Building a Marine First Aid Kit: What to Include and What to Skip
By Lance Greiner — General Manager, Boater's World · Former Platform GM, Travelcamp RV· June 9, 2026· 1 min read· Updated 1d ago
Lance Greiner is a career marine and automotive retail professional with more than 15 years of dealership management experience. He currently serves as General Manager at Boater's World in Florida, overseeing full mar…
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The first-aid kit you bought at the marina store covers minor cuts, blisters, and headaches. On a boat, you are also one bad wave away from a head laceration, one fish-hook embedded past the barb, one severe sunburn, one allergic reaction, and zero immediate access to professional care. Your kit needs to bridge that gap.
The Three-Tier Approach
Build three nested kits: a personal kit on each crew member (band-aids, ibuprofen, antiseptic wipes), a galley kit on the boat (full standard first-aid plus seasickness, sunscreen, antihistamines), and a serious kit for offshore (sutures, sterile gloves, a tourniquet, prescription items if applicable). The personal kit handles 90% of incidents, the galley kit handles 95%, and the offshore kit is for the 5% that can kill you.
Core Components
The galley kit should always include: adhesive bandages of multiple sizes, sterile gauze pads, medical tape, an elastic bandage, antiseptic wipes, antibiotic ointment, hydrocortisone cream, ibuprofen and acetaminophen, antihistamine tablets, electrolyte packets, seasickness medication (both oral and patch), aloe gel for sunburn, tweezers, scissors, a CPR mask, and a thermometer.
What to Add for Offshore
For offshore passages and any cruise more than 12 hours from professional medical care, add: a CAT tourniquet, hemostatic gauze (QuikClot or Celox), suture kit or skin glue, sterile gloves (multiple pairs), saline irrigation solution, a SAM splint, butterfly closures, an EpiPen if anyone aboard has anaphylactic allergies, and a marine medical reference guide (the Wilderness Medicine Institute manual is the standard).
Storage and Maintenance
Store all items in a hard, waterproof Pelican-style case. Soft fabric kits absorb salt spray and degrade adhesives within a season. Mount the case where it can be reached one-handed from the cockpit. Inspect the kit twice a year and replace anything expired — most medications lose potency within 2–3 years.
Prescription Items
Captains on extended cruises should consult a maritime medicine specialist about a prescription medical kit including broad-spectrum antibiotics, an antibiotic eye drop, lidocaine for wound suturing, and severe pain management. The Maritime Health Association maintains a list of physicians who provide cruising kits.