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Boat Reviews
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Put the Right Gas in Your Tank: BoatUS

Here’s a timely warning from BoatUS about the need to make sure you’re putting the right gas in your boat at the pump: SPRINGFIELD, Va., May 22, 2023 – Today’s gas station pumps no longer provide clear and transparent information to help consumers make the right fuel choice. Dispensing pumps have become a marketer’s dream, chock full of attention-grabbing video screens blasting amplified sound that visually plaster a captive audience with a mishmash of eye-catching advertisements from two-for-one coffee to $1 hot dogs. With all that distraction and summer boating season kicking off this Memorial Day weekend, Boat Owners Association…

Cruising Life
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How To Use Prop Walk To Dock Your Boat

Understanding prop walk, or how to use the direction the propeller is turning, will help you control your single-screw boat in low-speed and docking situations. Here’s a great primer from iNavX that tells how to do it: When your propeller spins in gear, it produces thrust that drives your boat forward. Indeed, most of the force of the propeller contributes to the direction of motion. But not all of it. A propeller is far from 100% efficient, and a simple unidirectional propeller pushes water in multiple directions. The primary direction of thrust is aft when the transmission is in forward…

Cruising Life
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5 Ways To Summon Help: BoatUS

National Safe Boating Week is coming up (starting May 21), and BoatUS is taking the occasion to remind everyone about how they can be seen, and heard, if they run into trouble this summer. Here are their five tips that can help you summon help if you need it: VHF Radio – A VHF (Very High Frequency) radio is the most reliable way to communicate with other boats and emergency responders on most waterways. New Digital Selective Calling (DSC) radios with a red distress button can even send an emergency call and other important information such as your location to…

Cruising Life
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How To Use AIS Symbols on Charts

Here’s some great advice from Skipper Tips about how to use AIS symbols on charts to help you cruise safely: Imagine cruising into a new channel, scanning the chart, and finding some buoys have a magenta circle around the buoy symbol. What does this mean, and how can you use these navigation markers to boost cruising safety? Most cruisers already know the value of the Automated Identification System, or AIS, and how it helps prevent collisions at sea. Some buoys and beacons are also equipped with AIS transmitters which give the position, description, and purpose of the aid. Three types…

Cruising Life
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65-Foot Yacht Stuck in Florida Back Yard

Ever since Hurricane Ian hit Florida last September, a 65-foot yacht has been stuck in a Cape Coral yard. Here’s the story from NBC-2: CAPE CORAL, Fla. — More than six months after Hurricane Ian, a mega yacht is still stuck on dry land in a southwest Cape Coral backyard. And it’s become a spectacle for boaters. “I’d say hundreds of people see it if not thousands,” said Melanie Long, who lives in the Tarpon Point neighborhood. The big boat is 65 feet long and weighs a whopping 50 tons. Jens Geotz is the owner. “Until the last 30 minutes…

Cruising Life
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How To Run An Inlet

This is Boating 101, but it never hurts to have a refresher. Here’s some good basic advice about how to run an inlet from America’s Boating Club: Navigating an inlet can be tricky and dangerous, so you should know how to safely run an inlet before you encounter one. Prepare for the approach. Before you make an approach, study the wind and tide, and eyeball the chart. Go out to the sea buoy before shooting the inlet. The buoys’ locations were calculated to assist a direct approach. Call the pros. If there’s a U.S. Coast Guard unit or commercial tower…

Cruising Life
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New Safety Problems in Panama Canal

By Charlie Bartlett (The Loadstar) – OOCL Utah‘s near-collision on Sunday with a Panama Canal lock gate suggests a tragic and costly accident is waiting to happen, say experts. Video footage shows a fore-positioned ‘alpha’ tug almost crushed between the Hong Kong-flagged containership and the canal’s Agua Clara lock gate. There was no aft-situated ‘delta’ tug to stop the vessel. Representatives of the Panama Canal Captains and Deck Officers Union told The Loadstar how a lack of procedures and under-resourcing by the Panama Canal Authority (ACP) left pilots – paid per vessel – calling the shots. “They [pilots] want to finish fast, because the more…

Cruising Life
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Spring Commissioning Checklist: BoatUS

It’s almost that time of year again, particularly for those of us who live in northern states. Time to get ready for the boating season ahead. Here’s a thorough checklist from BoatUS to help make your spring commissioning as efficient as possible: Before You Launch Check the condition of antifouling paint and repaint if necessary. Inspect all hose clamps for rust and replace as necessary. Double clamp fuel lines and exhaust hoses with marine-rated stainless-steel hose clamps. While not technically required, it’s wise to double clamp whenever possible on all hoses — especially those below the waterline. Inspect all hoses…

Cruising Life
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Best EPIRBs and Personal Safety Devices

Every year, the people at nmeaboater.com (the National Marine Electronics Association), ask manufacturers to name a model in a particular category that they consider their best. It’s not necessarily the most technically advanced, or the newest, or the one with the most bells and whistles, but rather the one they rate highest in that category for one reason or another. Here’s the list for boating safety and survival devices – three personal survival devices and two EPIRBs. Take a look: Personal Survival Device ACR Electronics ResQLink View RLS Introducing two-way confirmation between a 406MHz beacon owner and search and rescue…

Cruising Life
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NOAA Satellites Saved 397 People Last Year

Here’s some very good news from NOAA: NOAA satellites, which are crucial in weather and climate forecasts, helped rescue 397 people from potentially life-threatening situations throughout the U.S. and its surrounding waters in 2022. NOAA’s polar-orbiting and geostationary satellites are part of the global Search and Rescue Satellite Aided Tracking system, or COSPAS-SARSAT, which uses a network of U.S. and international spacecraft to detect and locate distress signals sent from emergency beacons from aircraft, boats and handheld Personal Locator Beacons (PLBs) anywhere in the world. A graphic showing three categories of satellite-assisted rescues that took place in 2022: Of the…

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