Boat insurance is necessary for all boat owners who live on or really value their boats. If it is something that you feel you must replace then you need to insure it. If you live on your boat it is absolutely necessary that it be insured. Who would want to lose their home?

Also most boats are financed in the beginning. The lending company will insist on insurance in those cases just as they would with a house or a car. This is not unreasonable; they have as much to lose in the financial sense as you do if anything happens to the boat.

Some areas are more dangerous than others for boaters. While some of those areas are famous or infamous 'the Bermuda Triangle' and the Dardanelles others are less well known but can be just as dangerous.

Cape Disappointment in Washington State is one of the most dangerous areas on the seas when the conditions are right (or wrong). You need to be just as prepared when you off the Pacific coast of Washington and have your boat insurance in order as you do when you are sailing from Bermuda to Florida.

While I contemplate the last half of my life; (I am getting close to that turning point) I must make some decisions as to what I want to do with my leisure years. I have many thoughts in mind but one of those options that keep coming to mind is sailing the world.

All of us need to plan for what we want. If I choose to go sailing I will need several things of those things that I will need if I do choose a boat insurance is the top of that list. I might wind up in a cabin by the woods or on a beach in the South Pacific, I am by nature a solitary person.

If that is the case I will happily spend my time sipping iced tea and spoiling my grandchildren. If I am on a boat I think I will see the Sargasso Sea and sail around the world and across the equator.

About the Author: John Edwardson has been a keen sailor for many years. He's owned a variety of different boats. Boat insurance has always been a minefield, and he imparts his long experience in a series of articles to help & advise other boat owners.