WASHINGTON — The U.S. Coast Guard is reviewing a National Transportation Safety Board recommendation Wednesday that the service develop policies on the use of cellular phones on Coast Guard vessels as well as issue a safety advisory to the marine industry on the possible dangers of crewmember use of electronic communications devices such as cell phones, smart phones and personal data assistants.

The Coast Guard issued guidance July 16, 2010 to its personnel prohibiting the use of these devices by operators of Coast Guard boats and also restricted their use by other crewmembers.

"While cell phones and texting devices have become ubiquitous in everyday life, the internal Coast Guard policy issued in July prohibits their use on Coast Guard boats without the permission of the coxswain, said Lt. Cmdr. Chris O’Neil, a Coast Guard spokesman. "The policy also strictly prohibits the use of these devices by the coxswain, or the operator, of a Coast Guard boat."

Cell phones and texting devices may be useful communication tools if boats lose a marine radio signal or as alternate means of communication to a marine radio.

The Coast Guard takes the NTSB recommendations seriously and will provide a response to the letter upon a thorough review.

The NTSB recommendation comes amid investigations into two collisions involving Coast Guard boats but does not draw any conclusions that the use of electronic devices was a cause of those accidents.

NTSB and Coast Guard investigations into those two accidents are ongoing.

Captain Richard Rodriguez of the BitterEnd blog responded to a Mayday call up in the San Juan Islands earlier this week, and while the original event itself was compelling, the comments really bring it all to life.

Click over and read the story…AND the comments.

And the next time you’re poking around on your boat, check those hose clamps, eh?

Here’s another one of those Puget Sound Maritime items that, previously, you would have spotted here at Navagear.

While driving through Ballard the other day, I was somewhat shocked to see that Seaview Boatyard East was full of boats!

I thought we had a big recession on. What gives?

Click over to read the post at PugetSoundMaritime.com.

I guess it depends how big your boat is, but Navagear says “Go for it!”

See, I took a little trip early Saturday morning, down to Tacoma where J. M Martinac Shipbuilding was launching a new tugboat—M/V Seaspan Resolution—for British Columbia-based Seaspan Corporation. The event took place on Tacoma’s Thea Foss Waterway in the early morning hours Saturday. The whole story appears over on Puget Sound Maritime.

My friend Tom Forsythe of Level Sky (the go-to outfit for brightwork refinishing in Seattle) took some pictures yesterday. He didn’t indicate that the boat was about to flop over from the weight of the snow and start filling up with lake water, so all’s well, I guess. Actually, she looks like she’s floating to her lines, pretty much.

I’ve had Two Lucky Fish in my new slip on Lake Union for a week now, and I’ve got to say I picked a hell of a week to move in to a new, unfamiliar location! In freshwater, no less. I’ve learned a lot.

First, it virtually never gets cold enough for Lake Union to freeze. Seriously, it’s incredibly rare. Very unlikely. But you will note that I didn’t use the word impossible.

Second, when boathouses (like the one I’m tied up to) get a lot of snow on them, they sink a few inches. When it rains on the snow, and the snow holds all the additional water on the roof instead of allowing it to drain off, they sink a few more inches. So make sure your lines have a bit of slack in them. Mine are fairly tight, but they are all arranged at acute angles to the dock; none run perpendicular from the boat to the dock. They should be fine, but if it starts raining hard, I’ll make sure I get down there to make adjustments and remove snow from the boat.

I’m positive I should be able to come up with some suggestive double entendre involving “my Johnson”, but for the life of me, I can’t think of a thing!

It’s a drug runner, actually. Technically, it’s known as an SPSS, a Self-Propelled Semi-Submersible.

I’ve no idea how these are built, but it sure looks like the outline of a sailboat hull. Which might make sense, since a sailboat hull would already have a ballasted keel to keep the thing upright when you load it so heavily with fuel and cocaine that it’s essentially awash.

By the way, that contraption aft is not a weapon; it’s breathing tubes for the engine below, designed, one assumes, to keep water out while allowing air in and exhaust out.

With help from a US Navy maritime patrol aircraft, personnel from US Coast Guard Cutter Midgett seized this vessel, including seven tons of cocaine, in open ocean south of Mexico. That’s about $196 million dollars worth.

Anyway, this ain’t azackly what I had in mind when I wrote recently about mini-submarines!

Here’s the news release, including links to video and more images:

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My pal and fellow bluewater sailor Dan Richman has a great piece in the business section of today’s Seattle Post-Inteligencer entitled “Ballard shipyard gives old boats some luxury.”

I had lunch with Dan yesterday, and we shared a chuckle over the opening paragraph he’d come up with: “Forget how the other half lives. Here’s a glimpse of how the other 0.15 percent lives.”

Anyway, the article is about a local boatyard, Stabbert Maritime. They’ve got the 142′ motor yacht Devotion on display at the Lake Union Boats Afloat Show, which is underway this weekend in Seattle. Devotion is easily the largest boat ever displayed at a Seattle boat show.

Even if you’re not in the market for a new boat, you can always see something interesting and learn something new at a boat show.

I spent some time at the show yesterday, talked with some people, looked at some boats, and saw a few items I’ll be writing about here. In particular, stay tuned for items on a tiny two-person submarine, the new Laser “Sport Boat”, and a 23′ powerboat that could be described as the Norwegian version of my little C-Dory.

[GILLES MARTIN-RAGET / BMW ORACLE RACING]

And not your father’s coastal cruiser, either. It’s all about speed, ladies and gentleman, and the recently launched trimaran BMW Oracle Racing appears to be capable of achieving a great deal of it.

Anyway, Ron Judd has a feature about it in today’s Seattle Times. Good reading, and lots of great photos, too.

I’m not going to comment on the America’s Cup, or express an opinion about the last time a multihull competed, or even take a side in the current America’s Cup controversy.

I just wish Fishmeal was still actively rousing the rabble like he did with the America’s Cup Free Press back in 1995. Those were the days, eh?

You may have seen a headline like this in your paper: Lawn-Mower Emission Rule May Be Costly. Mentioned briefly in Megan Greenwell’s Washington Post article:

“All gas-powered recreational boats must reduce emissions by 70 percent [by 2010].”

Wait a minute…What?! “ALL”? Not just “newly manufactured” boats or engines?

The article doesn’t focus on boats, so I did my own research. Here’s what I learned from the EPA’s website:

“The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is adopting new exhaust emission standards for marine spark-ignition engines and small land-based nonroad engines.  EPA is also adopting evaporative emission standards for equipment and vessels using these engines.  These standards apply only to newly manufactured products. The standards will reduce the harmful health effects of ozone and carbon monoxide from these engines, equipment, and vessels.”

Ah, OK. That’s fine, then. I’m all for it. Newer, cleaner engine technology provides benefits all around, in my opinion.

For instance, I love the 4-stroke, electronic-fuel-injected Johnson (but-manufactured-by-Suzuki) outboard motor hanging off Two Lucky Fish’s transom. It’s relatively quiet, relatively clean, and incredibly reliable. Except, you know, for the unacceptable corrosion failure mine experienced and BRP/Johnson’s clever-but-disingenuous liability-dodging on the issue.

Mad Mariner has just published the results of a poll that reveals the extent to which high fuel prices may be altering the choices recreational vessel operators make.

Three out of four boaters say that sky-high fuel prices are changing the way they go boating this season, encouraging them to get on the water less often, take shorter trips and make other accommodations.

I’ve got to admit that my boating habits have been affected. I’m in the midst of planning some August cruising, and one of my goals is make just one round-trip between Edmonds (my home port) and the San Juan Islands. I’m asking family and guests drive north to meet me in Anacortes. The boat will stay up there until we’re all done for the season.

And here’s another example: The high cost of fuel is one of the reasons I’m so keen on creating a more…um…“confidence-inspiring” anchor setup. See, I’m hoping to visit nearby destinations I wouldn’t otherwise, I’m hoping to save money on guest moorage fees, and I’m hoping to be able to spend more quality time ON the boat, but not necessarily RUNNING the boat.

How are today’s fuel prices affecting your boating?