SESKStuff Everyone Should Know
SESK: Stuff Everyone Should Know · sesk.info/boat-clean-drain-dry

To stop the spread of aquatic invasive species, what should you do when moving your boat to another lake?

Clean, drain and dry your boat and gear.

Start playing free

  1. Inspect only the parts you can see
  2. Clean, drain and dry it ✔
  3. Wait and drain it at the next lake

Why: Invasive plants and animals hitch rides in propellers, intakes, live wells, bilges and gear. NASBLA says drain live wells, bilge and transom wells before leaving the water, and clean, drain and dry your boat between waterways.

Huh, didn't know that: Invasive species can also damage your boat: fouling propellers, jamming impellers and causing bilge pump failure.

The dad joke
What did the zebra mussel say to the boat? Mind if I hitch a ride?
Like this card?
Play the game

References

Answer: Clean, drain and dry it. Invasive plants and animals hitch rides in propellers, intakes, live wells, bilges and gear. NASBLA says drain live wells, bilge and transom wells before leaving the water, and clean, drain and dry your boat between waterways.

  1. NASBLA ESP TR 103-2022 Basic Boating Knowledge, Core Plus Power higherlogicdownload.s3.amazonaws.com/NASBLA/76594a34-f3a1-4916-95ac-1e9c872170cc/UploadedImages/education/national-education-standards/ESP_TR_ESP_103_Core_Plus_Power_2022_06_01FINAL.pdf
    Clean, drain, and dry your vessel, especially when moving between different bodies of water.
    Checked 2026-10-09.

Think this answer is wrong? Tap "Challenge this answer" on the card in the game and tell us why.

Test yourself in the game

Boating & WaterWhere is it legal to throw plastic trash overboard from a boat?Boating & WaterOn a boat with a toilet, which kind of marine sanitation device is a holding tank?Boating & WaterIn a No Discharge Zone, what must you do with your boat's flow-through toilet system?

That's stuff everyone should know.