Friday, September 28, 2012

Full of Fall Boat Shows

This weekend's boat show calendar is packed with events around the US and the world...

Boat shows
Photo © Nautical Sites Media / www.nauticalsites.com

It's the first full weekend of fall, and a big weekend for boat shows, with nautical events in California, New York, Florida and all around the world.

Read on for this week's boat show round-up, or jump right to the FirstBoat.com boat show calendar...

Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Vincent Pica: Beep Beep!

Vin Pica discusses sound signals in this week's rundown of The Rules of Navigation...

Guest blog by Vincent Pica
Chief of Staff and District Commodore-elect, First District, Southern Region (D1SR)
United States Coast Guard Auxiliary


Boat displaying horns and lights
Photo © 2012 Nautical Sites Media / Andrew Canepari


This column is, like last week’s, a “two-fer.” Rule 34 is about what are the proper maneuvering and warning signals – how to communicate in the absence of radio or voice signals. Rule 33 is what equipment specifications are necessary to send those signals in a consistent way. I am going to emphasize the Inland aspects of these Rules – for obvious reasons!

Monday, September 24, 2012

The Boat Galley: Less Paper Towels

This week's Boat Galley article continues discussing paper towels - and how to not use so many on your boat...

Tips From The Boat Galley, by Carolyn Shearlock
Carolyn Shearlock, author of The Boat Galley, appears weekly on the Daily Boater with tips for getting the most out of your boat's kitchen. Download a free sample of her soon-to-be-published The Boat Galley Cookbook

Paper towels can take up a lot of space on a boat. And if you cruise more isolated spots, it can be hard to find "good" ones and they can be expensive. And then there's the environmental aspect, as well as just producing more trash to deal with when you're cruising. So we learned to

Use Fewer Paper Towels
Boat Galley paper towels
Photo by Carolyn Shearlock / TheBoatGalley.com

Thursday, September 20, 2012

Norwalk, Monaco and More Boat Shows

This weekend's fall boat shows include events in Connecticut, Canada, Missouri and more...

Norwalk Boat Show 2012
Photo © Nautical Sites Media / www.nauticalsites.com
It's the first weekend of fall, and a big weekend for boat shows, with nautical events in Southampton, Vancouver, Monaco, Missouri and more.

Here in our home state of Connecticut, Thursday was the first day of the Norwalk Boat Show, the last in-water boat show of the year in New England.

Read on for this week's boat show round-up, or jump right to the FirstBoat.com boat show calendar...

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Marine Product Review: Waterproof Binoculars

Girl with binoculars on boat
Binoculars for Boating
In this week’s Marine Product Review, we test a set of binoculars made for boating...
For the latest installment of the Daily Boater's weekly Marine Product Review, Mark Sutton of MarineProductReviews.com put the Tahiti Waterproof 7x50 Binoculars from West Marine to the test.
Are you interested in having your product or service featured in a future Marine Product Review on multiple boating websites? Get the details here or contact Nautical Sites Media for more info.
Read on for our review of the Tahiti binoculars, which were designed specifically for boaters and use in the marine environment....


Tuesday, September 18, 2012

Pica: Lights and Shapes, The End

Vin Pica wraps up his discussion of the "Lights and Shapes" section of the Boating Rules...

Guest blog by Vincent Pica
Chief of Staff and District Commodore-elect, First District, Southern Region (D1SR)
United States Coast Guard Auxiliary


Lights and shapes
Photo © 2012 Nautical Sites Media / Andrew Canepari


Let’s finish up on the "Lights and Shapes" section of the Rules and be armed with the knowledge of what the merchant sea captain is saying to us...

Monday, September 17, 2012

The Boat Galley: Best Paper Towel Holder

This week's Boat Galley article reminds you that the most practical solutions on your boat are often the least expensive option...

Tips From The Boat Galley, by Carolyn Shearlock
Carolyn Shearlock, author of The Boat Galley, appears weekly on the Daily Boater with tips for getting the most out of your boat's kitchen. Download a free sample of her soon-to-be-published The Boat Galley Cookbook


Boat Galley paper towel holder

This is my favorite type of idea: it's cheap, easy and solves a bunch of problems that expensive "solutions" don't!

This Week's Topic: The Best Paper Towel Holder

Pictures From Newport

We spent some time at the 42nd annual edition of the Newport International Boat Show this weekend and thought we’d share some of the sights with you... 
Newport Boat Show

If you missed it, and you're near us in the Northeast, there’s still one more in-water show in New England starting in a few days – the Norwalk Boat Show will have a lot of the same exhibitors as Newport, plus some local CT and NY vendors who skipped Newport this year. There will be hundreds of boats in the water and on land and lots of great accessories (including Boat Name Gear!) For more info about Norwalk, visit BoatShowNorwalk.com.

And now, here are the pics from Newport…

Thursday, September 13, 2012

International Boat Show Weekend

The fall boat show season continues with Cannes, Southampton, Newport and more...

Cannes Boat Show 2012
Photo © Yachts XL via salonnautiquecannes.com


The season started last week with a scattered collection of boat shows, mostly up and down the east coast. But this week the international boating scene really heats up with boat shows in the UK, France, and here at home in the USA in Newport, Rhode Island.
And please mark your calendars: one week from today is the biggest in-water boat show in our home state of Connecticut! Make plans now to check out the Progressive Insurance Norwalk Boat Show at Norwalk Cove Marina September 20 - 23, 2012.

Read on for this week's boat show round-up, or jump right to the FirstBoat.com boat show calendar...

Wednesday, September 12, 2012

Marine Product Review: Carver Custom Boat Cover

In this week’s Marine Product Review, we test a durable, breathable and UV resistant boat cover...

For the latest installment of the Daily Boater's weekly Marine Product Review, Mark Sutton of MarineProductReviews.com had the opportunity to check out Carver custom boat covers courtesy of the SavvyBoater.com team.

Carver Boat Cover Review
(Are you interested in having your product or service featured in a future Marine Product Review on multiple boating websites? Get the details here or contact Nautical Sites Media for more info.)

When it comes to boat covers, making sure you have the right fit for your boat and that the cover is made from materials that will actually protect your boat is essential. Carver boat covers are custom fit for each boat and are made from top quality weatherproof, durable and highly breathable materials. We reviewed the covers on each of these categories and here is what we found...

Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Pica: Vessels Not Under Command

Vin Pica discusses the boating rules and explains the phrase, "Red Over Red – the Captain is Dead..."

Guest blog by Vincent Pica
Chief of Staff and District Commodore-elect, First District, Southern Region (D1SR)
United States Coast Guard Auxiliary


Vessels not under command
Photo © 2012 Nautical Sites Media / Andrew Canepari

A couple of weeks ago, I laid out the ground work for these next set of Rules, which are considerably more “intense” in their application of these so-called “Lights and Shapes.” Why? Because they have to do primarily with commerce over the open seas where the life blood of the US and the world economies still flow… Despite our high tech economy and the reliance on the airline industry for transport, the OECD reports that 90% of the world’s goods are still transported by sea. This being the case, we had better understand what we are signaling to each other – with our Lights and Shapes...

Heroes By Boat


The largest sea evacuation in history is one of the lesser known stories of 9/11 - eleven years ago today. Nearly 500,000 civilians were rescued from Manhattan by boat in less than a day.

If you've never watched BOATLIFT, narrated by Tom Hanks, today is a good day to take 12 minutes and check it out...




BOATLIFT was executive produced by Stephen Flynn and Sean Burke and premiered on September 8th at the 9/11 Tenth Anniversary Summit: Remembrance/Renewal/Resilience in Washington.

Monday, September 10, 2012

The Boat Galley: Water Filters On Board

This week's Boat Galley article helps you determine which water filters to use on your boat...

Tips From The Boat Galley, by Carolyn Shearlock
Carolyn Shearlock, author of The Boat Galley, appears weekly on the Daily Boater with tips for getting the most out of your boat's kitchen. Download a free sample of her soon-to-be-published The Boat Galley Cookbook


Water filters on your boat

You’ve been told that you really should filter the water you’re putting in your boat’s tank. And someone else suggested a filter on the drinking water tap. And if you’ve got a watermaker, you’re supposed to use a prefilter and then filter the water you’re going to use for the freshwater flush.

And there you stand in the store, wondering which filter(s) to buy...

Choosing the Right Water Filter

Friday, September 07, 2012

September Boat Shows Begin

The fall boat show season kicks off with events in NY, NJ, FLA, WA, and many more locations...

Boats on display at a boat show


Back to school means back to boat shows! There are a bunch of boat shows this weekend, and we're just getting started.

Read on for this weekend's boating events in Syracuse, Orlando, Atlantic City, Montreal and more, or jump right to the FirstBoat.com boat show calendar...

Tuesday, September 04, 2012

Pica: The Rules and Commercial Boats

Vin Pica discusses the boating rules affecting commerce-related vessels, and what to look out for...

Guest blog by Vincent Pica
Chief of Staff, First District, Southern Region (D1SR)
United States Coast Guard Auxiliary


Fishing boats ahead
Photo © 2012 Nautical Sites Media / Kate Canepari


As we’ve delved deeper into the Rules as they pertain to “Lights and Shapes”, I have laid the ground work for these next set of Rules, which are considerably more “intense” in their application of these so-called “Lights and Shapes.”

Why?

Because they have to do primarily with commerce over the open seas where the life blood of the US and the world economies still flow... Despite our high tech economy and the reliance on the airline industry for transport, the OECD reports that 90% of the world’s goods are still transported by sea. This being the case, we had better understand what we are signaling to each other – with our Lights and Shapes...

Monday, September 03, 2012

Powerboat Racing On The CT River

When you live in a state like Connecticut, it's not everyday that a national powerboat title race comes to your own backyard...

Hartford powerboat racing

Sure, there is a rich maritime tradition associated with Connecticut - we've got the Coast Guard Academy, Mystic Seaport, the Sub Base, and countless other landmarks, and we were one of only a handful of states to host OpSail this summer.

But those are all along the CT shoreline on Long Island Sound. Once you cruise up the Connecticut River, you seem to see less and less reminders of this state's nautical heritage, and it only gets worse as you approach the state's capital, which ironically boasts the home of  Mark Twain who is so well known for stories about a different river. We'd love to see Hartford and other towns along the CT River embrace their connection to the water, and it looks like they are trying based on the event that went on this Labor Day weekend in the capital of the Nutmeg State.

This weekend, our friends from Northeast Boater checked out the Riverfront US Title Series Power Boat Race, with boats racing as fast as 100 to 120 mph. The beautiful weather and free parking and admission brought out the crowds which were gathered along the shoreline of the Connecticut River at Great River Park in East Hartford. Visit Northeast Boater for video and pictures from this exciting event, and let's hope for more stuff like this in Connecticut in the near future.

On the web at www.northeastboater.com/hartford-powerboat-race/

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Boat Galley: Zippers On Boats

On this Labor Day, the Boat Galley unzips a common problem we often face on our boats...

Zippers and boats
Photo courtesy of BoatNameGear.com
Tips From The Boat Galley, by Carolyn Shearlock
Carolyn Shearlock, author of The Boat Galley, appears weekly on the Daily Boater with tips for getting the most out of your boat's kitchen. Download a free sample of her soon-to-be-published The Boat Galley Cookbook


Do you fight zippers on your boat? Whether it’s soft-sided coolers (great since they’re so easy to store), day packs, sail bags or part of the bimini, they can be a real pain. Then I discovered a cheap way to...

Keep Zippers Working