Safety in the boatshop is crucial. We clamber around big, awkward shapes. We’re constantly moving our tools, staging, ladders, lights, fastenings, and extension cords. We’re hoisting heavy stuff up and down from keel to coach roof. We start here, move there, pause now, get interrupted, and return later, trying to create some surety between us and the deep blue sea.
We deal with ponderous weights, razor-edged tools, wood-gobbling machines, and frightening power tools. We have contact with paints, glues, thinners, and cleaning compounds that have potent chemical components. The very sawdust we spin off is often hazardous to our health.
In a previous job as a technical writer, I created materials for Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) refresher training sessions. One of the crucial things my mentor and I communicated in our training, regardless of industry, was that an attitude of personal responsibility was absolutely necessary in order for any of this stuff to matter.