April 24, 2023
TEST
Whether you’re a new boater or an old salt, you have much to gain by trusting your boat search to a knowledgeable professional. I’m a bit of an evangelist when it comes to boats – I believe that if you’re lucky enough to live near water, salt or fresh, owning a boat is the true meaning of life. I’ve never given up the faith, but after owning the same 35’ sloop for 30 years, things had changed. With two teenage boys who had somehow grown big, the space aboard Sway had grown small.
April 11, 2023
Ask Andrew: Maintaining your anchor and anchor rode
‘A chain is only as strong as its weakest link’ is a cliche that is quite applicable in boat maintenance. In a literal sense, a weakest link can apply to an anchor rode, and a weak link in this chain can spell disaster.
March 21, 2023
Ask Andrew – Andrew’s Almost Ultimate Spring Commissioning Checklist
It’s that time of year again. The groundhog has been consulted, and we all anxiously wait for the boating season to begin. Here’s a brief outline of maintenance items that you can check off your list when getting ready for launch:
March 7, 2023
Ask Andrew: Lifting, launching and trailering
Launch-day is filled with boat owners who aren’t sure where best to place the slings, and are left to rely on the best experience of the crane directors and travel-lift operators.
February 22, 2023
Boat Ownership: Some Insights to Consider
Particularly with the increased costs of ownership, Fractional Ownership may be a better investment option for people considering buying a boat. Especially if they lead a busy lifestyle.
February 22, 2023
Boat Buying: What Your Yacht Broker Knows – But You Might Not
As spring approaches, the market starts to heat up, and as you are starting to search for that perfect boat, you might want to be aware of what a Yacht Broker can bring to the table.
February 21, 2023
Ask Andrew: Off-season maintenance tasks – Part 2
Despite sub-zero temperatures and snow on the ground across the country, we still believe that warm winds and sunny days are coming. In only a few short months, boat prep will be upon us. Boat shows are in full swing from East to West coast which gets the ideas flowing and forces us to think about upkeep and upgrades.
February 7, 2023
Ask Andrew: Spring – Under the Hood Pt 1
This is part 1 of a 2-part series on off-season maintenance and upgrades that are ideal to get a jump on now, and aren’t dependent on warmer temperatures (unlike fiberglass, painting and caulking).
January 10, 2023
Marine Industry Career Path: “Ask” Andrew McDonald
The next graduate in our Marine Industry Career Path series is one of Canadian Yachting Media’s very own, Andrew McDonald! Andrew most recently graduated from Georgian College in Ontario and has years of great experience in all aspects of the marine industry.
January 10, 2023
Ask Andrew – January 6, 2023
With boat show season upon us some will walk the show looking to be inspired, others will be looking for a great deal. Either way, I’m sure you’ll find it. One the great niche markets is the creative ways that the marine industry is supporting getting new boaters on the water.
December 20, 2022
Ask Andrew: Suck Squeeze Bang Blow Pt 2 – Compression in a diesel engine
This is Part 2 of a two-part series on compression testing. Last edition explored how an engine works, why compression is important in engine operations, and what a compression test can reveal about the state of the engine.
December 6, 2022
Ask Andrew: Suck Squeeze Bang Blow – The case for compression
Pt 1: Compression in a gas engine. The massive block of iron sitting in your boat (or mounted atop your outboard) takes a lot of pressure (and not just metaphorically). Inside the engine block is where the magic happens: A crankshaft turns to perform work: turning a prop shaft and propeller to make the boat go.
November 22, 2022
Ask Andrew: NMEA 2000 Set-up – Part 2
Last issue we explored NMEA 2000 networking, including the advantages of creating an on-board network, and what that network is capable of.
November 8, 2022
Ask Andrew: Onboard networking – NMEA 2000 explained
Imagine a world where multiple touch-screens conveniently located will display information from everywhere on the vessel. Information is gathered from the engine, pumps, tanks, cameras, motors, hydraulics, winches, lights and climate control.
October 25, 2022
Ask Andrew: Fall means haul-out and boat storage; I get a lot of questions about best-practices.
Boaters tend to be hands-on and active. Many (most?) like to launch and trailer our boats on our own. We are hands on during launch and haul-out… But boat yards and launch ramps also tend to contain a collection of ‘this is what I do’, and not always ‘this is ideal, and I do it for this reason’.
October 17, 2022
Cruising with a Captain – It’s easier than you think
Never chartered? No problem. Here’s how to plan, execute and enjoy a vacation on a charter yacht where life is easy and the sunsets can’t be beat.
October 12, 2022
Ask Andrew: End of Season boating
Most boaters are thinking about the end of the season at this time of year: prepping for haul-out, arranging for winterization and shrink-wrapping, prepping tarps and removing supplies.
September 20, 2022
Ask Andrew: The Last Hurrah
As Thanksgiving heads our way, it tends to be the ‘last hurrah’ on many fronts: the last long weekend before snowflakes, and (for many of us) the last time to enjoy the family boat for the season before other work/school/tasks/life take precedence.
September 6, 2022
Ask Andrew: Gelcoat cleaning
As the busy season starts to wind down, many boaters turn to the maintenance that has been neglected or pushed aside for trips and activities aboard. Why now?
August 23, 2022
Ask Andrew: Trimming – it’s just plane sense. Part 2: Trim Tabs
Last time, we looked at outboard and stern drive tweaking to get the boat planing. Further to that we look at trim tabs as an additional means. The larger the boat, the more difficult this becomes through raising/lowering the outboard or sterndrive on its own.
August 10, 2022
Ask Andrew: Trimming – it’s just plane sense. Part 1
Unlike a car that moves (and requires control) left and right (and perhaps, if you’re an adventurous type, up and down steep grades), and boat has significantly more range of motion.
July 19, 2022
Ask Andrew: Sikflex 291 Kit review
Chatting at the club bar last week, the subject of current boat projects popped up. One boater described his window-replacement project, and the tone from the get-go was one of dismay.
July 6, 2022
Ask Andrew: The three-year tune-up
Our boats are now on the water after a couple of really unusual years – if we did get out it was checkered with restrictions, lockdowns etc etc and etc.
July 6, 2022
4 Steps to Control Vessel Flooding
Every year the Coast Guard reports thousands of boating incidents, many which involve collisions with objects or equipment failures. While most boaters have safety gear on board that is legally required, many do not have the tools and materials on-hand to make a critical repair in case of an emergency.
June 21, 2022
Stay and shroud tension: Not just for sailing performance!
I was recently reading a number of Facebook posts from sailboat owners’ groups, wondering why their cabin doors and cupboards were no longer opening properly.
June 7, 2022
Ask Andrew: The great bilge oil discharge conundrum
I’ve always thought that where safety is concerned aboard, it should be the same whether the boat is a commercial, passenger-carrying vessel or a privately owned sail or power boat.
June 2, 2022
Thrusters can make docking easier
Corners like it’s on rails. You can almost see it. A car with a low centre of gravity takes a curve. The driver shifts through the gears and exits the bend with speed and grace. Stops on a dime. That same vehicle smoothly downshifts and comes to a complete stop as though hitting an invisible barrier.
May 24, 2022
Ask Andrew: Bogging? What’s that?
Mechanics use a lot of strange terms when describing problems aboard. An engine may be skipping or stuttering. It could cough or belch. It may ‘rev up’ to fast, or may run lean or rich.
May 11, 2022
Seamanship: Avoiding mishaps by understanding how your boat handles
Full disclosure and confession: I enjoy watching boat failures and crashes on YouTube! As long as no one gets hurt, it’s a lot of fun and very entertaining.
May 11, 2022
Ask Andrew – Straight talk: Engine and shaft alignment
As I write this, boat yards are checking over systems, and re-familiarizing themselves with the boat they haven’t seen since the fall. Some of these checks can be itemized on a list; others are more intuitive: did the engine make this sound last year?
April 13, 2022
What to Check Before Casting Off for the start of Summer
Gilligan’s Island was one of the first pseudo-boating TV programs that I saw as a kid. Most of us know the premise; a three-hour tour that didn’t end well. But, they made it seem like a lot of fun.
April 6, 2022
Ask Andrew: A guided tour of your marine toilet
Nothing spoils a weekend aboard faster than a broken toilet. Its uncomfortable, inconvenient, worrisome and can lead to unpleasant odours, which affect overall enjoyment.
March 23, 2022
Ask Andrew: Fuel Economy aboard
I filled up last week at $1.90. Pundits are suggesting that prices will stay high throughout the summer. Radio and TV news have been flooded with ‘man on the street’ interviews that show the impact on the average driver.
March 9, 2022
Ask Andrew: What Story is your gelcoat telling you?
As kids we’re told ‘don’t judge a book by its cover’, when teaching children about prejudice and jumping to conclusions. But what if the book’s cover told us a lot about what we’ll find inside? What if it inspires up to dig a bit deeper?
March 8, 2022
7 Smart Safety Suggestions for Spring
I remember with fondness, our opening days at the cottage when my two sons were young. They couldn’t wait to get into their bathing suits and would go charging down the dock to leap into the lake, only to come charging out seconds later howling from the shock of hitting the cold water.
March 7, 2022
Safety: Man overboard procedures
Most of this information is taken from the Canadian Power and Sail Squadrons (CPS-ECP) BOATING 4 – Seamanship course which I have updated and edited.
February 23, 2022
Keven on sails: PHRF racing primer
Most sailboat racing occurs at local sailing clubs, and usually after work hours on weekday evenings. It doesn’t sound as exotic as Voiles St Barth’s, Sardinia or the famous Sydney to Hobart race, but thousands of boats and crews are competing on weeknights against their arch nemesis on the end of Dock C.
February 22, 2022
Ask Andrew: Radar Reflectors – When and how to use them
I first learned about radar reflectors when I read the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea (a part of the Canada Shipping Act) some 20 years ago.