Great coverage by my friends Deborah Bach and Marty McOmber over at Three Sheets Northwest:

Showgoers loosen grip on wallets

Seattle Boat Show organizers and exhibitors reported a strong start to the region’s premier annual boating event, with higher attendance and showgoers who were not just looking, but actually buying.

Attendance was up 23 percent over last year for the first four days of the show at Lake Union, while the indoor portion of the show [Full Story]

And another one:

Dealers hope to entice price-conscious buyers

Seeing the big yachts moored at marinas around Puget Sound, it’s easy to assume boating is only for those with deep pockets.

But boat dealers at the Seattle Boat Show are hoping to convey a different message to showgoers: that boating is more accessible than they might realize.

“I think that there are people who pass off boating without really understanding the access and affordability of it,” said Mark Helgen, vice president of sales for Lake Union Sea Ray. [Full Story]

Time for another Navagear feature at MadMariner. This time, I talk about my favorite blogs. The ones I actually read every day. You may be familiar with some of them.

Bob over at Boat Bits tells of his satisfaction with the Northill folding anchor:

Sadly, these are no longer made anymore, but if you ever come across one at a nautical flea market my advice is snap it up as they are one of the best anchors ever made!

The Northill broke the mold as the first anchor that used clever design in place of brute weight.

See, the Northill folding anchor was originally designed as a lightweight anchor for seaplanes, where weight reduction is even more critical than it is aboard small boats.

Following up on Bob’s piece, I spotted an interesting anchor website that appears to be a “labor of love” on the part of a recreational mariner named Richard. The images above are from his page about the Northill, where he also has a reproduction of an old advertisement from a 1940 issue of Flight magazine.

Richard’s Anchors R Us page, which does not sell anchors at all, appears to be a valuable resource for those trying to select an anchor.

Or even for those of us who just want to learn more about old anchors like the Northill.

I love Google Analytics. It provides a lot of information about website performance. It’s fun to see a graph of Navagear’s growth since we relaunched the site about three years ago, for instance:

Besides those big numbers (visits, pageviews, etc.), though, one of my favorite Analytics feature is the Content Overview. I especially like to see the top content. What pages are people looking at?

As you would expect, the Navagear home page gets the most traffic. Surprisingly, though, it only constituted 15.4% of page views during 2009. A lot of Navagear traffic is generated by search engines. As a result, a lot of site visitors never bother with the home page; they just jump right to the page they want.

Apparently, 7.5% of Navagear visitors are absolutely nutty about refilling disposable propane cylinders! It’s also interesting to see that a few posts from 2007 are still getting a lot of views.

Here are the top 24 Navagear posts for 2009, according to Google Analytics:

[AND the links have been fixed now! —Tim]

/2008/04/refill-disposable-propane-cylinders/
/2009/02/hobie-mirage-pro-angler/
/2007/04/ugrib-weather-data-for-free/
/2007/01/torqeedo-electric-outboard-motors/
/2007/02/totally-free-navigation-software/
/2007/02/the-simplest-electric-motor-system-yet/
/2007/07/should-your-next-repower-be-electric/
/2008/07/anchor-rode-rope-to-chain-splice/
/2009/08/how-to-refill-disposable-propane-cylinders/
/2008/05/the-best-margarita-recipe-ever/
/2007/02/building-a-better-crab-trap/
/2008/05/tide-tables-for-mobile-devices/
/2007/06/sailflowcom-the-ultimate-weather-site-for-boaters/
/2009/07/structurescan-sonar-for-lowrance-high-definition-systems/
/2009/04/vessel-tracking-system-roundup/
/2009/07/navionics-iphone-app-going-gangbusters/
/2009/01/jolly-good-folding-crab-shrimp-traps/
/2008/05/the-best-navigation-software/
/2009/02/feathercraft-baylee-on-the-water-test-report/
/2007/03/another-clever-folding-crab-trap/
/2008/04/stupid-propane-tank-tricks/
/2009/05/keep-eggs-fresh-without-refrigeration/
/2008/02/nauticraft-pedal-powered-boats/
/2007/02/wind-turbine-powered-sailboat/

Happy Birthday to my blog,
Happy Birthday to my blog,
Happy Birthday Puget Sound Maritime,
Happy Birthday to my blog!

It was just one year ago (tomorrow, actually) that I posted this at Navagear.com:

Announcing A New Blog: Puget Sound Maritime

If you read Navagear regularly, you already know that I don’t stick to “gear and gadgets” exclusively. Sometimes, I stray into territory I find interesting, hoping that some of my readers share my enthusiasm.

For over a year, I’ve tried to strike a balance between relevant, on-topic gear and gadgets posts and fascinating, off-topic regional maritime stories. A lot of the great stories I’ve encountered were so far off-topic that I was obliged not to include them on Navagear at all. It’s been a bit of a struggle.

One year later, Navagear’s still growing, and Puget Sound Maritime has grown from no readers at all to several thousand. It’s difficult to know how many people are reading; I don’t have figures for RSS subscribers, for instance.

What I do know is that over the past year, over 26,000 “absolute unique visitors” have loaded over 58,000 pages from the site itself. I have a small, dedicated group of truly devoted readers (Hi mom!). Seriously, over 300 people have visited the site over 200 times during the year, and another 1,100 have visited between 100 and 200 times.

Financially, Puget Sound Maritime isn’t earning anything to speak of. Puget Sound Maritime is purely a labor of love, at this point.

Perhaps I’m spoiled, though: Navagear’s gear and gadgets focus dovetails extremely well with the ad-supported blogging model, so it has been a money maker for a long time. Don’t ask me to work out my hourly rate for Navagear, though—I don’t want to know!

Anyway, I wanted to acknowledge the anniversary of PSM’s launch, and invite readers who are only aware of Navagear to stop by for a visit at PSM, and vice-versa.

Thanks to Capt. Rodriguez over at BitterEnd for this item:

Now you can get current wind data in a handy, readable format on your desktop OR on your iPhone from WindAlert.com.

The website is still under construction, judging by the “lorem ipsum” text on several pages.

Still, the service is up and running. Give it a try, and let Navagear know whether you find it useful or not.

It isn’t often that I have a laugh-out-loud moment reading Panbo…

Intellian D4 HD TV system, first impressions

One way to know that you’re really getting high definition TV is to stumble on to a close up of Muammar Gadhafi’s face. Holy crap, what has this guy been doing to himself?  But aside from that jolt, setting up and using Intellian’s D4 HD sat tv system went smooth and easy.

Read more

[It's another MadMariner feature from a few weeks back. —Tim]

Boating safety authorities agree: you should create a float plan, and you should leave copies with trusted friends or family members. “We’re going cruising in the islands for a couple of weeks” does not constitute a float plan. The information must be comprehensive.

These days, float plan management goes well beyond a paper itinerary and the occasional telephone call. Social networking websites, such as Twitter and Facebook, properly used, can augment a traditional float plan. They can providing folks at home with real-time updates, and in an emergency, can give authorities access to concise, relevant information about your voyage prior to the emergency, while simultaneously reducing the record-keeping task burden placed on the folks following your voyage from home.

FLOAT YOUR PLAN

The term “float plan” can mean two slightly different things. An “operational float plan” is something you create for your own use, including waypoints, course headings, weather and tide forecasts, navigational notes, and other details.

The second type – the kind we’re concerned about here – is similar to an aviator’s flight plan: a brief description of your trip so that others will know how to locate you. If you do not check in with the holders of your plan at the scheduled end of your trip, they contact the authorities to report you overdue.

(more…)

Time for another Navagear feature at MadMariner! This time, it’s a new look at all the cruising wikis I could find. Longtime readers will recall Cruising Wiki Shoot-Out #1 from about 18 months ago.

A lot has changed since then…and yet all the contenders still have room for improvement. To be fair, I’m a fairly critical consumer of reference products, though.

Oh dear. My daughter has gotten me addicted to a new game…

Youda Marina is a wonderful simulation and time management game all rolled into one. It offers you sun and fun each time you play! Be creative with your exotic harbor and have fun managing it is everyday problems- just the way you want to!

You will be the harbor master, responsible for keeping all your Marina visitors happy. And happy visitors mean lots of income as they pay their harbor fees and visit your bars and restaurants. The more income you earn, the more facilities you can build. Make it possible for your visitors to stay longer by letting them stay in your hotels or holiday resorts. You can even and let them enjoy a day in one of your amusement parks, or join amazing tours. You can even start your own diving school or game fishing excursions!

Be careful! More visitors and facilities means more time and attention is needed. You will have to stay in control of what happens in and around your harbor, and in case of an emergency, your rescue teams are there to take care of the situation! You really do not want your visitors to be sick or your bars and resorts to be burnt down, do you?

Your goal is to either focus on creating an efficient working harbor or produce the most beautiful marina in the world! Small goals need to be achieved in order to reach your major final goal. Are you in control or do you want to do whatever you like and be creative? It’s up to you!

Anybody else addicted to this dang thing?