How to Make a Passage Plan for a Boat Trip (with Float Plan Template)

A passage plan is the difference between a route and a trip. The route is a line on a chart; the plan is what that line means in time: when you pass each point, what the water and wind are doing when you get there, what stands in the way, and what you do if the day goes sideways. Commercial ships are required to make one for every voyage. Recreational boaters get the same benefit for an hour of work - or, increasingly, for one click. Here is the working method.

#Step 1: the route, honestly drawn

Draw the route the boat will actually follow - around the shoal, through the inlet you know, not the straight line the calculator prefers. On US waters, lay it over real charts: our guide to reading a nautical chart covers the depth tints and marks that decide where the line can go. Note the total distance and, at your cruising speed, the raw hours underway. That number drives everything else.

#Step 2: convert distance to clock time

ETA at each waypoint is cumulative distance divided by speed, added to departure time. This step is why passage plans beat forecasts glanced at breakfast: the wind that matters at mile 40 is the wind forecast for 3 p.m., not 7 a.m. A six-hour passage can start in a flat calm and end in a small-craft advisory that was on the forecast all along - just not at the hour you checked.

#Step 3: conditions at the time you pass, not the time you leave

For each waypoint ETA, note wind speed and direction, gusts, and wave height from the marine forecast. Two patterns to catch: conditions that build through the passage (fine start, ugly finish - consider leaving earlier), and exposed sections that coincide with the worst hours (consider the inside route). Choosing the departure that threads this needle is its own discipline - the weather window guide covers it, including the Gulf Stream case.

#Step 4: what stands in the way

• Depths: compare charted and maintained depths against your draft plus a safety margin, especially at inlets and marked channels. On US waterways, the Army Corps of Engineers publishes maintained project depths for federal channels.
• Bridges: every fixed bridge is a clearance question and every bascule bridge is a schedule question. List them in order with ETAs so a 20-minute wait does not surprise the whole day.
• Locks and restricted areas: openings, security zones, no-wake stretches - anything that turns miles into extra minutes.
• Fuel: tank range versus route length with a third in reserve; if the math is close, pick the fuel stop before you leave - marina fuel prices vary enough to make the choice worth a minute.

#Step 5: contingencies - the part that makes it seamanship

For each third of the passage, name the bail-out: the inlet, harbor, or anchorage you would run for if weather, machinery, or crew turn the day. Write down the VHF channels for the harbors on the way, and the tide constraint if any bail-out dries or shoals. This section is three lines long and it is the part experienced skippers read first.

#Step 6: the float plan - the copy that stays ashore

A float plan is the passage plan's shore copy: who is aboard, the boat's description, the route and schedule, and - the line that matters - "if you have not heard from us by [time], call [number]". Leave it with a person who will actually notice the deadline. Emailing the plan with the route link does the job; our planner's share links were built for exactly this.

#Frequently asked questions

Route, clock, conditions, obstacles, exits, shore copy - six steps, one honest hour, or one click for the mechanical five. Pair it with the hurricane prep checklist in season and the boat maintenance log so the boat itself is as ready as the plan.