Category: Featured Post

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Five things every boater should do this spring

As the days get longer and warmer and the smell of honeysuckle starts to fill the air, my mind start to drift away to the endless boating opportunities that await me this summer. Every year around this time I find myself planning for the perfect boating season. Let’s face it, even though here in Florida we can boat most of the year, many of us tend to take a break during the winter months. (Mostly due to the fact that we think anything under 75 is not suitable for outdoor activities!)

Now that the temperature is rising and the days are getting longer, there are a few things you need to do to ensure that your perfect boating season starts with all of your oars in the water.

1. Update your GPS and other electronics. Many of the electronics we have on our vessels, especially chart plotters, need to be updated from time to time. This will include firmware updates as well as updating nautical charts. For most devices, this can be done easily with a USB cable and a computer connected to the internet. The majority of manufacturers will have step-by-step instructions online for the firmware. Charts can be updated just as easily, although there is usually a cost of $100 or more.

2. Get a Vessel Safety Check. There is no excuse for not being safe on the water, and one of the best ways is to ensure your boat has all the required equipment on board is to get a Vessel Safety Check. Qualified examiners from the Coast Guard Auxiliary as well as the Power Squadron perform these inspections. Many times you can you can find these guys hanging out at your favorite boat ramp, but if not, they will be glad to come by your marina or home to perform the vessel check. Examiners will check for safety items like fire extinguishers, sounding devices, life vests and flares, just to name a few. Neither organization can cite you for not having the necessary equipment, however, if you do pass they will award you a sticker to place on the port side of your vessel. This sticker indicates that you have all of the required equipment and lessens your chances of being boarded. Noting can ruin a day of boating quicker than getting a ticket. To locate a vessel examiner, go to http://wow.uscgaux.info/content.php?unit=v-dept&category=i-want-a-vsc

3. Schedule your maintenance. If you’re a boat owner, you‘re well aware that you need to keep your boat serviced if you plan to keep it running throughout the boating season. A visual inspection and a spring tune-up are musts for every boater. Just as the days grow longer, so will the wait to get your boat serviced; I have seen it take as long as six weeks just to get an appointment. If you are a do-it-yourselfer, this is still a good time due to the cooler weather. Earlier is better than later, so that just in case you find a more serious issue you’ll have time to get the repairs made, and with e-15 that is always a possibility.

4. Restock your boat bag. I assume we all have a boat bag — at least I do. This is not to be confused with a ditch bag (the bag you carry in case you have to abandon ship). My boat bag is a bag I keep in the house to throw on the boat whenever I leave for a day outing. It includes all of the little necessities to make us confortable for a day on the water. Here are a few items to check and/or include.

• Sunscreen (Make sure it hasn’t expired.)
• Aspirin (or its equivalent) as well as other first aid items
• Crackers or other non-perishable snacks. It’s no fun being hungry two hours from home.
• Emergency contact information, in case you lose your cell phone. An extra set of car keys is a good idea as well.
• Insect repellant! If you have lived in Florida for any length of time you understand this one.

5. Plan your destinations. I must confess this is one of my favorite parts of the pre-boating season. Florida has literally thousands of different places to boat, each with their own unique flavor. Florida by Water (http://www.floridabywater.com) is a great resource for finding new ideas and locations. This site is a comprehensive resource for the boating community that lists marinas, boat ramps, hotels, restaurants and even the popular boating hot spots for a given city. The site also includes nautical charts, GPS coordinates and weather information for most of the cities in the state, as well as tourism information such as special events and area highlights. You can even check for popular boating events such as nautical happenings or raft ups. I’ve found it best to go ahead and put these kinds of items on the calendar early. If not, they’ll come and go and you will have missed all the fun.

I hope these tips will take a little of the stress out of what should be a relaxing pastime. There is nothing better than a day on the water with family and friends.

Rusty Gardner
President Florida By Water

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Don’t be a rope-a-dope

In the whole scheme of boating one of the least expensive items you’ll buy for your boat is a set of dock lines. You’ll handle the lines every time you go boating. So why do so many boaters refuse to spend a few bucks?
At my marina you’ll see lines of different sizes and colors, some with eye splices and some with knots and I’m talking about the same boat. One of the signs of an amateur boater, in addition to cruising around with all your fenders hanging, is wrapping the excess line around the dock cleat 35 times rather than making a neat Flemish flake or a slip chain. Lastly, don’t be a rope-a-dope. There are no ropes on a boat. As soon as a rope goes on the boat or is tied to it, it’s a line.
The test of a good knot is can it be untied easily. Recently a boat in my marina was moving and the owner had his detailer, Jose, helping him move. Jose spent half an hour to untie the line from the piling. This negated the savings of not buying a line with an eye. Three strand nylon with a prespliced eye is only a few dollars more. A knot can reduce the strength of a line up to 50%. A splice can retain about 90% of the tensile strength.
Since I’m spending your money, how much are we talking about? A 25’ three strand economy 1/2” line costs $19.99. A premium line cost $32.99 and is 30% stronger. Double braid is stronger yet and is $38.99. (West Marine online prices) All the prices were different in my 2012 catalogue and will probably be higher when you read this article. Welcome to boating. To save a few dollars, dock lines are a good thing to buy at a marine flea market.
White lines are stronger. But, colors look better. For ease of handling double braid is the way to go. I like to have different colors for different lengths. The general rule for length is 2/3 of the boat length for bow and stern lines and the boat length for a spring line. Your permanent dock lines could be sized to your dock so you may save a few dollars.
Speaking of spring lines, if you dock in a slip you probably only need a forward spring line to keep from going back into the seawall. At my marina several boats have forward and after spring lines and breast lines. Maybe they’re expecting a hurricane. When you tie up alongside a pier in a crowded marina you can use a forward and after spring line as you may have a boat in front and back of yours.

By Bob E. Sherman
Syndicated Writer with Florida By Water
http://www.bobesherman.com/

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Is Bigger Really Better?

   I've read over the past couple of days about an ongoing boat test by a boating magazine. I am not going to name the magazine or the boat brand and model that they are currently testing even though what I am writing about really doesn't cast a bad light on either one of them but just to be on the safe side……here we go.

   The boat is being marketed as “The World's Largest _________” but when I looked at the pictures some questions came to mind that sort of tie in with another post I wrote. How big is too big? Can you have too much boat? and more importantly should a boat manufacturer be able to tout that their boat is the “largest”, “biggest”, “widest”, “roomiest”, etc. just because they have added on an additional part to increase the length or beam?

   Shouldn't a  more accurate indicator of how ‘big” a boat is by attributed to how much living space it has? Should an extended swim platform or an extra long bow pulpit count? Does it even matter?

   Personally I think it does. I think manufacturers do a disservice not only to their brand but also to their customers by adding on these parts just for marketing purposes. Everyone wants to wear the crown and seems to be willing to do whatever they can to lay claim to a title.

  In this current economic climate aren't we well past the “I've got to have the biggest, newest, shiniest, fastest, most expensive” new gizmo? Haven't most of learned the hard economic reality of either living within or slightly below our means?

   How much boat is too much? How much is just enough? Is bigger really better?

                                                                                                                                                       Capt. Patrick

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The Death Of A Friend

Scott Keatly, known to Scuba Radio and World Of Boating listeners as Single Scott, passed away the past Sunday due to injuries sustained in a motorcycle accident.

   I did not know Scott as well as Greg, Bill, and other members of the radio shows but I did have the pleasure of making his aquaintance several times at the old studio and the last time I saw him he was with Bill and I as we were doing interviews at the DEMA show in Orlando last year. From the stories I heard he had a zest for life whether it was traveling to his next dive destination or scuba diving for treasure in the Keys.

   I know his presence will be missed by all that had the pleasure of being in his company and my heartfelt condolences go out to his family, friends, and those that only knew him as a voice on the radio. He was so much more than that. I only wish I could have had more time to get to know him better.

   “A Joyful Dive”

As you strap on your armor one last time

and descend into the blue

Into a world of silence

color and hue

May you dive forever

and be at rest

As you swim among the creatures

no more a guest

Forever in a peaceful world full of life.

May you rest in peace and may God bless and keep you close.

                                                                                                                          Capt. Patrick

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The End As We Know It

Boating is dead.

   There!

   I've said and written what no one else in the industry or related media is willing to say but it's true. Recreational powerboating in particular has been on life support, in my estimation since 1987, the year of the infamous Luxury Tax. The industry had been through the economic ups and downs, the cycles if you will, but the tax was the first one that the boat manufacturing industry seemed to be unprepared for. Those of us who were working in the industry will recall how devastating those years immediately thereafter were. Some manufacturers closed their doors never to reopen and many dealers followed in the wake of the financial meltdown, the cause of which didn't really seem to be the tax as much as it was that manufacturers had borrowed heavily to fund expansion of their facilities and dealers had financed their floorplans to unimaginable heights and when boat sales dried up so did the orders and the banks came calling.

   The industry now finds itself fighting and losing a new war, the war of the recession and unemployment. The NMMA has been giving the same “everything is fine and we've turned the corner” economic pep talk since 2008 but it hasn't had any impact on the consumer. The average wage earners in this country are not buying new boats in fact they may not even be buying used boats. When the recession hit most everyone's discretionary income disappeared. Suddenly the market was awash in used boats, some of which had been purchased with home equity loans and now not only were consumers upside down with their mortgages but with their boats as well. There were also the new boats from the dealers that had gone out of business.  That glut in the market lasted a couple of years and once those boats were gone the industry started to respond to the decrease in new boat orders but not fast enough. We've seen the demise of Genmar, Fountain, Pro-Line, Donzi, etc. There are fewer manufacturers but the market is smaller as well and those that remain are fighting for market share and their survival.

   So why do I feel that recreational powerboat manufacturing is dead? Very simply the answer is cost. There is not one domestic manufacturer out there that is building an affordable powerboat for the average wage earner. If you want to get people excited about boats and get them into boats then the manufacturers have to start building boats that the buyer doesn't have to go heavily in to debt to purchase. In case they haven't noticed people aren't even considering new boat purchases. It seems that they've been preoccupied with keeping their jobs and a roof over their families heads and that's not likely to change for the next 3-5 years. When an entry level 19′ bowrider has a price tag of $25,000 it would seem that the industry is not paying attention. Most people don't need built in GPS units, Sirius enabled radios, amplifiers, sub-woofers, tilt steering, chrome or stainless bezeled gauges, vinyl wrapped consoles, etc. Save that stuff for the higher end boats and yachts because in the end most people don't want all that stuff but they really don't have a choice as one builder seems to follow another, who follows another, and so on when it comes to design and amenities. 

   I bet you were thinking that I would throw gas prices in there somewhere but truth be told the cost of fuel has never been that much of a deterrent when it comes to people wanting to spend time out on the water. Owning a boat never meant burning through 50 or 100 gallons of fuel over a weekend. It was always more about having the ability to get away, to be out on your own private floating island whether that was for an hour or a day.

   I got my first boat when I was 13. It was a simple 16′ aluminum v-hull with a 50 hp. outboard and tiller steering. I may never have been happier than when I was out on that boat because it was mine and it was paid for. I took a portable radio with me and a small cooler for my adventures out on the Banana and Indian Rivers. I could take my surfboard and leave our dock on Merritt Island and run across the Banana River and tie up behind my grandparent's house in Cocoa Beach, walk across A1A and go surfing for the day. At 13 years of age that was all I needed and despite what the boat industry's public relations machine tells me I still believe that 16′ boat may very well be all that I need still.

   The industry is dying and there's no stopping it.

                                                                           Capt. Patrick