8 Steps for Fueling Safely: A Review
When you do something often, it’s easy to get lazy and begin to take shortcuts. Like fueling your boat. You’ve done it so often, you could gas up with your eyes closed …. But there are very few things in boating as potentially deadly as improper fueling – particularly with... Continue reading
Our Favorite Destinations: Quissett Harbor
Twelve miles SSW of Kingman Yacht Center, the last harbor to port as you approach the Buzzards Bay entrance to Woods Hole Passage is as if you had painted an image of the ideal New England harbor from your imagination. A pastoral setting, bordered by tall hills, beautiful homes and teaming with pleasure boats, Quissett... Continue reading
Paddlers – Please Use a Vessel ID Sticker
Every year we hear of a search and rescue operation that’s initiated by the discovery of a kayak, rowboat or canoe found drifting with no boater in sight. Maybe someone is in the water, maybe they are stranded somewhere, or maybe the boat slipped off of the beach and went... Continue reading
Product Spotlight: TideMinders
If you moor your boat at a slip which requires that you tie to pilings, you should check out this product. TideMinders are plastic balls that allow your boat to rise and fall with the tide in its slip without adjusting the lines. You string them around the end of... Continue reading
Is It Time to Replace Your Boat’s Carbon Monoxide Detector(s)?
This is a good time to remind you about how important it is to have and maintain a Carbon Monoxide Detector on board in any marine environment. Wherever fossil-fueled equipment (engine, generator, gasoline engine, diesel, etc.) is in use, it will produce Carbon Monoxide as a natural byproduct. Carbon Monoxide... Continue reading
What’s Behind These Common Boaters’ Superstitions?
It’s Bad Luck to Change the Name of a Boat Seafaring tradition has it that boats develop a life and mind of their own once they are named and Christened. If you do rename a boat, you absolutely must have a de-naming ceremony. Write the soon-to-be-exorcised name on a piece... Continue reading
The Fire Extinguisher(s) on Your Boat is Probably Recalled
Kidde has recalled more than 40 million fire extinguishers used in homes, vehicles, and boats because they can become clogged or fail to discharge during a fire. The company has received one report of a related death in 2014, when a fire extinguisher failed to work during a car fire.... Continue reading
Tips to Sound Like a Pro on Your VHF Radio
"Calling any vessel ... calling any vessel on Channel 16 for a radio check. Can anyone out there hear me?” “Hey, Charlie, this is Harry; is that you?” “Sure is, Harry.” Blah, blah, blah. Then both parties proceed to blah, blah, blah at length about how the blah, blah, blah... Continue reading
Tips on Boating Etiquette for New Boaters
If you’re new to boating, we thought you might appreciate some tips on boating etiquette to help ease you into your first season. Our friends at Boating Magazine started the list, and we’ve added some of our own: Watch your wake. You’re responsible if your wake causes injury or damage... Continue reading