BOAT/U.S. Magazine articles from November 2006

BOAT/U.S. Magazine archives from November 2006

Behind the buoy.
November 1, 2006... Nobody likes to get bad news and even fewer, we suspect, enjoy being the bearer of bad news. Nonetheless, your editors firmly believe that helpful information can be gleaned from news that isn't entirely rosy. As they say, forewarned is...

Boating fatalities increase slightly in 2005.(BoatU.S.reports)
November 1, 2006... The good-new/bad-news statistics on boating accidents continued for 2005 as the latest official count from the U.S. Coast Guard indicates boating fatalities went up last year--disappointing news following 2004 in which boating fatalities hit an...

CG on cell phones cancelled.(BoatU.S.reports)
November 1, 2006... In many parts of the U.S., wireless phone companies have offered boaters an emergency service to reach the Coast Guard in which cell phone dialers could press *CG. But due to inconsistencies in services and problems relaying calls, the Coast...

Bluegill are on patrol.(BoatU.S.reports)
November 1, 2006... The U.S. Army has recruited a battalion of bluegill to help detect terrorist assaults on our nation's water supply. Like the proverbial canary in a coal mine, these small fish are sensitive to changes in water quality and the presence of toxins...

El Nino makes a comeback.(BoatU.S.reports)
November 1, 2006... More promising news from meteorologists following a much milder 2006 hurricane season: a new El Nino has officially been declared in the eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean. As of press time in September, a weak El Nino existed which,...

Mandatory life jackets in U.S. Virgin Islands.(BoatU.S.reports)
November 1, 2006... Just as you were dreaming about your winter get-away, the U.S. Virgin Islands has passed a new law affecting all boaters in their waters starting in September 2006. In an unexpected move, the USVI legislature passed a bill requiring...

Striped bass moratorium continues.(BoatU.S.reports)
November 1, 2006... Striped bass in offshore waters will continue to be off-limits to sport and commercial fisherman following a Sept. 8 ruling of the National Marine Fisheries Service. The decision continues a 1990 moratorium on striped bass fishing that...

Trashed EPIRB triggers false alarm.(BoatU.S.reports)
November 1, 2006... When the U.S. Coast Guard in Seattle, WA, picked up a mayday signal from an Emergency Position Indicating Radiobeacon, or EPIRB, registered to a boat home-ported in Missoula, MT, this summer, the only problem was that no boat was in distress...

Clean water grants now available for '07.(BoatU.S.reports)
November 1, 2006... The BoatU.S. Foundation for Boating Safety and Clean Water is looking to fund creative and innovative projects that teach boaters cleaner habits on the water through its 2007 Clean Water Grant Program. Up to $4,000 per group is available to...

Aweigh with words.
November 1, 2006... "Which Side Are You On?"--location, location, location. ACROSS 1. Ripken of diamond fame 4. Being shipwrecked, e.g. 10. Plays in "The Pirates of Penzance" 14. Nat. where you'll find the port of Cork 15. Muss up...

BoatU.S. sponsors Collegiate Bass tournament.(BoatU.S.reports)
November 1, 2006... BoatU.S. sponsored the first-ever National Collegiate Bass Fishing Championship October 19-21 on Lake Lewisville, TX, just outside Dallas. Over 40 teams competed in the event, including schools from the Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-10 and SEC. The...

Marinas sinking under weight of taxes.(BoatU.S.reports)
November 1, 2006... Death and taxes, as the adage goes, are life's two certainties. And if current real estate tax assessments on marinas in one Florida county are upheld, access to Florida's waters may be further diminished, leaving boaters high and dry,...

History of Diving Museum opens.(BoatU.S.reports)
November 1, 2006... The Florida Keys now boasts a brand new museum dedicated to the history of diving. Located at mile marker 83 in Islamorada, FL, the Florida Keys History of Diving Museum explores over 3,000 years of diving history and features one of the...

California sets marine reserves.(BoatU.S.reports)
November 1, 2006... By unanimous vote Aug. 15, California's Fish and Game Commission designated approximately 200 square miles of state waters off the central coast, or about 18%, as "marine reserves." Effective early next year, the action bans or severely...

Honoring the honor system.(memberforum)(Letter to the editor)
November 1, 2006... Regarding your article "More Customs Inspectors in Florida," travel to the Bahamas suffered not because "many U.S. boaters were frustrated with clearing-in procedures...". Travel to the Bahamas suffered because it cost $300 dollars to clear...

Customary hassles.(memberforum)(Letter to the editor)
November 1, 2006... I read with interest your article about more Customs Inspectors in Florida. My experience with Customs on Lake Erie shows the serious gap we recreational boaters are falling into in this post-9/11 era. On the eastern Great Lakes area, the...

Slow down and save.(memberforum)(Letter to the editor)
November 1, 2006... The article, "Frugal Fuel Tips," (September 2006 issue) lays out some useful ways to reduce fuel consumption, but the only way to seriously save fuel is to seriously slow down. Let's review the basics. A boat gliding through the water at...

Know thy radio.(memberforum)(Letter to the editor)
November 1, 2006... Regarding the MMSI tutorial available at BoatUS.com/mmsi: The tutorial is an excellent presentation. Is it possible to get this info in print format? It will be a "must read" for all crew. Capt. Eli Ferguson M/V Antithesis ...

An alloy for every occassion.(memberforum)(Letter to the editor)
November 1, 2006... Regarding this article about stainless steel, it is not suitable to imply that any type of stainless steel, e.g. 304, 316, 410, etc., is of lesser "quality" or "inferior" to another type. As the article correctly states, stainless steels,...

Slow going on CO.(memberforum)(Letter to the editor)
November 1, 2006... I find it quite sad that the number of deaths from CO on boats continues to rise at what appears to be an astronomical rate. At last count there have been 132 known deaths caused by CO associated with recreational boating. A great deal has...

A deadly exposure.(memberforum)(Letter to the editor)
November 1, 2006... I must congratulate you on your recent article in the July issue regarding the dangers of carbon monoxide while boating. I wasn't aware of the article until my return from an aborted vacation trip around the 4th of July weekend on our...

Fill 'em up.(memberforum)(Letter to the editor)
November 1, 2006... Just read the disturbing article on ethanol. This is going to pose some unique problems for us on the Great Lakes where our vessels are, of necessity, on the "hard" for six months out of the year. In my case, I have a sailboat and generally...

Ask Cap'n Drew.
November 1, 2006... Dear Cap'n Drew: I've been wondering why it is that people usually wave when passing each other on the water in boats. Yet, when passing each other on the freeway in cars, they tend to offer the other type of gesture. --Rex Kusler,...

Fishing his way to the top: you've probably seen the bumper sticker "a bad day of fishing is better than a good day at work." But for the 200 or so professional anglers on the FLW tour, a bad day of fishing is a bad day at work.".
November 1, 2006... While it may seem to many that the men and women who fish professionally on one of the bass fishing circuits have landed a dream job, the public often never sees the work and sacrifice and years of struggle that it takes to reach the top...

The Last Child in the boat?
November 1, 2006... Will you be the last of the boaters in your family? Strange question, you say? Maybe not. The next time you drop the hook in a quiet cove, whether you're boating on saltwater or fresh, and Mother Nature delivers one of her special...

Homing in on hurricanes.
November 1, 2006... When the National Hurricane Center (NHC) first began issuing forecasts for tropical storms and hurricanes in 1954, the best they could offer mariners and coastal residents were weather forecasts 24 hours ahead of any activity. Considering that...

Going ballistic on the Great Lakes.
November 1, 2006... The U.S. Coast Guard Ninth District's motto is "Guarding the Great Lakes," a phrase that has taken on new meaning since Sept. 11, 2001. But a high-caliber debate has errupted among Great Lakes boaters and anglers as the Coast Guard plans to...

Consumer alert.
November 1, 2006... The U.S. Coast Guard recently published the following defect recall notices. For more information about these campaigns, contact the manufacturers directly or call the Coast Guard's InfoLine, 800-368-5647. Bayliner Marine, US Marine,...

The pick of the page turners.
November 1, 2006... It must be true that fact is stranger than fiction, otherwise we would not have the rich variety of new nautical titles that populated bookstores this past year. True stories of hurricanes, World War II German submarines, naval battles, world...

Techno talk.
November 1, 2006... I want my boat to be wireless! Well, maybe not quite wireless; I'll still need the 12-volt DC and 120-volt AC power distribution system. The wires I want to eliminate are the ones I have to install every time I add new electronic devices, the...

Time to plan your escape.
November 1, 2006... The latest survey of BoatU.S. Magazine readers leaves no doubt about the one activity they have in common. BoatU.S. members love to travel. In the next two years, nearly 300,000 members intend to visit the Caribbean; almost 200,000 will go to...

Sanctuary by the Sea.(Waterfront Living)
November 1, 2006... Four years ago, when my wife, Lynne, and I cruised the Sea of Cortez aboard one of the small ships of the Cruise West line, we almost immediately fell in love with the stark beauty of Baja Califomia's eastern coast, the appeal of its historic...

Study provokes stern warning.(CONSUMER PROTECTION BUREAU)
November 1, 2006... Chances are, if you operate a gasoline-powered express cruiser with the canvas enclosure in place, dangerously high levels of carbon monoxide (CO) could build up at the stem, the swim platform and even in the cockpit and cabin. ...

Patching deck hatch leaks: the drippy evidence of a leak can be a long way from its source at a leaking hatch. Follow these procedures to find and fix the leak.(From the Files of DIY Boat Owner Magazine)
November 1, 2006... Repairing a leaking hatch is not always as easy as it sounds. You can't stop a leak until you find the source and therein is the challenge. Waiting for a day of steady rainfall to help you pursue leak sources may not fit your detection and...

Installing an access port in 30 minutes.(From the Files of DIY Boat Owner Magazine)
November 1, 2006... A complete remake of our 1990 22-foot walkaround cuddy included a redesigned deck to remove the livewells and a new seating arrangement, removing of all wood and replacing with StarBoard components, installing a washdown system and docking...

Heavy Metal sings a new tune.(tangledline)
November 1, 2006... If you're one of the many boaters on the New Jersey shore who loves Heavy Metal, chances are you may be saddened by its demise. This isn't about head-banging music, but the beloved red, 30-foot steel-hulled towboat from TowBoatU.S. Manasquan...

A hex of a job.(tangledline)
November 1, 2006... Boaters are known to cuss from time to time, but when Miami writer Michael Caputo says he was skunked out of a recent deal to buy a Pilgrim 40 trawler from a broker he didn't just cuss, he cursed. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The would-be...

BoatU.S. flag flies in Afghanistan.(tangledline)
November 1, 2006... Longtime BoatU.S. member First Sergeant Raymond Hoffman took his BoatU.S. flag with him when he was called up to active duty in Afghanistan earlier this year. With his 28-foot Cruisers Junior III in storage for the season he has to fly his flag...

First women's BASS Angler of the Year.(tangledline)
November 1, 2006... Having cleaned up on the bass fishing tour in two of the five events of the inaugural season of the pro-am Mercury Marine Women's Bassmaster Tour, Diana Clark of Bumpus Mills, TN, won the most points overall to be named female Angler of the...

Off-season upgrades.
November 1, 2006... Fixing broken gear, installing new equipment, and generally making your boat ship shape for the next season is what most boaters do over the winter. But there is one thing that should always be at the top of your winter punch list--making...

Innovation Award winners.(hottips and news you can use)
November 1, 2006... Every July hundreds of accessory manufacturers and buyers gather for the Marine Aftermarket Accessories Trade Show (MAATS) in Las Vegas. The business they do at the show largely determines what you'll see on your chandlery's shelves. ...

New IPS engines.(hottips and news you can use)
November 1, 2006... If you've been interested in Volvo's Inboard Performance System (IPS) but disappointed that it was only offered on midsized cruisers, there is good news for you. Volvo has expanded the range of engines available with IPS now making the...

Stocking stuffers.(hottips and news you can use)
November 1, 2006... Parents should know about a great little fishing training aid, Backyard Bass, that helps kids learn to cast. Endorsed by the Future Fisherman's Association, the toy comes with three plastic fish and two casting plugs that you attach to your...

32,000.(BOAT BITS)
November 1, 2006... 32,000 The number of responses to calls for assistance provided by the U.S. Coast Guard in 2005. Source: U.S. Coast Guard Foundation Annual Report 2005

Keeping current on kill-switches.(foundationfindings Number 42)
November 1, 2006... Picture this: an experienced boater is cruising in a powerboat. He takes the wise precaution of wearing his inflatable life jacket and his engine kill-switch lanyard is securely attached to his wrist. Momentarily distracted by a passing boat he...

Don't be fuelish--help stop the drops.(IDEAS FOR SAFE, SMART, AND CLEAN BOATING)
November 1, 2006... There you are on a sunny Saturday morning fueling up your boat before the start of a great day on the water with your family. Since other boats are waiting to use the gas dock, you are doing your best to fuel quickly and get underway. But...

Boston Whaler 260 Outrage: www.whaler.com.(2nd timearound)
November 1, 2006... For those of us of a certain age, there are perhaps no more iconic boating ads than those of the 1960s that featured two halves of a Boston Whaler floating, with passengers still aboard, after the boat had been sawed completely in half. Since...

Hunter 410: www.huntermarine.com.(2nd timearound)
November 1, 2006... Our dockmate for the last two years has been the owner of a Hunter 410. Its style with abundant freeboard, bulbous shape and cockpit arch may be features that sailors may have strong opinions about, for and against, although they seem to agree...

Why outboard-powered boats sink at the dock.(DAMAGE AVOIDANCE)
November 1, 2006... Any boat can, theoretically, sink in a heavy rain storm. But a recent Seaworthy study found that this is the most common reason outboard-powered boats sink at the dock, accounting for 47% of sinkings. Here's why: Most outboard-powered boats...

BoatU.S. key tags save the day.(MEMBERSHIP)
November 1, 2006... Through the years, members have requested "key tags" to make it easier to keep their membership number close by. We listened and late last year the Association started sending out key tags to new and renewing members. Little did we know it...

Give the gift of BoatU.S. membership.(MEMBERSHIP)
November 1, 2006... BoatU.S. membership will save your friends money on the things that are important to them. Just fill out the gift membership application card between pages 52 and 53 and receive a free gift for yourself.

Tower tip of the month.(MEMBERSHIP)
November 1, 2006... From Capt. Robert Estrada of TowBoatU.S. Lake Lanier: "The more people who know when you are supposed to return, the better, so filing a float plan should be done every time you go out. It doesn't have to be anything more complicated than...

Holiday cards now available: free imprinting.(MEMBERSHIP)
November 1, 2006... Picking the right holiday card is easy with a line of nautically themed greetings available from the BoatU.S. Foundation. You'll find a selection of 40 different boating themed cards with lighthouse, powerboat, sailboat, Santa and nautical...

Member mailbag.(MEMBERSHIP)
November 1, 2006... When looking to buy boat insurance, knowing how an insurer handles a claim is an important indicator of the policy's true value. Here's a letter from both a boater and Cooperating Marina owner who sees insurance from two points of view: ...

Come see us at the fall boat shows--and win a new radio!(MEMBERSHIP)
November 1, 2006... BoatU.S. will have a booth at some of the major boat shows this fall and winter so plan to stop by and receive a free lanyard. While there you may also enter to win a new Raymarine Ray101 VHF marine radio, donated by Raymarine (no purchase...

Behind the boat.
November 1, 2006... I recently made a new addition to my fleet. I built a radio controlled seaplane that I can fly from my boat. I guess I should first explain that among the staff here at BoatU.S there are two things for which I am infamous. One is adding to...

Where our flags fly.
November 1, 2006... 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] ...