Throw ropes are the bread and butter of rescue. All boaters should carry one and learn how to use them. Practice often to increase range and accuracy. Different types of throw ropes have distinct advantages. Unattended ropes can be a major safety hazard, send someone upstream to warn other boaters.

I am a very strong fan of throw ropes. In my opinion, every intermediate boater should carry one and know how to use them. Class III runs often have a few more challenging rapids that will be tempting to run. Setting safety on more challenging or dangerous rapids is always a good idea. Besides placing a boater downstream of the rapid, the most common way to set safety in rapids is the trusty throw rope. Fortunately, throw ropes are packaged in a number of convenient formats these days. Some fit in a pocket in your PFD, there are waist bags, and traditional throw ropes come in all shapes and sizes to fit pretty much any size boat. Whenever I lead a Little Falls Workout (combination boating & rescue skills clinic), I require all participants to carry a throw rope. Rope throwing should be practiced multiple times each season to keep your skills sharp.