Voie d’eau : que faire si votre bateau fait eau ou coule

Dernière vérification : 14 octobre 2026

Étape par étape

1. Gilets de sauvetage, donnez l’alerte

   Vérifiez que chacun porte un gilet de sauvetage et donnez l’alerte.[1][2]

2. Appelez tôt à l’aide

   Si vous coulez, lancez un MAYDAY. Si la voie d’eau est maîtrisée mais pourrait s’aggraver, lancez un PAN-PAN pour que les sauveteurs soient prévenus tôt.[3][4][5][6]

3. Trouvez la voie d’eau

   Si vous pouvez le faire sans danger, trouvez par où l’eau entre. Vérifiez les bouchons de nable et les passe-coques situés sous la ligne de flottaison.[7][8][9]

4. Colmatez ou fermez

   Essayez de boucher le trou avec le matériel que vous avez à bord pour les voies d’eau. Si la fuite se situe à un passe-coque muni d’une vanne, fermez la vanne.[7][10][9]

5. Pompez et écopez

   Mettez en marche la pompe de cale et écopez avec une écope ou un seau. Continuez sans relâche.[11][12][13][14]

6. Rejoignez un abri si vous le pouvez

   Si le bateau peut encore naviguer sans danger, dirigez-vous vers le port ou la côte la plus proche que vous pouvez aborder en sécurité.[15]

7. Préparez-vous à abandonner

   Avant de quitter le bateau, lancez un appel de détresse, gardez votre gilet de sauvetage et n’enlevez pas vos vêtements : mettez-en davantage si vous avez le temps. Ayez votre balise prête.[16][17]

8. Si vous vous retrouvez à l’eau

   Déclenchez votre balise EPIRB ou PLB. Restez avec le bateau tant qu’il flotte et hissez dessus la plus grande partie possible de votre corps. Serrez-vous les uns contre les autres pour rester au chaud et visibles.[18][19][20][21]

À ne pas faire

• N’enlevez pas vos vêtements. Mettez-en davantage si vous avez le temps.[16]
• Ne quittez pas le bateau tant qu’il flotte. Vous êtes beaucoup plus facile à trouver à côté de lui.[18][19]
• N’attendez pas que le bateau soit sur le point de couler pour appeler. Prévenir tôt peut être décisif.[6]

Avant d’appareiller

• Avant la mise à l’eau : vérifiez que les bouchons de nable sont en place.[8]
• Vérifiez la cale avant chaque sortie.[22]
• Ayez à bord des outils et du matériel pour colmater les voies d’eau.[10]
• Sachez quelles ouvertures de votre bateau pourraient laisser entrer l’eau, et comment les fermer.[23]
• Gardez les gilets de sauvetage et l’équipement de sécurité à portée de main, et envisagez d’emporter une balise EPIRB.[24][17]

Questions fréquentes

Sources

Les sources sont citées dans leur langue d’origine.

1. Coastguard New Zealand (2026-10-14): “If you're sinking, make sure everyone is wearing lifejackets and you've raised the alarm (MAYDAY), then:”
2. Transport Canada – Safe Boating Guide (TP 511E, 03/2026) (2026-10-14): “have everyone onboard put on their lifejacket”
3. Coastguard New Zealand (2026-10-14): “A distress/Mayday call is used to indicate that a boat or person is threatened by grave and imminent danger and requires immediate assistance - for example, a boat taking on water, a vessel on fire, a person overboard or a serious medical emergency such as a heart attack.”
4. Maritime and Coastguard Agency (HM Coastguard) (2026-10-14): “Only to be used in the event of grave and imminent danger and assistance is required. Send a distress alert using digital selective calling (DSC), (press and hold the button until the alert is sent).”
5. Transport Canada – Small Commercial Vessel Safety Guide (TP 14070) (2026-10-14): “MAYDAY indicates a person or vessel is threatened by grave and imminent danger and requests immediate help. PAN PAN indicates a safety problem that does not require immediate assistance.”
6. Transport Canada – Small Commercial Vessel Safety Guide (TP 14070) (2026-10-14): “It is strongly recommended you report any situation that may present a danger to life, without delay. Early notification can be crucial to a positive outcome. You can use the PAN PAN radio signal for this purpose.”
7. Coastguard New Zealand (2026-10-14): “Locate the source of the leak if it’s safe to do so, try to plug it”
8. U.S. Coast Guard Boating Safety – A Boater’s Guide to the Federal Requirements for Recreational Boats (2026-10-14): “Avoid inconvenience and potential danger by taking a few minutes every time to verify you haven’t forgotten something critical, like putting in the drain plugs.”
9. Transport Canada – Small Commercial Vessel Safety Guide (TP 14070) (2026-10-14): “Holes that go through the hull below the waterline must not decrease the structural strength of the hull and must have a valve or some other way of keeping water out”
10. Transport Canada – Safe Boating Guide (TP 511E, 03/2026) (2026-10-14): “Make sure you have tools and materials to fix hull leaks.”
11. Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) (2026-10-14): “Start bilge pumps”
12. Transport Canada – Safe Boating Guide (TP 511E, 03/2026) (2026-10-14): “if the boat is flooding, remove water by bailing or using the bilge pump”
13. Coastguard New Zealand (2026-10-14): “Bail the water as best as you can with a bailer”
14. U.S. Coast Guard Boating Safety – A Boater’s Guide to the Federal Requirements for Recreational Boats (2026-10-14): “Keep the bilges free of water.”
15. Transport Canada – Small Commercial Vessel Safety Guide (TP 14070) (2026-10-14): “Stay out of conditions where water could come on board and accumulate. Head for the nearest port of refuge or shore that is safe to approach, if possible.”
16. Department of Transport, Western Australia (2026-10-14): “Before abandoning the boat: use your marine radio to send a distress call put on your lifejacket do not remove any clothing - put on more if you have time.”
17. Transport Canada – Safe Boating Guide (TP 511E, 03/2026) (2026-10-14): “These floating radio distress beacons can transmit a distress signal for hours. They can be manually activated or can float from a sinking or overturned vessel.”
18. Department of Transport, Western Australia (2026-10-14): “Once in the water: activate your EPIRB or PLB adopt the huddle position to keep everybody together and to conserve body heat stay with the boat for as long as possible if it is still afloat.”
19. Coastguard New Zealand (2026-10-14): “If the boat submerges and you have to go in the water, stay with the vessel – your chances of being found are much higher this way.”
20. U.S. Coast Guard Boating Safety – A Boater’s Guide to the Federal Requirements for Recreational Boats (2026-10-14): “To reduce the effects of hypothermia, get in or on the boat. Try to get as much of your body out of the water as possible.”
21. Transport Canada – Safe Boating Guide (TP 511E, 03/2026) (2026-10-14): “Huddle with others with your chests close together, arms around your mid to lower backs, and legs woven together. This also helps keep your group together until help arrives.”
22. RNLI (2026-10-14): “Check your engine, fluid levels and bilge.”
23. Transport Canada – Small Commercial Vessel Safety Guide (TP 14070) (2026-10-14): “Know which openings on your vessel – such as engine room vents – could let water in and take steps to prevent this from happening by being able to close them or by avoiding situations where this could occur.”
24. Department of Transport, Western Australia (2026-10-14): “having lifejackets and other safety equipment easily accessible storing emergency provisions in a watertight drum storing extra water in a floating container.”
25. Department of Transport, Western Australia (2026-10-14): “Most trailer boats have flotation to cope with flooding, and rarely sink. Larger boats without flotation usually take some time to sink.”

Autres guides d’urgence

Numéros de secours par pays → Comment lancer un appel MAYDAY → Carte d’urgence à imprimer →