BOAT/U.S. Magazine articles from July 2007

BOAT/U.S. Magazine archives from July 2007

Behind the buoy.
July 1, 2007... As this issue goes to press, we're watching and critiquing a CNN television report on the threat that small boats pose to national security for which BoatU.S. was interviewed, while putting the finishing touches on a presentation that the...

Congress tackles discharge permits.(BoatU.S.reports)
July 1, 2007... Six years ago, a number of environmental groups filed a lawsuit against the federal Environmental Protection Agency in an attempt to control the spread of aquatic nuisance species by mandating the treatment of ballast water in large commercial...

HF weather broadcasts could cease.(BoatU.S.reports)
July 1, 2007... Mariners who travel beyond the 20-mile limit of VHF marine radio broadcasts and rely on medium-frequency (MF) or high-frequency (HF) weather broadcasts could be left in the dark if the U.S. Coast Guard cannot find funding for equipment...

Constitutionality of local anchoring law challenged.(BoatU.S.reports)
July 1, 2007... The attorney defending a Marco Island, FL, resident who deliberately got arrested for anchoring his boat in city waters past a local time limit has filed a motion to have the town's strict anchoring ordinance declared unconstitutional under...

Nearly $10 million awarded for transient facilities.(BoatU.S.reports)
July 1, 2007... The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced the 2007 round of Boating Infrastructure Grants (BIG) in April. This year the program awarded $9.4 million for 11 major construction projects in nine states that will provide facilities specifically...

Fish first, boat later, study says.(BoatU.S.reports)
July 1, 2007... New research may shed light on an old question: Which comes first, the boat or the fishing rod? Professionals in both the boating and fishing industries have long known that the two activities are closely linked--after all, half of all...

100 knots underwater?(BoatU.S.reports)
July 1, 2007... And you thought go-fast boats were skimming over the waves really, really rapidly. Well, watch out below. The Defense Dept. has researchers working on a whole new submarine technology that could put the average Cigarette boat to shame. ...

Aweigh with words.(BoatU.S.reports)
July 1, 2007... "Following Directions"--can you do it at sea? ACROSS 1. Syllable of cogitation 4. Church area 8. Talk back 12. Boyfriend 13. Future-telling type 14. Insanity, perhaps 15. Some exams 16. Right side of a...

NOAA 'smart buoy' goes live.(BoatU.S.reports)
July 1, 2007... The NOAA Chesapeake Bay Office has deployed its first "smart buoy" as part of the Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail--the nation's first water-based National Historic Trail. The buoy, positioned off Jamestown, VA, for the...

Ballast water battlers go to court.(BoatU.S.reports)
July 1, 2007... Tired of waiting for federal action to stem the tide of detrimental organisms entering the Great Lakes, the state of Michigan enacted its own ballast water discharge permit system for oceangoing ships Jan. 1. Michigan's law is the only one in...

'Home town' Sea Scouts earn Flagship Award.(BoatU.S.reports)
July 1, 2007... BoatU.S. has awarded its 2007 Sea Scout Flagship Award to a Sea Scout unit in its own backyard, Ship 1942, Dragonlady, of Arlington, VA. As the top performing Sea Scout unit in the nation, Ship 1942 is recognized for excellence in program...

More active hurricane season forecast.(BoatU.S.reports)
July 1, 2007... There is a 75% chance that the 2007 Atlantic hurricane season will be above normal this year, according to forecasts by scientists at the Climate Prediction Center of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). NOAA...

Wind shear could dampen hurricanes.(BoatU.S.reports)
July 1, 2007... Scientists using global climate models are finding that vertical wind shear may increase substantially in the tropical Atlantic and eastern Pacific oceans, a development that could reduce the frequency and intensity of hurricanes in this...

Sacrifice your boat for science.(BoatU.S.reports)
July 1, 2007... If you're a boater with a passion for forensic science--and you have a trailerable boat or PWC that you might consider using as a tax write-off--a new program funded by a grant from the U.S. Coast Guard could help the nation's waterway accident...

100-year-old Scout ship heads for refit.(BoatU.S.reports)
July 1, 2007... Since 1972, the 92-foot "tall ship," Argus, has carried Boy Scouts and Sea Scouts on training cruises in Southern California waters. Now the 102-year-old wooden topsail ketch has sailed into new hands, a nonprofit foundation that hopes to...

Law of the Sea treaty resurfaces.(BoatU.S.reports)
July 1, 2007... An international treaty governing the world's oceans, which has floated in the backwaters of the U.S. Senate for two decades, resurfaced in May for another run at passage. The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, drafted in...

New Jersey titling snafu.(BoatU.S.reports)
July 1, 2007... If you own a federally documented boat in New Jersey, has the state required that you obtain a state title and pay a fee? If so, you have likely paid unnecessarily. Based on a complaint from a New Jersey BoatU.S. member, BoatU.S. contacted the...

Tax woes beset Dana Point boaters.(BoatU.S.reports)
July 1, 2007... Thousands of boaters who keep their boats at Dana Point Harbor in Southern California have received tax assessment notices for taxes owed on their leases for the past four years--taxes they believe they already paid. The notices of assessment...

Clean Water grants fight marine debris.(BoatU.S.reports)
July 1, 2007... The BoatU.S. Foundation for Boating Safety and Clean Water awarded over $25,000 in grants for 2007 to nonprofit groups around the country, to promote environmentally sound boating. This year's focus on marine debris challenged applicants to...

Sturgeon back, but just by a nose.(BoatU.S.reports)
July 1, 2007... The shortnose sturgeon of the Potomac River has been in short supply lately. Up until 1996, in fact, biologists thought this smaller cousin of the Atlantic sturgeon had died out a century ago. And although researchers have found 10...

Ebola-like virus attacks Great Lakes fish.(BoatU.S.reports)
July 1, 2007... Natural resource officials across the Great Lakes region have stepped up efforts to locate and contain a deadly virus that infects 37 different species of fish, including many popular gamefish species. The disease, known as viral hemorrhagic...

Security starts at home.(memberforum)
July 1, 2007... Thank you for highlighting the critical importance of the Coast Guard's America's Waterway Watch program as a non-regulatory approach to addressing security threats in the maritime environment. Through our outreach and awareness efforts, we...

Sticking up for security.(memberforum)
July 1, 2007... As a 25-year member, I have more than enough Member stickers--including the 20th Anniversary and the 500,000 Member stickers. What I could really use is a BoatU.S. orange sticker with the 877-24WATCH number on it. ...

Identifying the real threat.(memberforum)
July 1, 2007... Add my name to the growing list of boaters who think the Coast Guard is on the wrong path. Of what use is a personal license in preventing a deliberate act of terrorism? Under age drinkers in all states have developed methods of obtaining...

Jack of all trades.(memberforum)
July 1, 2007... Knowing this is the first and only correspondence you have received on canine companion omissions, I can't believe you left the Jack Russell Terrier out of your boating companions. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Jacks are low maintenance...

Recurring diversions.(memberforum)
July 1, 2007... I am writing in response to "Behind the Buoy" in the most recent edition of BoatU.S. Magazine. I cruise the waters of South Florida/Florida Keys and can tell you that stops at Customs on the way back from a foreign port are unnecessary....

Too many numbers.(memberforum)(Letter to the editor)
July 1, 2007... Just a comment on Chuck Husick's Technotalk column in the January 2007 edition regarding VHF radios with DSC capability. With all due respect to Mr. Husick's distinguished career, I agree that for distress calls, the DSC radio is unsurpassed....

Daily anchor watch.(memberforum)(Letter to the editor)
July 1, 2007... I enjoyed reading your article, in the March 2007 issue, concerning all the activity taking place in Florida concerning the boating community contesting local anchoring regulations that differ from state law. I have been following this "daily"...

Thanks for the memories.(memberforum)(Letter to the editor)
July 1, 2007... I read with great interest the article entitled "Cold War Relic to Reef," about the future of the U.S. Army transport General Harry S. Taylor which appeared in your May 2007 issue. During the summer of 1948 the General Taylor served as the...

A questionable judgment.(memberforum)
July 1, 2007... The requirement that recreational boats obtain wastewater permits is ludicrous, especially if engine cooling water is considered. Granted, a very few recreational boaters may be guilty of very minor pollution but virtually all of this is...

The dream goes on.(memberforum)
July 1, 2007... I have been a member of BoatU.S. for years. I sold my boat four years ago because the expense got out of hand. It was one of the saddest days in my life. I still remain a member because I believe in what you do. I don't believe that...

Ask Cap'n Drew.(memberforum)(Interview)
July 1, 2007... Dear Cap'n Drew: Some time ago I read an article which gave guests on boats some rules to follow. It was short and very funny. Have you written anything like that? --Laurie from Florida Dear Laurie: I have actually written two top ten...

First class: nautical treasures.
July 1, 2007... Philatelists of the boating world, rejoice! Boaters who also happen to be stamp collectors will feel like they've hit the jackpot this summer as the U.S. Postal Service is debuting not one, but two new series of first-class stamps bearing...

Growing concern over ethanol.
July 1, 2007... Ethanol has made a lot of boat owners miserable, if only for a while. The stuff is a solvent that cleans gunk off the inside of gas tanks, clogs filters, and stops engines. It also has the potential to attract water through the tank's vent and...

Access summit shares solutions.
July 1, 2007... David Inscoe had watched the waterfront land rush of recent years gobble up boating access in his corner of North Carolina and it had him worried. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] After all, not only does he lease a slip for his Island Packet 32...

BoatU.S. winners boating access award.
July 1, 2007... The Association's first Recreational Boating Access Awards were presented by BoatU.S. Chairman Richard Schwartz during the "Working Waterways and Waterfronts" symposium, May 9-11. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The Award honors groups,...

Undergrads underway.
July 1, 2007... Higher education on the high seas is not an entirely new idea, but if an enterprising BoatU.S member has his way, college-bound kids with boating in their blood might want to combine the two into one of life's great adventures. ...

Storms spur canal cooperation.
July 1, 2007... "Safety in numbers" is a concept that's served humans ever since cave men and women first banded together to fend off saber-toothed tigers or warring tribes. So how does it help when a Category 4 hurricane is bearing down on your waterfront...

Ask Chuck.(Interview)
July 1, 2007... "Ask Chuck" encourages a two-way communication and an ongoing dialogue between longtime BoatU.S. Magazine Technical Editor Chuck Husick and BoatU.S. Magazine readers on a wide array of questions involving gear, the latest equipment and the best...

AIS: security or illusion?
July 1, 2007... The October 2000 attack on the USS Cole in Aden, Yemen, demonstrated that a small craft (reportedly an inflatable) could be used to successfully attack a large vessel. Continuing concern about a possibility of such an attack in U.S. waters has...

Docking at Discovery Bay.(Waterfront Living)
July 1, 2007... Discovery Bay, wasn't so much discovered as built, but coming across this thriving waterfront community that rises amidst field after field of California produce feels like discovering an oasis in the desert. Except that Northern California's...

Discovering coastal California.(Waterfront Living)
July 1, 2007... Within a few hour's jaunt of Discovery Bay are two coastal California communities worth discovering and exploring, Point Arena and Half Moon Bay. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] To the north and west of Discovery Bay along the winding and at...

Line Shark.(hottips and news you can use)
July 1, 2007... If you use a boat hook to handle dock lines when entering or leaving your slip a new invention can make the whole docking process a bit easier. The "Line Shark" is essentially a boat hook but with a super strong, rare-earth magnet embedded at...

Boat bits.(hottips and news you can use)
July 1, 2007... 67% The percentage of boaters surveyed who agreed or strongly agreed with the statement, "I am pleased with the quality of my sex life." (vs. only 58% of non-boaters who agreed/strongly agreed.) Source: Discoverboating.com

Quiet water.(hottips and news you can use)
July 1, 2007... Have you ever slept aboard and been awakened in the morning to the cacophony of a noisy water pump when an early riser turns a faucet on? Jabsco's "Smooth Flow" water pump controller could be your ticket to sleeping in late. The controller...

Fuel Whistle.(hottips and news you can use)
July 1, 2007... As part of its "Help Stop the Drops" program to help keep accidental fuel spills out of the water during refueling, the BoatU.S. Foundation for Boating Safety and Clean Water recently asked BoatU.S. members for help in locating a small warning...

Preggie pops for seasickness.(hottips and news you can use)
July 1, 2007... Skeptical about seasickness remedies? We are too. But a product originally developed to treat morning sickness in pregnant women and nausea associated with chemotherapy treatment may hold promise. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] From the folks...

Warranty matters.(boatsmart)
July 1, 2007... Long ago, in what seems like a galaxy far, far away, warranties on most boats and marine engines were limited in scope and lasted for no more than a year. They were buried deep in the fine print on the backs of sales brochures. They listed more...

Clean Marinas California founder honored by Foundation.(goodfoundations)
July 1, 2007... H.P. "Sandy" Purdon, an avid boater and marina operator, has been a fixture on the San Diego boating landscape since the 1980s. He helped to bring the America's Cup back to the U.S. in 1987 and, as the founder of the California Clean Marinas...

Schwartz serves as safety spokesman.(tangledline)
July 1, 2007... Nearly four decades ago, BoatU.S. Founder Richard Schwartz testified on Capitol Hill that the U.S. Coast Guard needed more jurisdiction over boat manufacturing to ensure that recreational vessels were safe. More recently, the U.S. Coast...

The air show must go on.(tangledline)
July 1, 2007... What do fighter jets and big red towboats have in common? They meet every summer on the New Jersey casino coast for the annual Atlantic City air show, "Thunder Over the Boardwalk." One of the East Coast's largest aerial displays, this year's...

Women's fishing program honored.(tangledline)
July 1, 2007... The "Ladies, Let's Go Fishing!" seminar series received the Individual of the Year award from Week of the Ocean, Inc., a marine education program based in Fort Lauderdale, FL. Citing LLGF as an inspirational opportunity to get women into...

Towing captain goes deep.(tangledline)
July 1, 2007... When TowboatU.S. Ocean City, NJ, Capt. John G. Lindsay died unexpectedly at age 51 last September, many a boater was saddened by the news. Lindsay and his red boat were a fixture on the Great Egg Harbor River--if you ever needed assistance on...

Annual report 2006: member support saves lives and the environment.(BoatU.S. Foundation)
July 1, 2007... In 2006 the BoatU.S. Foundation for Boating Safety and Clean Water celebrated 25 years of groundbreaking programs to make boaters safer and waterways cleaner. This milestone capped off another remarkable year in which the Foundation gave out...

Member mailbag.(atyourservice)
July 1, 2007... Dear Caroline, It has been a very long three years for Dave and me in dealing with this boat matter. I thought at times that we would never get to this point of resolution. As hard as it was to deal with it, I feel blessed to have met some...

Embarrassing moments ...(atyourservice)
July 1, 2007... In an effort to learn from our mistakes, we recently asked you for tales of your most embarrassing moments on the water. BoatU.S. member Peg Ryan responded with the following story, and for her efforts she was awarded a $50 West Marine gift...

Win a prize and make a difference.(atyourservice)
July 1, 2007... As the saying goes, "there is strength in numbers." That's why we're asking you to help grow our association in order to make our voice louder in the halls of government. The President's Circle program rewards you for bringing new members...

2nd time around.
July 1, 2007... Carver 28 Aft Cabin www.carveryachts.com Although I've never heard the term used to describe a powerboat, if there is such a thing as a "pocket cruiser" in the powerboat marketplace, this is it. At just a little over 28 feet in length on...

Ventilation--a survival guide: good condensation appears on the outside of cold beverages. Bad condensation leads to soggy potato chips, wet bunks, musty air and with time, mildew, mold and corrosion. That's why every boat owner should know how to improve onboard ventilation.(From the Files of DIY Boat Owner Magazine)
July 1, 2007... When moist warm air is cooled, it drops its moisture. Outdoors, this moisture is called rain. Inside a boat, the moisture that collects on hull and cabin surfaces is called condensation or sweat. However, when condensation gets so heavy it...

BoatU.S.exchange.
July 1, 2007... SALE OR TRADE - POWER 11'6" BOSTON WHALER tender 1981. 15hp Merc elec start, tiller mount, fresh varnish, stored inside, runs great, very low hrs, compass, Lexan hatches, nice, unsinkable. $2,500. CT(860)868-2882, kuduincjosh@charter.net...

Behind the boat.
July 1, 2007... Did you forget something? It happens to my husband, Laurence, and me all the time. We get to the boat, start doing some work and then realize we left some tools sitting in the garage at home. We're lucky that there is a West Marine store less...

Where our flags fly.
July 1, 2007... Send us a photo of your boat, preferably flying the BoatU.S. flag, and we'll publish it here, or online at BoatUS.com. Please include the name, make, size and home port, as well as your member number. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] ...