March 10, 2020
What’s a yacht and small craft marine surveyor worth?
Pause for a moment and ponder this question. How much is your life and your safety at sea worth? Most people would say priceless and impossible to put a value on.
February 25, 2020
Pitoraq – keeping a boat in good order: Part 3
In preparation for permanently fixing the rudder bearings into the hull and deck, I put the rudder in place with the bearings on the stock and shimmed and clamped the rudder to hold it in alignment.
February 11, 2020
Marine Diesel Engine Theory and Maintenance Course in March
This one-day course is designed to provide you with a basic understanding of how your Marine Diesel engine operates and how it should be maintained. The course consists of both theory and practical demonstration sessions.
January 8, 2020
1 way to put your anchor aweigh, er, away
This bag does more than hold your anchor and rode in one tidy little pile. After you’ve anchored you can dunk the whole thing – anchor, rode and bag – into the drink for a rinse, and then let it air dry before toting it back (in organized fashion) aboard the mother ship.
December 18, 2019
Keeping a good boat in good repair.
The boat was put on the hard for this winter and were going to follow along with Graham as he repairs and upgrades the sailboat that has provided many memories and years of comfortable safe boating.
September 30, 2019
Your Compass – The Most Reliable Instrument on Your Boat
I remember vividly my first experience using a chart plotter and navigation system. Deciding that we should try the cruising lifestyle, we purchased an older boat and set out from Hindson’s Marina in Penetanguishene at dawn to sail across Nottawasaga Bay to Thornbury, Ontario for the Canada Day long weekend.
September 10, 2019
Inflatable Boat Repair Course November 4 – 8th, Vancouver
The West Coast Boatyard Association has put together a 5-day inflatable repair course led by the professionals at Zodiac MilPro in Delta, BC this November. Space is limited and registration is only offered through WCBA.
June 5, 2019
Gasoline Containing Ethanol Can Disable Your Engine
For many years now, we have used gasoline in our cars and trucks that contains some amount of ethanol, a form of alcohol, and just as a few drops of water combine almost instantly in your Scotch, moisture from the atmosphere can combine with the ethanol in the gasoline that is in your boat’s fuel tank.
April 24, 2019
Improving WiFi on board
For less than US$2,500, Jim Leshaw, a lawyer who lives and works in Key Biscayne, Florida, installed an onboard wireless network that allows him to work from many remote locations.
January 23, 2019
New Trotac Marine products at VIBS
With the Vancouver International Boat Show just around the corner I contacted Campbell and Alex at Trotac Marine to find out which new products will be highlighted at their booth this year.
January 8, 2019
Marine Diesel Engine Theory and Maintenance Course
This one-day Marine Diesel Engine course is designed to provide you with a basic understanding of how your Marine Diesel engine operates and how it should be maintained.
March 26, 2018
Time To Sink Zinc
Most of us don’t give a second thought to our sacrificial anodes – those curious knobs of raw metal found on outdrives, shafts, rudders, and other metal components that dangle under the boat.
December 19, 2017
Marine Diesel Engine Theory and Maintenance Course
This one-day course consists of both theory and practical demonstration sessions, is designed to provide you with a basic understanding of how your Marine Diesel engine operates and how it should be maintained.
September 27, 2017
Going iPad for Racing: Exploring iRegatta
Since the initial article of this column we have identified a wide range of apps and accessories for your iPad, including numerous marine navigation apps like iNavX and Navionics as well as a number of other marine related apps and accessories. One feature we have not yet considered is the use of apps for racing. Whether you race professionally or for fun there are apps that help take your racing to the next level.
August 22, 2017
Going iPad or Android for Marine Navigation
Since the initial article of this series we have looked at the iPad and its use as a marine navigation instrument. We have discussed its functionality, available apps, relevant hardware and compared it to traditional charplotters. This focus on iPad led one of our readers to an interesting question that we have yet to address. Question: Why has the focus been solely on the use of iPads for marine navigation rather than Android devices?
July 25, 2017
Going iPad or Chartplotter, Which is Right for You?
In Going iPad with Marine Navigation we concluded that iPads provide a modern platform for marine navigation. No we shall explore how functional an iPad is in comparison to standard chartplotters.
June 21, 2017
Going iPad for Marine Navigation: Mounting, Protecting and Charging
Question: Is it possible to mount, protect and charge your iPad during marine navigation. Answer: Yes, but it often requires some creative thinking and typically purchasing separate accessories for each duty.
June 15, 2017
Staying Connected
Not many of us need to stay connected to our global business empire while cruising (the 0.01 %?), but a pretty sizeable percentage of boat owners do need to keep in contact whether for business or family reasons.
April 25, 2017
Going iPad With Electronic Marine Navigation With Owen Hurst
There is a good deal of hesitancy and lack of understanding as to whether an iPad can fully replace existing navigation equipment. Quite simply put the answer is yes!
December 4, 2016
Confident Sailor – Reluctant Sailor – Part 3
Before leaving on an extended cruise, it is critical to inspect and maintain all systems on your boat.
May 11, 2016
Perfect Prop for your Purpose – Part 2
A propeller is only as effective as the rest of the drive system. This is a bold statement; but the two experts I talked with while researching…
March 17, 2016
Light Up Your Cruising Nights
Informed estimates are that barely 10% of Canadian pleasure craft have underwater lighting but in Florida it’s a far higher percentage. And, among new luxury cruisers…
March 17, 2016
Perfect Prop for your Purpose
This article is the first of 2 parts. Part 1 deals propellers for displacement boats and Part 2 will cover the rest of the drive train…
November 19, 2015
Pinging the Unknown
Sunshine flooded the waters separating California’s Catalina Island from Channel Islands Harbor, and Capt. Tom Petersen, skipper of the well-equipped Sea Ray 55 Sundancer Valkyrie, was leading a small flotilla when an unexpected fog bank quashed visibility. While Valkyrie carries the latest Raymarine kit (Petersen is a Raymarine Pro Ambassador), including a 12 kW, six-foot, open-array high-definition radar, Petersen’s companions weren’t electronically fortified. “I sat behind the other boats, watching them on my radar and maintaining radio contact,” said Petersen.
November 4, 2014
Winterizing Your Boat – Oil Change 101
Winterizing your boat in the fall is important and may be a daunting task for some boat owners. This is a DIY project that you CAN do on your own though. Rob MacLeod, The Informed Boater, has put together a how to video with simple step-by-step instructions for completing an oil change, which is a good idea at the end of the season as part of the winterizing process.
July 11, 2014
Power On The Hook
Boaters who prefer to be on the hook, such as ourselves in our Islander 36 sailboat Holole’a, greatly extend their cruising experience. There are many more bays and nooks and crannies available when using the anchor. And it is free! However, the one big issue is electrical power. The boat has to be self-contained for storing electrical power (batteries), recharging the batteries, and providing 120 Volt electrical power (main engine with alternator or dedicated genset). Solar panels can help recharge batteries also.Most boats use deep-cycle batteries for the house battery system. These are batteries that can tolerate hundreds of cycles of a 50% discharge. Without getting too technical, they are generally robust batteries of lead-acid, gel-cell, or AGM (absorbed glass matt) construction. The common physical sizes for 12 volt systems can vary from Group 24 (common car size), to golf-cart 6 volt batteries (connect 2 in series for 12 volts) up to massive and very heavy 4D and 8D. Battery banks can be added in parallel for more capacity.
March 25, 2014
How To Clean Onboard Electronics
With built in functions for radar, weather, chart plotters, engine data, and radio controls, boat owners are constantly touching their on-board electronics. Also, many boats with a more open design get a lot of salt spray on their dash as well. Shurhold Industries offers tips on how to properly clean a boat’s electronics.
March 24, 2014
Smarter Spring Commissioning
Understanding how systems really work – and degrade over the winter – can help you prepare your boat for a trouble-free season. Here’s a guide from a pro…Sometimes the most daunting thing about launching your boat in the spring is slogging through the checklist designed to “help” you do it. And no wonder: commissioning efforts for Canadian boaters run the gamut from paying a full-service yard to re-commission every system on board to putting away the one lonely space heater that’s been wheezing away on the salon floor since Thanksgiving.
March 19, 2014
Need To Find The Right Paint For Your Boat? Now There is an App for That.
The Interlux® Boat Paint Guide has gone digital with the launch of a free app for Apple® IOS and Android smartphones and tablets, designed to make it easy to access Interlux product information and select the correct Interlux paint system.
February 24, 2014
Marine Mobile and Apps
Convenient, Cool and Low-cost!From simple organizational Apps for your smart phone to complete wireless devices and systems, there are a rapidly growing number of products available to the average boater today. As more boaters integrate their personal wireless devices with their cruising life, the market for marine mobile devices and applications increases. The plus to this trend is that there are so many new and powerful options available to all level of boaters. The minus to this trend is that there are so many options!
January 21, 2014
Boat-Shopping at the Shows
If you are new to boating, how do you start searching for the right boat at boat shows? We put the question to yacht brokers east and west.The benefit of the boat shows is that they allow buyers to explore all the options available to them. You get to look at sailboats and powerboats, small boats and big boats, and everything in between.
November 4, 2013
Folding and Feathering Props
Under sail, these marvels of engineering deliver significantly less drag and greater speed than their traditional fixed-blade cousins. When I started sailing, the economical way to reduce propeller drag on a cruising sailboat was simply to install a two-blade prop. This worked fine – we had one on our 35’ sailboat for almost 30 years. Mind you, it didn’t provide a lot of push in steep seas and headwinds, and we often used the mainsail to help punch us through a chop. Folding and Feathering Props
October 10, 2013
Make New Anodes: Part of Your Haul Out Checklist
When it comes time to haul out this year, plan to give all your underwater gear a close inspection, measure and replace your anodes now and know you are ready for next season. In the fall, you can do this at your leisure. Understandably, we seem to be in a rush to launch again each spring and once the boat is in the water, replacing anodes is difficult to say the least!
October 10, 2013
Volvo Penta and Garmin Work Together to Make Boating Easier
I was delighted to be invited to Gothenberg, Sweden at the end of June where Volvo Penta hosted an exclusive new product media introduction with a careful selection of approximately 50 marine journalists from 14 different countries including Argentina and Brazil from South America. There were just three journalists from North America, and I was the only one from Canada – very flattering!
August 20, 2013
Don’t Do It Yourself!
It’s not just a matter of cost – there are simply lots of people who enjoy puttering around on their boats and doing their own mechanical work. There are many useful tasks that an owners can do to keep their own little ship “shipshape”, however there are some things where we say, don’t do it yourself! Generally, your fuel system is not a DIY item. For safety reasons alone, a boat’s electrical wiring and grounding systems should always be handled by a qualified marine technician. But, there are other areas where home handyman knowledge can get you into trouble.
August 20, 2013
Aftermarket Joystick Docking for Twin Outboards
Absolutely and without a doubt, the biggest advance in boating in recent memory has been the introduction of joystick docking. With these new systems, first pioneered in recreational boating by Volvo Penta in their IPS pod drive systems, docking a large boat in tight quarters, windy conditions, or in strong current was transformed from a task that would challenge the most experienced captain to something a child could do. Children took to it almost immediately because joystick docking was so similar to their videogame controls and so intuitive to use; point the joystick in the direction you want the boat to go and it responds.
August 20, 2013
Marine Electrical Systems – Part II
This continues our look at improvements to marine electrical systems. Following on our feature on new battery technology, here we review re-charging those batteries, starting with shore cords and isolation transformers. We’ll follow with a subsequent review of generators as well as alternators, dynamos, solar panels and fuel cells. As we noted in the April 2012 Canadian Yachting on page 50, new battery technology is increasingly common in marine applications, but new technology batteries need to be well matched to charging systems and first, you need a power source.
August 2, 2013
Ten Winter Storage Dangers
A few people winterize and store their own boat. Many of us pay the pros to do it. Spring commissioning is far more rewarding because you are preparing for a great summer with your boat. Winterizing is a tough chore because we usually keep boating until the weather turns nasty, plus you are struggling with that “down-feeling” that the boating season is over. That makes it doubly hard to dig in and do a great job of winterizing and protecting your boat for the winter.