Why non-zinc anodes are a good idea

January 14, 2013

Ben Lee has this item over at Three Sheets Northwest: We’re often asked by boaters about products they can use to reduce their environmental impact while enjoying their boat and the beautiful waters of Puget Sound. The three major responses are: cleaning supplies, non-copper bottom paint and aluminum/magnesium anodes. Let’s talk today about anodes. What [...]

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AIS becoming “clogged” already?

December 27, 2012

The dangers of too much data “cluttering” navigation displays have been discussed at great length all over the maritime blogosphere for several years. Is it really a problem? In crowded commercial ports, it could be. I operate in Seattle, and yes, the display can be quite well-populated with stationary vessels at any of the commercial [...]

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Oru Origami Kayak: Not a toy!

November 16, 2012

I’ve got a 9-year-old daughter who loves origami. I wonder what she would think of an origami boat! Oru Kayak is introducing its first product, and I’m interested! I’m going to cut and paste from the website a bit here: ORIGAMI INSPIRED SKIN This is what makes it all work! The origami skin has creases [...]

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Lowrance HDS Gen2 touch: Very cool

October 3, 2012

Could the Lowrance HDS Gen 2 Touch be the coolest nav package yet for smaller boats? Quite possibly. Let me put it this way: I want one…bad. Ben over at Panbo has covered the basics thoroughly (Lowrance HDS Gen2 TOUCH, StructureScan included!). So rather than duplicate his fine coverage, I will proceed as I often [...]

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FloatPlanRegistry.com: Good idea!

September 7, 2012

Deborah Bach has this story over at Three Sheets Northwest. But it reminds me of my own solution: Twitter and Facebook. Not perfect by any means, but works for me in the areas I cruise. Let’s see what this new website offers… A few years ago, Jim Young started feeling bad about not filing float [...]

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What do you do with expired flares?

August 16, 2012

This story by Deborah Bach over at Three Sheets Northwest got me thinking. What do talented Navagear readers suggest we do with our expired flares? Have at it in the comments! U.S. Coast Guard rules clearly require that commercial and recreational boats carry flares on most waterways.But how boaters should legally dispose of expired flares [...]

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Amazing underwater dolphin video

August 11, 2012

Thanks to gCaptain for the tip!

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Will AIS be a “victim of its own popularity”?

July 12, 2012

Ben Ellison over at Panbo kicked off a new phase in the ongoing debate about AIS “over-usage”. What debate? The one around the argument that when too many boats broadcast AIS telemetry, AIS displays will become so cluttered with useless junk data that the system will become useless. Worth a read…check it out.

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PA/Hailer horn installation

July 9, 2012

My new Standard Horizon GX2150 VHF has lots of cool features, including a fog horn and loud-hailer output. So I needed to decide where to install the loudspeaker horn on my C-Dory. After giving it a lot of thought, I decided that this made the most sense: So while the rest of the dock was [...]

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Hot Tub Boats hit it big on Seattle waters

July 4, 2012

Almeera Anwar has this article in my local neighborhood blog, MyBallard: It’s been called one of the most luxurious things imaginable and many who have tried it would agree. It’s a hot tub inside of a boat, and we can thank two local Seattleites for coining the idea. Photo courtesy Kelly Norton & Adam Karpenske [...]

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