Spring Cleaning in the Boat Galley

This week's Boat Galley article reminds you that spring is a great time for a thorough galley cleaning...

Tips From The Boat Galley 

By Carolyn Shearlock, author of The Boat Galley, with over 500 FREE articles to get the most out of your boat kitchen with galley tips, insights & equipment recommendations. A few recipes, too - plus an active Facebook community to ask questions and share tips with other readers! The Boat Galley Cookbook, written with Jan Irons, is now available at Amazon and other retailers.

Photo: TheBoatGalley.com

Whether you’re a “snowbird,” just now putting your boat away for hurricane season, or a summer boater getting the boat ready for the season, spring is a great time for a thorough galley cleaning.

I prefer to tackle the job one locker at a time instead of doing one step at a time and ending up with everything out of every locker at once. Your preference may be to open all the lockers, make one big mess and then have it done with. There’s no one right way!

Spring In-Water Boat Shows This Weekend

It's springtime, which means most of this weekend's boat shows are in-water, including Brewer's, Annapolis and more...  

The spring in-water boat show season is in full swing across the United States and around the world.

More of the week's boating events are detailed after the pic...

Happy Earth Day

It's Earth Day, 2013. Read this if you enjoy having clean, healthy oceans to boat, fish and swim...

Few organizations do more for our planet than the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA.)  Today, and throughout the week, the NOAA is involved in over 100 public events that you can participate in to help save our waterways...

Vin Pica on Boston and Small Vessel Security

Vin Pica responds to Boston mayhem with a reminder of boating security and safety... 

Boston is on everybody's mind this week. Photo Copyright © Nautical Sites Media

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

Small Vessel Security Strategy – and You

As if the actions in Boston on (and since) Monday, 4/15/13, including the murder of 3 civilians, an 8-year old and two young women, needed to remind us of the terroristic threats that are out there, we’ve all seen the slogan, “If you see something, say something!” You may even read about that and the over-arching theme of maritime domain awareness (see “If You See Something, Say Something”; “Back to the Future – With Maritime Domain Awareness”; “Training for the Unspeakable”)  And as we’ve moved through time since 9/11/01, we’ve adapted to what threats have presented themselves to us (“take off your shoes and put them in the bin with your ‘baggie’ of toiletries”) and that extends to the maritime domain. This column is about that...

Bay Bridge Boat Show

Check out the Bay Bridge Boat Show all this weekend, across the Bay Bridge from Annapolis...  

The Bay Bridge Boat Show is the Mid-Atlantic's largest spring boat show for both new and premium brokerage boats. This year's show, which started on Thursday, 4/18/13, is located at the Bay Bridge Marina at the eastern end of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge. Show details after the pic...

The sun sets on Wednesday evening prior to the opening of the Bay Bridge Boat Show.

Boats and Bikes

If you've ever considered bringing a bike on board for getting around when you visit various ports, this article from Knots and Boats is for you... 

Getting Around Town
By Peter Kozodoy, Knots and Boats

The first-mate and I are explorers - not only on the water, but at our destinations as well. I would bet good money that it's just in a true boater's personality to want to investigate the world at every chance!

We have had good luck in the past being able to walk around our destinations with varying degrees of ease. However, we have admittedly chosen our vacation spots based partly on that criteria to begin with. With impending trips to more spread-out locales, it's time to explore some options for getting around town more efficiently than just hoofing it. (continues after the pic...)

Photo courtesy of City of Charleston, SC, via USA.gov

April In-Water Boat Shows

This weekend's boat shows include Strictly Sail in Oakland, next week is Bay Bridge in Maryland, and more...  

The spring in-water boat show season is finding its stride, with boat shows across the United States, and around the world, over the next couple of weeks.

More of the week's boating events are detailed after the pic...

Don't miss this weekend's Strictly Sail Pacific. Photo courtesy of strictlysailpacific.com

Marine Product Review: Navionics Marine App

In this week’s Marine Product Review, we tested one of the leading marine smartphone apps...

For the latest installment of the Daily Boater's Marine Product Review, Mark Sutton of MarineProductReviews.com checked out the Navionics Marine & Lakes App on both the iPhone and iPad (there is also an Android version available).

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 Navionics Marine Apps...

Volvo to Stop in Newport

The Volvo Ocean Race unveiled its full route for the 12th edition today, including Newport, Rhode Island, in the US...

Newport Harbor. Photo Copyright © Nautical Sites Media

  

The race, often called "sailing’s premier round-the-world race", will take place in 2014-15. The route will take the sailors to 10 cities in nine countries – Spain, Brazil, United Arab Emirates, China, New Zealand, United States, Portugal, France and Sweden – and will require the teams to cover almost 40,000 nautical miles over nearly nine months of racing.

Continue for full story and video...

The Boat Galley: Microwave On Board

This week's Boat Galley article helps you decide if you should put a microwave oven on your boat...

Tips From The Boat Galley 

By Carolyn Shearlock, author of The Boat Galley, with over 500 FREE articles to get the most out of your boat kitchen with galley tips, insights & equipment recommendations. A few recipes, too - plus an active Facebook community to ask questions and share tips with other readers! The Boat Galley Cookbook, written with Jan Irons, is now available at Amazon and other retailers.

Photo by Carolyn Shearlock, TheBoatGalley.com

I've pretty much always had a microwave since I left college and began living on my own.  But frankly, I was surprised when Que Tal had one aboard when we bought her. I'd never really thought of having one on a boat.

A couple of readers have asked me my thoughts on having one and whether it's a good idea.  Simple answer:  it depends. There's no universal answer, so all I can do is give you some things to think about... 

Early April Boat Shows

This weekend there are a few boat shows around the United States, including two in New England...  

After an Easter weekend of no boat shows, the events are starting to pop up again for the spring season. This weekend's boat shows are in Maine, New Hampshire, Washington and Mississippi.  

More of this weekend's boating events are detailed after the pic... 

The Bay Bridge Boat Show is less than 2 weeks away. This pic is from last year's show.

Marine Product Review: Marine Paint

In this week’s Marine Product Review, see why Pettit makes one of the most popular paints for boaters...

For the latest installment of the Daily Boater's Marine Product Review, Mark Sutton of MarineProductReviews.com checked out a can of Pettit Hydrocoat Marine Paint.

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 Pettit Hydrocoat Marine Paint...

Go Fishing and Win Big

It's Contest Time! Take Your Camera on Your Next Fishing Trip and You Could Win Big...

Photo Courtesy of the Boat Owners Association of The United States

When we received the announcement about this contest, it was dated April 1, 2013, so we had to verify it was not an April Fool's joke... those were really tiresome this year and we didn't want to play the fool. But sure enough, this is the real deal from the folks at BoatUS Angler.

Enter the BoatUS Angler "Catch of the Month" photo contest and you can win all kinds of stuff, including a Visa gift card, a prize pack of fishing gear, and personalized products from Boat Name Gear!

Read on for details...

The Pros and Cons of Galley Straps

This week's Boat Galley article looks at the pros and cons of using galley straps on your boat...

Tips From The Boat Galley

By Carolyn Shearlock, author of The Boat Galley, with over 500 FREE articles to get the most out of your boat kitchen with galley tips, insights & equipment recommendations. A few recipes, too - plus an active Facebook community to ask questions and share tips with other readers! The Boat Galley Cookbook, written with Jan Irons, is now available at Amazon and other retailers.

A while back, I wrote a post on The Boat Galley about galley design and things to look for, one of my points was a design where the cook couldn't get tossed across the boat in rough conditions.

Several people have written me and made comments about how a galley strap can solve that problem in almost any design. I have mixed feelings on galley straps...