General Boating Articles

Who are you going to call in an emergency when on the water? Do you call VHF 16, *16 or 911?

When you buy a car, you not only have to learn to drive, you must also learn the "Rules of the Road".

When you buy a boat, it isn't law, but is is common sense to learn how to handle your boat and learn the "Rules of the Water".

Taking courses and lessons is a good place to start and through organizations like Power and Sail Squadron, you will take a VHF/DSC Radio Course and learn how to use it—including in emergency situations.

It is just good common sense to have a

Many boat owners store their boats for the winter, thinking they will be safe and sound until spring.

But, there are many good reasons why you should check your boat periodically over the winter to ensure there are no unpleasant surprises when you visit to prepare for spring launch.

Forgetting to check it regularly over the winter months, whether it is tarped, shrink wrapped or stored inside, could be a costly mistake.

There are some things you need to know.

The Canadian Government legislated that all recreational boats must carry the appropriate number of marine flares for the size of boat, but they did not include methods of disposing of the expired flares.

Boaters must replace their flares every four years, thus creating a large buildup of expired flares in storage barns, garages etc, because boaters can't find out how to dispose of them properly.

Some are doing the unthinkable....

With over 70 different boat types to choose from, how do you determine which is "The Right Boat" for you and your family?

This is not an easy task and too many boaters make the biggest mistake, of purchasing the wrong boat and are sorely disappointed later. Once they get out on the water, they discover that:

• The kids need a head, but the bowrider didn't have one.
• The cottage taxi boat didn't have a big enough motor and was too bulky for skiing at the cottage.
• The narrow mid cabin cruiser wasn't roomy enough for the "large" family. It wouldn't perform and turned out to be an "excuse me" boat—there wasn't enough room to move anywhere without saying "Excuse me".
• The bed was too short leaving the feet hanging over the end.
• There wasn't enough room for the knees when sitting on the head.
• OR, one of hundreds of other problems for their boating lifestyle.

There are so many disappointments boaters experience when they start using their new boat that could have been identified before they bought.

Normand Vallée and Lise Tremblay were determined to do it right and buy the right boat. Now, they have turned their dream into reality on board "Real Mountie" enjoying all boating has to offer in their retirement.

Read their story to find out how they did it.

There is still time to Winter "EYES" your boat.

Winterizing your boat means having your local marina prepare the motors(s) and water system(s) to withstand our harsh winter weather as well as store it under shrink wrap or in a building.

No one wants to have to deal with broken water lines or cracked blocks in the spring, so it pays to prepare your boat for winter carefully.

But, in addition to the marina winterizing, there is so much more you can do to WinterEYES your boat:

Boaters know how important it is to check the weather before leaving the dock—both current marine conditions and marine forecast.

It can make a huge difference to your boating experience, if you make a wrong decision and end up in heavy wind and high waves and/or thunder storms that are uncomfortable for you and your passengers.

It could even become dangerous or even worse, it could......

Ever thought you'd like to look under water, without getting wet?

Now you can!

Ever wanted to retrieve some valuables that had dropped into the harbor (like expensive prescription sunglasses or tools) without paying a scuba driver?

Now you can!

Ever wanted to inspect and assess your underwater gear for possible damage without an expensive haul out?

Now you can!

Ever dreamed that there was a device to do all this and make you some serious coin by renting it out to fellow boaters?

Now you can!

Doug Dawson has found the "Underwater Robot". Now you can do all these things. Let your imagination run as you show off your new gadget to your fellow boaters on the dock. You will discover limitless other underwater uses.

Years ago, we could count on the marine weather forecast and plan our trips accordingly. Today, however, it seems that the forecast is mostly wrong and you can end up in some nasty conditions.

This may not be an issue if you are on a small lake or river and you can keep an eye on the sky and get to safety if the weather suddenly changes. It is quite the opposite if you set out on a long trip on a bigger body of water like the Ocean or Great Lakes, and the weather suddenly double crosses you and delivers the opposite to the forecast. Maybe the wind turns and is hitting you from a different direction, or dense fog sets in (as shown in the picture), or a storm develops, or all of the above at the same time. Then what?

Because of the unpredictable weather today, we recommend preparing for "whatever weather" before you leave the dock. There are plenty of simple preparations you can make before heading out, so that you can handle whatever is thrown at you on a big body of water.

The forecasted "less than a metre waves and some fog patches" soon became three metres and dense fog with zero visibility for hours, on our run from Kincardine to Tobermory.

To alert them of our situation, we called Coast Guard on the VHF Radio. No signal.

The cell phone? Absolutely no signal there either.

Now we were out on Lake Huron in these conditions with no contact with the world—talk about feeling alone and insignificant.

Then, we discovered something quite remarkable that we'd like to share with boaters everywhere.

Boating is supposed to be fun! But, many boaters experience disappointment or even disaster on their first few outings in the spring.

Forgetting to bring the corkscrew for your wine, the can opener for your cans, or the fly swatter to protect yourself from the pesky flies are irritating, but aren't too serious and can easily be remedied by bringing them the next time.

But having an annoying water leak or the VHF radio not working, or your windshield wiper smearing your windshield could put a damper on your outing.

More serious problems like transmission or engine problems, leaky holding tanks, electronics not working, or missing safety items could easily result in disaster.