Why anchor? Well let’s start with the simple fact that unless a boat is secured, it will drift away due to the actions of wind, wave action, tide and/or currents. If a boat cannot be attached to something secure such as a dock, piling, mooring buoy, tree, or rock, it must be anchored. There is much more to anchoring than simply tossing the anchor over the side.
It happens every year. The minute the thermometer reaches over 10 or 12 degrees you see them. Canadians emerge from winter hibernation. Yes! Finally the warm sun is back again! Venturing out, we usually think of the sunscreen with the best SPF money can buy, and perhaps a hat … as long as it doesn’t cramp our style, and sunglasses … again something stylish. But little thought goes into why these are necessary.
Engine room fires are mercifully rare, but every so often, one does occur. The engine room is the most likely place on your boat for a fire to get started and if the fire breaks out while you are out on the water, the lives of everyone on board are at risk.
When was the last time you sent your propeller shaft to the machine shop to be checked? How old are your engine mounts? Have you replaced your cutlass bearing recently? Do I sound like your mother? Well, if she were here, she’d be giving you some important advice! Powerboats and sailboats with inboard engines generally have rubber in the engine mounts, packing material in the stuffing box and a cutlass bearing in the propeller strut.
Does your boat have hardening of the arteries? Pardon the joke, but few people think in terms of vital arteries on board their boat. Of course, there are several. In some cases, a clogged artery can cause a fire. In others, a burst (or disconnected) artery can sink your ship in minutes.
At least one marine electronics dealer we interviewed said your VHF antenna was an item that should be replaced annually. Ken Harrison at Summerhill.ca on the other hand, said that a good antenna should last 5 to 8 years (depending on whether or not it was used as a grab handle)!
Almost every boat in Canada gets “winterized” in the fall and “summerized” in the spring. Here is an easy way to make sure it’s always done properly, to avoid breakdowns and expenses. We suggest that you invest in about two hours of time from the marine technician at your dealership and together, create a winterizing and summerizing checklist.
In both California and now in Florida, class action suits have been launched against gasoline companies alleging that they knowingly sold gasoline to boaters containing ethanol and that the ethanol would attack and damage the fibreglass fuel tanks in older boats.
I’ve never seen an official survey on this, but I’ll bet the primary reason people wind up poking around in their engine room is because they have battery problems. Especially with today’s new fuel injected engines; your battery only needs to crank the engine over a couple of turns and it starts right up, running happily with your alternator charging and all systems go.
A quiet boat is a good boat. “Quiet” says well engineered, solidly built, comfortable to ride in…new. New boats are quiet. Old ones are noisy – power or sail. Why is that? In a recent technical presentation, we learned that the life expectancy of the sound absorbing materials in most new boats is about 10 years.
I often get asked how to best call for help if I have a problem when out on the water. Do I use my cell phone or should I have a VHF Marine Radio? The simple answer is that both may do the job depending on the circumstances but there are limitations. The cell phone has to be in range of a tower to forward the signal. A cell phone will contact only one person at a time and how often do you make a call only to get an answering machine or voice mail at the other end?
My gawd! Don’t we all just love our music and video these days! A cruiser, power or sail boat from twenty years ago was not likely to have a TV onboard. Even a built-in sound system was not always a standard feature. But today, the new boats all come with a system; small boats get audio and bigger boats get audio and video systems. From the mid-30 foot range up, two flat screens are common and three or even four are not unheard of!
On September 15, after an 18-month global search, the Canadian Yachting Association announced the official appointment of Paddy Boyd as Executive Director. Recently, Canadian Yachting sat down with Boyd at the association’s headquarters in Kingston, ON.
On September 15, after an 18-month global search, the Canadian Yachting Association announced the official appointment of Paddy Boyd as Executive Director. Recently, Canadian Yachting sat down with Boyd at the association’s headquarters in Kingston, ON.
The largest online marine news network in the world, Australia’s TetraMedia Marine Group, publishers of Sail-World.com, Powerboat-World.com and MarineBusiness-World.com has announced a strategic alliance with a major North American magazine publisher.
The largest online marine news network in the world, Australia’s TetraMedia Marine Group, publishers of Sail-World.com, Powerboat-World.com and MarineBusiness-World.com has announced a strategic alliance with a major North American magazine publisher.
