BOAT/U.S. Magazine articles from January 2003

BOAT/U.S. Magazine archives from January 2003

Behind the buoy.
January 1, 2003... There has been much hand-wringing of late as to why new boats just don't sell like they used to. This is no matter of idle concern to the chieftains of the boating industry, as total new boat sales peaked over a decade ago in 1988 at...

Lawyer-boaters win manatee ruling. (Boat U.S. Reports).
January 1, 2003... How many lawyers does it take to test controversial restrictions on boating in Florida? Five. And if you're waiting for the punchline, the jury's still out. But in a precedent-setting case, four boater/attorneys who intentionally...

Chicago boaters hit with new tax. (Boat U.S. Reports).
January 1, 2003... After months of negotiations and vocal opposition, Chicago boaters lost their battle with City Hall and will be hit with a new city tax on mooring permits this year. The tax could have been worse -- originally proposed at 25% on top of the...

Careless skipper pleads guilty. (Boat U.S. Reports).
January 1, 2003... After a court trial that went on for weeks, ending in a mistrial due to a hung jury, New Jersey boater Barry flowers pled guilty to charges of "death by a vessel" rather than face another trial. The case made national headlines after...

DSC radio owners plugged in. (Boat U.S. Reports).
January 1, 2003... More than three-fourths of boaters with DSC radios are connecting them to their Global Positioning System (GPS) receivers, according to a survey of those who have been issued a radio ID number by BoatU.S. The survey was conducted in...

Swordfish make a comeback. (Boat U.S. Reports).
January 1, 2003... Just four years into a 10-year recovery program for North Atlantic Swordfish, the once-depleted species is almost rebuilt. That's the conclusion reached in a preliminary stock assessment conducted last September for the International...

Summer drought aided water quality. (Boat U.S. Reports).
January 1, 2003... The severe drought that wreaked havoc on farmers' crops has surprisingly benefited the Chesapeake Bay. Aerial surveys in late 2002 revealed the largest single-year increase in underwater grass growth and the largest amount ever recorded since...

Court rules in propeller guard suit. (Boat U.S. Reports).
January 1, 2003... In a landmark decision Dec. 3, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that boating accident liability and defect lawsuits can be decided by state courts. The case, argued last fall, involved the death of a woman who fell overboard and was struck by the...

Most boat loans deductible. (Boat U.S. Reports).
January 1, 2003... Boat owners getting a jump on preparing their 2002 income tax returns still have the benefit of deducting mortgage interest paid on a boat loan, as in years past. The rules have not changed for 2002 returns and a boat may still be considered a...

National Advisory Council tackles public policy issues. (Boat U.S. Reports).
January 1, 2003... A variety of hot topics, including the merger of the U.S. Coast Guard into the new Department of Homeland Security, were debated during the annual meeting of the BoatU.S. National Advisory Council at association headquarters last October. ...

Jones act waivers return. (Boat U.S. Reports).
January 1, 2003... With the approval from Congress of S. 1214, the Port Security bill in November, a small but very useful program that benefited owners of foreign-built recreational vessels has been reinstated. The so-called Jones Act waiver program should be...

Undersea turbines harness tides. (Boat U.S. Reports).
January 1, 2003... While producing electricity from offshore wind turbines is proving controversial in the United States (see BoatU.S. Magazine, September 2002), what about generating juice under the sea -- out of sight and out of mind? That's the approach taken...

El Nino back for '03. (Boat U.S. Reports).
January 1, 2003... Scientists are hot on the trail of another expected El Nino event for this year, which, if it develops past a moderate warming of equatorial Pacific Ocean water surface temperatures, could suppress Atlantic hurricane activity late next summer....

Askcap'ndrew.
January 1, 2003... Dear Cap'n Drew: We are new to boating and just purchased an '86 Catalina 27. We are concerned that we might be getting obsessive and "weird." We no longer bring pictures of the kids to family functions... we now bring pictures of the...

Technotalk.
January 1, 2003... This month's column may surprise those readers who believe that we are interested only in things powered by electricity. Surprise! The subject of this column works without batteries. It is a compass, specifically a hand-bearing compass. Every...

Member forum.
January 1, 2003... LettersToEditor@BoatUS.com Our Boat Nominee "Our Boat" in your November issue was an excellent article, and it is nice to read positive comments regarding manufacturers in this negative world we live in. I invite you to visit the...

Missionimpossible?
January 1, 2003... While some legislators went overseas and others went home for Congress' August recess, I headed out in my sail-boat this past summer for a trip to Long Island Sound with my friend Paul Baradell. We both sail Downeaster 38s, and knew it would be...

12 tips to prevent a marina meltdown.
January 1, 2003... Early last summer, Larry Montgomery, a Seattle marine surveyor, learned of a boater at a marina who was preparing to remove 40 gallons of gas that had spilled in the bilge. Unable to reach the spill, the boater was about to power saw an access...

Latest wave in timesharing.
January 1, 2003... Anthony Liquori found the boat of his dreams on a flyer that a co-worker happened to bring back from a major boat show last fall. The 126-foot, brand spanking new megayacht sat gleaming at the dock in Ft. Lauderdale and when Liquori went down...

Greener power getting underway.
January 1, 2003... Did you see that little Honda Insight gas-electric hybrid car humming down the Interstate in a blaze of silence and social responsibility? Or the Nissan Prius nursing its buck-and-a-half per-gallon petro-booze like a sailor at a strip show as...

Rescue 21 mapped out.
January 1, 2003... The U.S. Coast Guard is finally moving forward with its long-awaited plans to scrap its antiquated coastal communications and distress system and replace it with $600 million worth of state-of-the-art technology. With its coastal "911"...

Engine blocks choke on water. (Boat Smart).
January 1, 2003... Next time you're brushed aside on the highway by what columnist Dave Barry calls a Chevy Suburban Subdivision, don't let it get you down. You might actually have something in common with that guy in the big SUV. After all, the same engine that...

Hawaii. (Destination).
January 1, 2003... For East Coast cruising sailors, the long-haul Mecca continues to be Bermuda, and on the other coast it's Hawaii. But the two destinations aren't the same at all. Maybe the most obvious difference between sailing to Bermuda and voyaging to...

True love afloat.
January 1, 2003... We know that Cupid keeps a bow and quill filled with love arrows, but who would have guessed that he spends so much time around boats? In our last issue we asked our readers to share some of their boating related love stories with us in...

Deviantreadings.
January 1, 2003... Ahhhh, romance. Love is in the air. There's nothing like a sea breeze and the sheer adventure of setting out on the water to bring out the Romeo and/or Juliet in all of us. No wonder so many of us fall hopelessly in love...with our boats. ...

Lockout has anglers reeling.
January 1, 2003... After waiting with bated breath for over a year for a decision on new fishing restrictions around the Channel Islands, California anglers got "knocked flat" when the state fish and game commission voted to close 175 square miles of ocean to all...

Wellcraft Coastal 2800. (2nd Time Around).
January 1, 2003... www.wellcraft.com In a market where the cost of a well-outfitted, mid-sized fishing machine can easily top $150,000 there are still a few reasonably priced offerings. The Coastal 2800 model produced by Wellcraft Marine between 1986 and...

West Wight Potter. (2nd Time Around).
January 1, 2003... Two out of three boats sold in the U.S. are used. Many of these have an enduring appeal, having withstood the test of time. In each issue, we'll feature a review of one powerboat and one sailboat by noted naval architect and surveyor Jack...

Women's day in California. (Tangled Line).
January 1, 2003... For a record 14th year, the unique Women's Sailing Convention sponsored by BoatU.S. and the Southern California Yachting Assoc. will bring together hundreds of women, from novices to experts, eager to hone their sailing skills. This year's...

Steaming into history. (Tangled Line).
January 1, 2003... A group of steamboat history fans has forged a plan in Saugerties, NY, to create a frill-scale, completely functional replica of Robert Fulton's North River Steamboat of Clermont. BoatU.S. member David Minch is an active volunteer for...

Live from New Zealand. (Tangled Line).
January 1, 2003... Time for another America's Cup regatta! It hardly seems like three years since the Kiwis trounced challenger Prada from Italy in five straight races. Only one of five American teams made it to the challenger finals. But this time around, the...

It gives one paws. (Tangled Line).
January 1, 2003... BoatU.S. members Susan and John Mercurio never go boating without their children -- their five, fourlegged children, that is. Seen here are the Mercurios' pet miniature schnauzers "guarding" their 29-foot Sea Ray, Little Paws, berthed in...

They're everywhere. (Tangled Line).
January 1, 2003... Running into fellow BoatU.S. members is a common occurrence out on the water or at the dock, but how about hundreds of miles from home, out in the desert while dining out? That's what happened when BoatU.S. members Pat and Bob Talley ran into...

Boat U.S. license plate debuts. (At your Service).
January 1, 2003... Residents of the Commonwealth of Virginia are the first to get a specialty license plate featuring the BoatU.S. logo "floating" on a sea of light blue waves. The "Communiplate," as it's known in Virginia, is designed to let members of...

Grand Banks. (Our Boat U.S.).
January 1, 2003... www.grandbanks.com "You don't want to get a trawler unless you're retired or a sailor," said BoatU.S. member Dave Green as our dinner table erupted with laughter as we sliced through our crab cakes at a gas station-turned-restaurant...