Blog 2020

Here are some things to know about Columbus:

*He didn’t prove that the earth is round.

Kids in school have long been taught that when Columbus set sail in 1492 to find a new route to the East Indies, it was feared that he would fall off the edge of the earth because people thought the planet was flat. Nope. As early as the 6th century B.C., Pythagoras — later followed by Aristotle and Euclid — wrote about earth as a sphere, and historians say there is no doubt that the educated in Columbus’s day knew quite well that the earth was round.

*Columbus didn’t “discover” America.

During four trips that started with the one in 1492, Columbus landed on various Caribbean islands that are now the Bahamas, as well as the island later called Hispaniola. He also explored the Central American and South American coasts. But he didn’t reach North America, which, of course, was inhabited by Native Americans, and he never thought he had found a new continent.

The famous names of the ships he took on his famous 1492 trip across the Atlantic Ocean, the Niña, the Pinta and the Santa Maria, probably weren’t really named Niña, Pinta and Santa Maria. The Santa Maria was also known at the time as La Gallega, meaning the Galician. The Niña is now believed to be a nickname for a ship originally called the Santa Clara, and the Pinta also was probably a nickname, though the ship’s real name isn’t clear.

Here’s some cold hard facts about boating mishaps involving sinking.

According to BoatUS, the largest insurer of pleasure boats in the country, for every boat that sinks at sea, four go down in their slips.

That’s a fairly amazing stat.

 Why?

The sad truth is you don't have to have a rendezvous with a rock to get a one-way ticket down to the bottom.

In fact, you don't have to do anything. Just let your boat sit awhile, and eventually it will find the bottom.

SO WHAT CAN YOU DO?

As the storage season approaches for many of us, I offer some of the more common causes for boat sinking and things to explore and some tips on how to avoid the symptoms.

Avoiding sinking 

Store your stern drive in the down position when out of the water to avoid the bends and creases that stress rubber. Inspect the bellows two or three times a year and replace it annually.

 Scuppers in the Fall & Winter

 The scuppers can get clogged with leaves. This won't seal the drains, but it can greatly slow the release of water. In a heavy rain storm, the cockpit can fill enough to weigh down the boat so it floods or accumulates enough water to reach non-waterproof openings in the deck and fill the bilge.

 Keep the cockpit covered, or have wide-mesh external screens made to protect the scuppers.

 If you don’t, when snow falls and ice builds up around the scuppers, they will fill. Since this occurs under the snow, you won’t see it. The added weight of the snow and ice will cause the boat to sink. Haul out for the winter, or have a waterproof, reinforced cover that can take the weight of accumulated snow

While the boat is on land, check the hoses by flexing them back and forth. If there are any cracks, replace the hoses. And while its out of the water, inspect the plumbing. Look for apiece of plumbing corroded, cracked, or just weak. The weakest link is the hose that can crack, most often around the stress points created by the clamps.

 Hose Clamp Failure

Inspect your hose clamps. A hose attached to a seacock below the waterline, or a through-hull just above it, can came off its fitting because the hose clamps gave way. The result could be extremely wet. Secure each hose with two clamps where it passes over the fitting's nipple. Check that the clamps are all stainless steel (a magnet won't attract stainless). Often, the tightening gear and its case are mild steel, which rusts away.

 Stuffing Box

 The packing gland surrounding the prop shaft loosened. Or perhaps it rotted away as it hadn't been replaced for many seasons.

Dripless shaft seals that require minimal maintenance are used by 90 percent of today's boatbuilders. But many boaters still use old-fashioned stuffing boxes on the rudder shafts. Check stuffing boxes often, and replace.

 Trapped Under a Dock

 You tied up the boat at low tide. The wind pushed part of the boat under the dock, the tide came up, and the boat became trapped beneath the dock, then took on water and eventually sank.

 This can happen when the pilings supporting the dock are too far apart to keep the boat parallel to the dock and out from under it. No matter how many dock lines you rig, this will be a problem. If you can't dock elsewhere else, set anchors out from the bow and stern so the boat won't swing.

 Tied Down, Tide Up

At low tide, your bow and stern lines were tight. When the tide came up, the lines stayed that way-firmly holding the boat down as the water rose.

Long spring lines attached at acute angles to the boat adjust as the boat rises and falls. Bow and stern lines may have to be tended as the tide goes through its cycle.

Beware a Wiring Fail

What happens when someone who may be familiar with house wiring works on a boat and isn't familiar with boat wiring?

In a house, the neutral and ground wires are connected together at the fuse box. But on a boat, this is a serious safety concern, and especially in freshwater, it's potentially lethal.

Tying the neutral to ground could allow 120 volts of deadly AC current into the boat's ground and bonding system. If there's also a problem with the safety ground going ashore (not unheard of in marinas), all the underwater metals of the boat can be energized with 120V shore power. This can result in electricity in the water and, especially in freshwater, could injure or even kill nearby swimmers.

Called electric shock drowning (ESD), the energized boat hardware creates a large electrified circle around the energized boat. When a person in the water enters that circle, he or she becomes paralyzed, loses the ability to tread water, and may drown.

The other clue that this installation was not done by a boat pro is that the wire is typical "Romex" solid-core type that's fine for a house, but because it's not made from stranded, flexible wire, can be subject to cracking from vibration and become a fire and shock hazard on a boat. 

Dual batteries offer redundant starting capability.

However not all batteries are the same.

Here's a great article by Kevin Falvey.

 A multiple-battery system’s best attribute may be the ability to provide engine starting should one battery short out, experience a wiring failure or simply get drained. The capability to run electronics, lights and stereos for longer periods also proves beneficial.

Consider these multi battery features whether shopping for a new boat or retrofitting your current boat.

Battery Type
The charging characteristics vary between battery types: absorbed glass mat (AGM), flooded cell and gel cell. Integration with engines, chargers and other components is easier if all batteries are the same type.

Battery Class
For most boaters, a pair of dual-purpose batteries serves as a good foundation. A ­starting battery and a deep-cycle battery, or bank of batteries, might serve a bass fisherman, or other boater with high accessory demands, better.

Battery Capacity
Ensure sufficient starting amperage by checking your engine’s owner’s manual for the appropriate capacity. Selecting the deep-cycle battery’s — or bank’s — size is more ­involved. Basically, you need to add up your anticipated amperage draw and assume a period of time you’ll need that amperage to flow.

Manual Switching
Manual switches are reliable but require you to remember to manually switch between batteries (or banks) in order to keep all batteries charged.

Automatic Switching
Voltage sensitive relays (VSR), and other devices, sense when a battery needs a charge and direct charging current from the alternator ­automatically. These can be built into the engine or may be a separate component. Such systems may simply have “on/off” switches rather than a four-position manual switch. Make sure a parallel switch to join both batteries for emergency starting is incorporated. (One is ­often installed at the helm.)

Access
Batteries should be accessible to the extent that they can be serviced and inspected without removal from the boat. Even if you do not perform your own service, good access will save you because it will take the technician less time to perform the task. The closer to the engines the batteries are, the better. Batteries should be ­robustly secured, be located where there is some ventilation, and not be installed directly ­underneath a battery charger or fuel-system fixture.

Cables
Cable diameter is directly related to a dual-battery system’s performance. There are formulas you can reference for determining the size of cable based on the amperage it must carry and over what distance. Suffice to say, thicker cables, which exhibit less voltage drop, are generally better, so when comparing the systems in two similar boats, compare the cable diameters.

What’s the difference between battery classifications? This is a thumbnail sketch.

Starting batteries deliver high amperage for quick engine starts but do not tolerate being used to power equipment. Deep-cycle batteries can be drawn down without damage to power equipment but may not provide enough amperage in a burst to start the engine. Dual-purpose batteries offer the ability to provide a lot of amperage in a burst for engine starting, but they do not provide equivalent performance to a deep-cycle battery for running equipment.

Don’t Be The Worst Marina Guest

I travel more than my fair share, and whether I'm at my dock or visiting a new port, these common sense tips will go a long way to keeping the peace.

Okay, so it’s nearing the end of summer cruising season, and boaters are looking to fit in one more trip away from home. A new port or marina means boaters should recognize that they have responsibilities as marina guests. Ignoring these responsibilities and you risk earning the ire of the locals and the scorn of management. Worst case you will be asked to leave.

What will get you in trouble?

Here you go:

You’re approaching the gate to your dock, and there they are. Workmen with toolboxes, families with ice chests and water toys, and other seemingly nice people waiting for someone with a key to let them in the marina. It’s awkward, annoying, and a pain. What do you do? You should tell the stranger where to find the marina office. Allowing strangers access is bad idea.

At the marina dock, keep the music volume reasonable, honor the marina’s posted quiet hours, and invite your neighbors to come aboard and make friends.

Poop ! That’s right – your dog’s poop is bad stuff. Just like oil, grease and other toxic chemicals, you don’t want bad bacteria leaching into the water we swim in. Don’t be the shunned as the “poopie” boater – clean up after Fido.

And finally, It goes without saying that being considerate of others, like not hogging dock carts, keeping docks clear, and following the safety rules will make you a welcome guest

Using A Tide Table

 Based on article by Mel Neale for Boat US

Tide tables tell you three important things for any given place: time of high tide, time of low tide, and heights of each. Here's how to figure out the times in between.

When you need to know approximately how much water is below your boat for a particular time of day, in a particular place, and you have access to the tide tables, the "Rule of Twelfths" will serve you well. It's an easy-to-use guide for "semi-diurnal" tides, which means there are two nearly identical complete tidal cycles a day (high, low, high, low, all within approximately 24 hours).

Basically, it takes about six hours for this tide to completely rise (flood) or fall (ebb). The "slack" period (when the tide is reversing directions) varies in duration depending upon your location, the stage of the moon, the force of the wind, and other factors. Slack tide may last only a few minutes or much longer, and doesn't necessarily correspond to the exact time of high and low tide.

The times of high and low tides, as well as tidal heights above or below chart datum (the numbers showing depths on your chart) for each day, can be determined from a number of sources, such as weather broadcasts, tide tables, navigation programs, some charts, and books such as Eldridge Tide and Pilot Book, published annually. If you're coastal cruising, keep a print version of the tide tables aboard for times when electricity and Internet connections are unavailable.

Find the NOAA tide tables for free at tides and currents.

For simplicity, let's use a 6-foot tidal range (range = difference between high and low tide heights). The range should be divided into 12 parts: 6 divided by 12 = half a foot. The tide will rise or fall one-twelfth in the first and sixth hours, two-twelfths in the second and fifth hours, and three-twelfths in the third and fourth hours.

Wind can affect tides by "piling water up" in or out of a short creek, or up, down, across a broad bay. When blowing for long fetches across the ocean or bays, wind can cause deeper water along the beach, and vice versa.

Keep in mind that all this is approximate and can be affected by phenomena such as high winds and storm surges. Also, in some parts of the world (for example, most areas of U.S. Gulf Coastal States, eastern Mexico, and some Caribbean Islands) tide cycles are "diurnal" (only one 12-hour rise and fall in each 24-hour period). Diurnal tidal areas often have weak currents with long periods of slack and little tidal range. Some areas have a mixture, where highs and lows are unequal and irregular. You will see this reflected in the tide charts. There are other exceptions where wind plays a predominant role, and depending on which way it is blowing on the water's surface, can make depths different from what you see in the tide tables. Always combine what the books say with what you observe around you

The centerline is just that, the boat split in half down its length, and it is not used in and of itself as a boat measurement, but as a reference point for other measurements.

Measuring parallel to the centerline at various points (e.g., at deck level, at the waterline) can give you LOA (length overall), LWL (length of waterline), and so on. LOA is defined as the straight line measurement from the foremost part of the boat to the aftermost part of the boat at deck level, measured parallel to the centerline and to the design waterline, including any integrally formed, molded, or welded components. ABYC standards carry definitions of these items.

The document titled "S-8: Boat Measurement and Weight" is the one you may be looking for. Very often, property-owners' associations contact ABYC to settle slip or mooring disputes, and this is the perfect document for that. The discussions often result in a change in the bylaws of the organization to reflect the ABYC definitions.

Brochures and online sales specs for boats often talk about terms that really don't exist in the design world but sound great at boat shows. They may quote LOA but really mean what we call "maximum length," which is the tip-to-tail measurement including any accessories installed.

1. What should a boat insurance policy include?

Coverage for the boat, engine, boating equipment, dinghies, and trailer. Medical payments coverage for onboard injuries and liability coverage for any property damage or bodily injury you are legally responsible for.

2. What does "Actual Cash Value" or "Agreed Value" mean?

Policies are written as either "Actual Cash Value" or "Agreed Value."

Actual cash value:

For total losses, your payout is based on the current market value of your boat. For partial losses, you receive the value of the loss less depreciation and the deductible.

Benefit:

You pay less up front.

Downside:

You pay more to get back on the water after a loss.

Agreed value:

For a total loss, you are paid an agreed policy value, which means you know how much you'll get in the event you lose your boat. Partial losses are subject to the deductible and some items will also be adjusted for depreciation. All losses on boating equipment are replaced "new for old" after the deductible. For example, if your 5-year-old GPS is stolen, it will be replaced with a brand new one (of like kind and quality).

Benefit:

You pay less out of pocket in the event of a partial loss and you know exactly how much you would receive in the event of a total loss.

3. Is the trailer covered?

If your boat has a trailer, don't assume it will automatically be covered under your boat policy. Many insurance programs offers coverage for boat trailers separately for a small additional premium. Physical damage to the trailer is covered under the policy; however, third-party property damage or bodily injury that happens while trailering is not. This is usually covered under your auto policy — check with your auto carrier.

4. What happens if the owner isn't driving and there's an accident?

If the boat is being operated by a family member or other person using the boat with your permission, and without compensation, they are covered under the conditions of the policy. If you "rent" or "lease" your boat to others, then coverage does not apply. Also, liability coverage is not provided for a paid captain or crew.

5. Additional options are available for a small extra charge

Personal effects coverage:

For non-boating equipment such as personal computers or clothing, and for boat-related items not considered boating equipment such as fishing or water sports equipment.

Depreciation waiver:

For boats less than 10 years old, you can eliminate any depreciation that otherwise would have been applied to a claim.

Ice and freeze damage:

Where freezing is a common occurrence, this endorsement protects boats against damages that may occur if the boat is not properly winterized.

Guide coverage for boats under 27 feet:

For those operating a fishing guide service, make sure you are protecting your business and clients with the proper coverage.