(SetSail asked our Cruising Contributors: If you ever sail with crew, how do you prep them for an ocean passage? Do you go over nav issues, weather, safety, medical, food, etiquette, etc.? Here are Linda and Steve’s ground rules.)

We rarely carry crew with us on long passages, but on occasion we’ve had friends aboard for a week or two, which usually involves some passaging. The familiarization process is generally the same whether we’re at anchor or heading into the blue.

Our first concern is with safety. Fire tops that list (although the risks are low). We want everyone to be familiar with the location and use of our fire extinguishers. As fire is likely to be related to electrical shorts, we also show everyone the main battery switches. On the new boat we’ll add the manual fuel shut off in the engine room, manual engine room fire extinguisher trigger and vent closures (all located in the same spot) to this familiarization process.

On our sailboats we generally preferred to have guests stay in the cockpit area when we were handling sails. This keeps them out of the way of booms and flailing sheets. We want to make sure they understand how to ease a winch-and the risks associated with handling running rigging under load. The same applies for powered winches and keeping clothing and hands clear of the incoming line. We tell our guests (and remind ourselves) that it should be assumed that the power winch can start at any time.

We want to know about any special food requirements (we’ve got a bunch of food allergies in the family so this is something with which we’re familiar). If there are any medical risk factors, these need to be made known to us as well.

There are a few aspects of housekeeping which we generally need to review. Given the varnish which usually exists on the interior of our boats, we want our guests to wear clothing which will not scratch. This means leaving the jeans with rivets at home, staying away from metallic belt buckles, and never wearing tools on a belt. We don’t want smokers on board, even if they only smoke ashore (as their clothing tends to smell). We carry a small inventory for beer and wine, and imbibe lightly ourselves. But we are not interested in heavy drinking (that all took place in our youth!).

We’ve found it better to discuss toilet rules in advance of problems. Each head system is different, but we want our guests to be 100% clear about how the system works, and what can and cannot be flushed. And, if there is a problem, regardless of how embarrassing it is, it is much better for us to be called to fix the problem rather than risk a catastrophic mess with amateur intervention. Finally, the boat smells a lot fresher if male guests sit when they pee (or go over the side).

When we’re at sea, we use the same watch routine with guests as we do for ourselves. There is always a set of notes dealing with navigation issues, what to expect, with very clear instructions about when to call one of us. We want to be called if there is any question, or when the slightest thing seems out of the ordinary, and always when there is traffic to be analyzed. Knowing we’ll be called, we sleep much better.