Weather and Go / No-Go

A Quality Boat Day starts with an honest answer: should we go? Boat Day’s Go Today score combines readiness, burden, playbook, and a simple conditions model. It is a decision aid — not a marine forecast product and not a substitute for local judgment.

Prefer conservative calls

When wind, thunderstorms, fog, or seas are marginal for your boat and crew, stay at the dock. There will be another window. Canceling early is competence, not failure.

On short-season cold-water coasts (Gulf of Maine / Piscataqua Seacoast and kin), treat water temperature and immersion risk as part of the call — a warm afternoon does not make the water kind. See /waterways/piscataqua-seacoast and /safety.

What to check before cast-off

• Marine or coastal forecast for your waterway (NWS / NOAA marine products where available)
• Wind speed and direction vs your boat’s comfort and your crew’s experience
• Thunderstorm / lightning risk — lightning and open boats are a hard no
• Visibility, fog, and sunset timing for your return
• Small-craft advisories and special marine warnings
• Tides, currents, and inlet or bar conditions where relevant
• Water temperature (immersion risk) and air temperature for hypothermia planning

When not to cast off (common recreational triggers)

• Active thunderstorms or a high lightning probability in your window
• Sustained winds or seas beyond your practiced comfort in this boat
• Fog that removes visual references for your navigation plan
• Known equipment issues (steering, bilge, nav lights, kill switch) unresolved
• No sober, capable operator for the planned trip
• Insufficient PFDs or expired critical safety gear for the voyage profile

Link Go Today to your own rules

Use Go Today as a prompt, then apply your limits: boat type, crew (kids? guests?), daylight, and local knowledge. If Go Today says “go with caveats,” read the caveats and the pre-departure safety checklist before lines leave the cleat.

FAQs

Is a sunny sky enough? No — check wind, storms upwind, and the return window.
Who has the final say? The operator. Apps and scores inform; they do not override seamanship.

Advisory only. Always check official marine weather and local conditions.