including ours. Nothing on your device watches your voyage, notices you're overdue, or notifies authorities for you. That work belongs to a real person ashore holding your plan and willing to act. Any product that implies otherwise is overselling.
Where Far Enough helps is earlier, at the dock. It pulls together the boat details and usable fuel that go onto your float plan, and gives you a conservative read on whether your fuel margin actually covers the route out and the trip home — so the return time you write down is one you can back up. You still write the plan, share it, and arrange the check-ins. The app just helps you make the call before you cast off.
