BOAT/U.S. Magazine articles from July 2004

BOAT/U.S. Magazine archives from July 2004

Behindthebuoy.
July 1, 2004... As the second half of 2004 gets underway, we're bemused and troubled by a number of developments that have come up on the radar screen of late. Those old enough to remember the administration of the first President Bush may recall that he...

Scout drill becomes a real rescue.(BoatU.S.Reports)
July 1, 2004... The Sea Promise that every Sea Scout knows by heart includes the phrase, "Be prepared to render aid to those in need." And scuba diver Dan Carlock is alive today because California Sea Scout Zack Mayberry took that promise seriously. ...

Great lakes water levels up.(BoatU.S.Reports)
July 1, 2004... After years of extremely low water levels, Great Lakes waters are on the rise again, thanks to a very wet spring. And when they hit their peak seasonal levels, Lakes Huron, Michigan, St. Clair and Erie should be substantially higher than four...

Law of the Sea Treaty surfaces.(BoatU.S.Reports)
July 1, 2004... After floating around in U.N. circles for 30 years, the international Law of the Sea Treaty bobbed up in Washington, DC, late last year and some in the boating industry think it's time for the U.S. to get on board. The U.S. Commission on...

NOAA survey discovers shallow wreck.(BoatU.S.Reports)
July 1, 2004... The urgent need to resurvey the water depths and sea floor in major U.S. harbors was underscored in April when a hydrographic survey ship working in Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island, discovered an unmarked major shipwreck in only 36 feet of...

BoatUS.com named 'Best of the Web'.(BoatU.S.Reports)
July 1, 2004... The Forbes.com 2004 annual survey of over 3,700 web sites has found out what boaters have known for some time: That BoatUS.com is the complete Web site for recreational boating and deserves to be named one of Forbes' "Best of the Web." The...

Documentation backlogs drag on.(BoatU.S.Reports)
July 1, 2004... Owners of larger vessels who are planning to document them with the U.S. Coast Guard should be forewarned that delays for receiving the final paperwork are now up to about five months. Like so many things, a new computer system is the...

San Francisco honors RBOC founder.(BoatU.S.Reports)
July 1, 2004... The first ever BoatU.S. Ward Cleaveland Memorial trophy was awarded this spring to BoatU.S. members Johnnie and Daphne Owen for their "Best Decorated Boat" at the Pacific Inter Club Yacht Association's Opening Day Parade on San Francisco Bay....

Senators float Freedom to Fish Act.(BoatU.S.Reports)
July 1, 2004... Texas Republican Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison joined Sen. John Breaux, a Louisiana Democrat, earlier in the current congressional session to introduce the Freedom to Fish Act. The bill, which is similar to legislation introduced last year by Rep....

Aweigh with words.(BoatU.S.Reports)
July 1, 2004... Sea This Movie!-- ACROSS 1. What a boat's engine supplies 6. Skeptical or disgusted sound 10. Do some engraving 14. What skippers need to be at all times 15. Beaufort scale word 16. Mast, familiarly 17....

High noon in Montana marina case.(BoatU.S.Reports)
July 1, 2004... A years-long battle between a Montana marina owner and the federal Bureau of Reclamation may be settled in court this summer, and many Big Sky boaters are fighting mad. Bill and Kathy Frazier took over the defunct Yacht Basin Marina on...

Smart gear contest to save marine mammals.(BoatU.S.Reports)
July 1, 2004... There's big bucks in commercial fishing but now there's money to be made in not catching things, too. In May, an unprecedented coalition of commercial fishermen, scientists and conservation groups announced a contest to develop fishing...

Towing administrator hooks a record shark.(BoatU.S.Reports)
July 1, 2004... When Kristen Potter wheeled a four-foot shark into the back door of the Beef Palace in Huntington Beach, CA, she thought she had a record-busting fish. The shop's manager thought it was "cool" and there's no telling what the customers thought,...

National Marina Day Aug. 14.(BoatU.S.Reports)
July 1, 2004... The third annual National Marina Day will be celebrated August 14, organized by the Marina Operators Association of America and sponsored by BoatU.S. Cooperating Marinas. Marina Day recognizes the important recreational, environmental, social...

Technology, not bureaucracy.(Member Forum)(Letter to the Editor)
July 1, 2004... Regarding your editorial in the May 2004 issue, I couldn't agree more; the government has little business in the "Require-One-To-Wear-Life Jackets" business. Whether or not technology can devise a life jacket that will be so comfortable or so...

Show me the money.(Member Forum)(Letter to the Editor)
July 1, 2004... You have been reporting for years that the U.S. Coast Guard is overworked and underfunded. You have also regularly reported that the Army Corps of Engineers never has enough money to maintain waterways. Correct me if I am wrong but I believe...

Mixed messages.(Member Forum)(Letter to the Editor)
July 1, 2004... Frankly, I don't see the connection between the sinking of Physical Therapy and the problem with the shoaling along the ICW. While the death of Captain Zach Schafer is tragic, the problems with the ICW are simply inconvenient for most and...

Fresh decals for spring.(Member Forum)(Letter to the Editor)
July 1, 2004... I look forward to every volume of your magazine. Who else keeps us informed so well about things that affect the boaters worldwide? I read the article "Keeping Boat Theft at Bay," and was reminded that a BoatU.S. Theft Reward decal is...

Boater, educate thyself.(Member Forum)(Letter to the Editor)
July 1, 2004... I have just read some wonderful letters in the last Member Forum. Each of these shared true-life experiences related to "boating." Each brought to light excellent tips and advice for either the enrichment of the boating experience or the...

License fees sky high.(Member Forum)(Letter to the Editor)
July 1, 2004... As pointed out in the May issue of BoatU.S. Magazine, there's no longer a need for a VHF license. Add single sideband, however, and the charge for a license is over $200. It is noted that a license is required in a foreign port but with so much...

Hawaiians press their case.(Member Forum)(Letter to the Editor)
July 1, 2004... This March, we formed www.HawaiiBoaters.org as a grassroots effort to attack the problems outlined by Dick Thompson in his May story "Paradise Lost?" For more than a decade, under two governors and several state boating administrators, the...

Naming rights.(Member Forum)(Letter to the Editor)
July 1, 2004... I just finished reading your May article on "Army Corps Cutting Back." So far, I'm lucky, as the public ramp I use in Nashville is still open and in pretty good shape. Granted, the usage fee keeps going up, but it is still a good deal for those...

Dead wood.(Member Forum)(Letter to the Editor)
July 1, 2004... My father passed away a few years ago. The funeral director asked if I would like a casket made from his favorite wood, cherry. I was then informed that upgrading from pine to cherry would quadruple the price. Recently, when I was shopping for...

Deviant readings.
July 1, 2004... Those of you who have visited this two-thirds of a page before may know that this column has occasionally been dedicated to frivolous observations and questionable advice. You may have even wondered how this happened within the pages of...

Survey paints boating's portrait.
July 1, 2004... If you think the waterways seem a bit busier than in past years you're right. A new national survey indicates that a total of 209 million people operated a recreational boat between 2001 and 2002. The survey comes more than 15 years after...

Communications gap.
July 1, 2004... Mike Kenealy suddenly found himself in big trouble the summer before last as he cruised into a natural-gas tanker restricted zone in Boston Harbor. A Coast Guard helicopter launched in response to his violation--gunner at the door, and patrol...

Ocean commission makes waves.
July 1, 2004... After more than two and a half years of studying ocean ills and opportunities, a blue-ribbon panel of experts says it's time to fish or cut bait. When it comes to managing marine and coastal resources, the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy...

Delays plague Rescue 21.
July 1, 2004... A major government project intended to rescue mariners in the 21st century may be in some need of rescue itself. An audit late last year by Congress' investigative arm, the General Accounting Office (GAO), has sounded an alarm about delays in...

Ten ways to stretch your fuel budget.
July 1, 2004... Gas prices are soaring. The good news is that it's still less expensive than bottled water, but since you can't run your engine on Perrier, here are some tips to help stretch a tank of fuel: 1 Leave the extra 'junk' home: Do you use your...

Boaters beware in Beantown, big apple: boaters are finding that they won't be welcome in some of the nation's most popular waterways for certain periods this summer. Security concerns for the safety of our political leaders has led to boaters being prohibited in parts of New York and Boston harbors, the Potomac River and Sea Island, GA.
July 1, 2004... Parts of the Potomac River were shut down for a weekend in May as the "Greatest Generation" veterans were honored at the World War II Memorial; and the Intracoastal Waterway was closed, as was the Georgia coastline out three miles, for last...

Tom's top tips for living aboard.
July 1, 2004... I used to read all about "cruising" in the magazines. The people doing it took pride in things like bathing in a quart of water a week. Although they never used ice, their food either never rotted or they never noticed. They'd troll laundry and...

Rapid rehab for living coral: if you're headed to the Florida Keys with your boat anytime soon, the first thing to know is that you've got the likeness of a coral reef right on the back of your hand--and it can keep you out of trouble when navigating the ocean side of these islands.
July 1, 2004... Simply spread out your hand, palm down, and use your imagination. Your forearm is the deep water between the shore and the reef system. The flat of your hand behind the knuckles is the back reef, an area of shallow water that may have coral...

Museum mecca.
July 1, 2004... Ever since the founding of the first permanent English settlement a few miles up river at Jamestown nearly 400 years ago in 1607, mariners have been landing in the Tidewater-Hampton Roads area of southern Virginia to rest, relax and take...

AskCap'nDrew.
July 1, 2004... Dear Cap'n Drew: I do most of my boating within 10 miles of a nuclear power plant. My best friend does quite a bit of fishing within a very close proximity of the plant. I'm afraid to eat fish that have been caught near a nuke plant. My buddy...

Trading places.
July 1, 2004... Last fall, BoatU.S. members Nick and Angela Metro and their two children, Nicolas, age three, and Eileen, age one, were living aboard their 1979 56-foot Matthews motor yacht in St. Petersburg, FL for only a few months when opportunity came...

When is it salvage?
July 1, 2004... A few years ago, six friends went out for a day of scuba diving in a new 25-foot boat. They dropped anchor four miles off the southeast Florida coast and prepared to spend part of the afternoon exploring the sandy Atlantic bottom. The boat...

Technotalk.
July 1, 2004... The recent challenge by BoatU.S. to the Coast Guard and safety experts to begin thinking "outside the box" about how to get more boaters to actually wear life jackets was intriguing to an old engineer like me (Behind the Buoy, May 2004). ...

GPS feature of some EPIRBs fail.(FoundationFindings)
July 1, 2004... In March 2003, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the U.S. Coast Guard organized a test to determine the answer to a very troubling question: why, in 66% of real-world activations of GPS-enabled emergency beacons,...

A guide to seasick remedies.(Damage Avoidance)
July 1, 2004... Whenever he encountered a seasick sailor, Admiral Nelson, the 19th century British hero at Trafalgar, suggested his own fool-proof remedy: "You'll feel better if you sit under a tree." Nelson, who made a few trips to the rail himself, was...

Drinking on camera, for safety's sake.(TangledLine)
July 1, 2004... What happens when you drink and boat? That was the question posed by ABC Productions, parent of the Court TV cable network, to BoatU.S., along with an offer too good to refuse: The network was producing "The Court TV Safety Challenge," a show...

Ask the cruising experts.(TangledLine)
July 1, 2004... With the Log of Ithaka posted twice monthly at BoatUS.com, fans of long distance cruising or those planning for future getaways can ask anything they want of authors Bernadette and Douglas Bemon. Questions published in our last issue are...

Jim Ellis named to Boating Safety Hall of Fame.(TangledLine)
July 1, 2004... BoatU.S. President Jim Ellis was inducted into the National Safe Boating Council's (NSBC) Boating Safety Hall of Fame for his leadership and support of boating safety at the recent International Boating and Water Safety Summit held in Panama...

Coldest summer I ever spent ...(TangledLine)
July 1, 2004... Anyone who has read about Capt. James Cook's exploration off Antarctica or who has marveled at Ernest Shackleton's remarkable survival skills knows that the Atlantic Ocean south of the "Roaring Forties" in the winter is no place for the faint...

You're in hot water.(HotTips and News You Can Use)
July 1, 2004... Until now, if your boat didn't have hot water the next best solution was to rig up a sun shower or heat up a pot on the stove. Now, camping kingpin Coleman has come up with Hot Water on Demand[TM], a neat little self-contained, tabletop water...

Getting stabilized.(HotTips and News You Can Use)
July 1, 2004... When scanning the horizon from a rolling deck, image stabilized binoculars can be a great help when looking for the next navigation mark, finding a man overboard, or just scanning a pristine coastline. However, they often cost more than...

Worried about fuel theft?(HotTips and News You Can Use)
July 1, 2004... With fuel prices expected to be at all-time highs this summer, you may want to ensure that the gas in your tank stays there. TankLock is a locking fuel cap that fits any size fuel deck fill. The first piece of the two-piece lock is a cap...

Connection moisture prevention.(HotTips and News You Can Use)
July 1, 2004... Boats are breeding grounds for corrosion that can destroy electrical systems and cause fires. That's why the marine industry is always on the lookout for ways to keep electrical connections free of moisture, such as using a brushed-on liquid...

Sun lotion stops jellyfish stings.(HotTips and News You Can Use)
July 1, 2004... A new product, SafeSea, claims to offer protection from sky and sea in one bottle. The waterproof sun protection lotion--that's available in SPF 15, SPF 30 and SPF 30 + Kids--is the only product available today that helps protect exposed...

Boat bits.(HotTips and News You Can Use)
July 1, 2004... $1.54 Average price of a gallon of gas at a retail location one year ago. Source: Gaspricewatch.com

What's new in fishing gear!(Advertorial)(Advertisement)
July 1, 2004... While the sport of fishing rarely changes at the fundamental level of hook, line and sinker, fishing gear and technology is constantly evolving to give anglers a greater advantage and make the sport more convenient and fun. From the most...

Numbers game a hull of a problem.(Consumer Protection Bureau)
July 1, 2004... What began as one BoatU.S. member's complaint about difficulties getting warranty service on his Germanbuilt sailboat has brought to light a world of problems or, more accurately, a problem of global proportions about the official hull...

Hunter.(Our Boat)
July 1, 2004... Boaters are a contradiction. They often like to be by themselves, but they also like to get together with others of like mind to swap stories, talk about their respective boats and share in their love of the boating life. And what...

Albin 36 aft cabin trawler.(2ndTimeAround)
July 1, 2004... The steadily growing popularity of trawler-styled yachts seems to attract new builders and models each year but Albin Marine, with more than 30 years experience building trawler yachts, is certainly no new kid on the block. Their 36 Aft Cabin...

Island Packet 31: two out of three boats sold in the U.S. are bought 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 Hornor.
July 1, 2004... Many sailors have strong feelings, one way or the other, regarding the aesthetic appeal of traditional designs. The Island Packet 31 was a bit of a risk for the builders: a traditional catboat-styled design with a sweeping sheer line, stubby...

Member mailbag.(Membership)
July 1, 2004... Dear Boat U.S., Unfortunately, I found myself desperately in need of your towing services yesterday. All that I can say is you guys rule! I had to be passed between three captains, and all were professional, courteous, and exceptionally...

Summer fuel discounts.(Membership)
July 1, 2004... As gas prices skyrocket, one of the Association's best member benefits becomes more valuable--fuel discounts at BoatU.S. Cooperating Marinas. Nearly half of the 750 BoatU.S. Cooperating Marinas give you up to 10 cents off per-gallon. All...

New BoatU.S. WorldPoints Platinum Master Card.(Membership)
July 1, 2004... BoatU.S. and MBNA have teamed up to offer you the best credit card yet, with the newly launched BoatU.S. WorldPoints Platinum MasterCard. The no-annual fee rewards program gives you one point for each dollar spent anywhere MasterCard is...

Behind the boat.
July 1, 2004... What ever happened to spring this year? It seems we've jumped directly into the frying pan of summer here in the mid-Atlantic. For Lori and I it's been a very hectic couple of months. We have a "new to us" boat at the dock and, being 10 years...

Where our flags fly.
July 1, 2004... Send us a photo of your boat, preferably flying the BoatU.S. flag, and we'll publish it here. Please include the name, make, size and home port, as well as your member number. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] ...