General Boating Articles

Doug has just finished filing hundreds more brochures to our collection. Now we have thousands catalogued in our library. Since the 1950’s, Doug and Brenda have been gathering brochures-one of each. You can see the complete list at http://www.boatingwithdawsons.com/brochures/azbrochures.html . To keep the collection in tact, we scan boat models and email jpeg or pdf files for a small fee.

For years, people from around the world have been requesting brochure pages for various reasons:

Doug and Brenda Dawson have just returned from two weeks of boating in the Bahamas.

They were pleased to meet so many Loopers who had done the Great Circle Tour and were now in the Abacos.

America's Great Loop is the continuous waterway that circumnavigates the eastern portion of North America - along the Atlantic seaboard, across the Great Lakes, through the inland rivers, and around the Gulf of Mexico. It is sometimes referred to as the Great Circle Route.

Do your flares need replacing or are you just going to get some new ones and add them to the existing flares on board? If so, you may want to think twice about it.

Before you race out and just grab what’s on your marine store’s shelf, consider the following.

Boat sales (power and sail) are already spectacular this year according to reports from the major Boat Shows.

"The trends have the potential to make 2006 the beginning of an incredible era in the marine industry" says Boating Industry Magazine Feb 13, 2006.

"Robust sales at the 2006 Toronto International Boat Show are expected to resonate through the entire season". "The combination of low interest rates and memories of last year’s fantastic season, put people in a mood to buy. "These quotes are from Boating Industry Canada Feb 7, 2006.

If you did everything right when you put your boat away for the winter, you don’t need to read any further.

However, if you are like most of us, you probably noticed a few problems that you thought could be dealt with later. Well, guess what now IS later and you have a second chance.

Everyone knows the procedure for obtaining a driver’s license to drive a car. After studying the rules of the road, you are required to pass a written exam, then a practical behind-the-wheel, on-the-road test.

It’s a little different for boating. You study the rules of the water and pass a written exam. There is no practical on-the-water lessons nor proficiency testing.

Visit Your Bank for a Boat Loan

Having considerable experience with the banking process for loans, I would recommend that when you go to the bank, take all the pertinent information about the boat. Take the size, make, model name and/or number, year, HIN (Hull Identification Number, Motor(s) description(s) in detail (the more the better), a list of all the options, etc. If the options are a different year from the boat, include this information as well.

For example, if you are buying a 1995 boat with a GPS that was added in 2003, the loans officer needs to know that the GPS was not a 1995—it affects the value. Or perhaps the trailer is newer or older than the boat, etc.

The very first step in buying a boat is deciding, well ahead of a attending a Boat Show, in consultation with the family, what your boating activities are going to be.

Will your primary activity be waterskiing, day cruises, day sailing, fishing, overnight trips, weekend trips, week trips, longer cruises, cottage taxi, speed, or a combination? What will your secondary activities be? Do you want a boat for fishing but also want to go on overnight trips from time to time? Do you want a cottage taxi but still want to be able to take day long trips and ski at the cottage?

Avoid the biggest mistake most boaters make when buying a boat.

Now is the time to take advantage of the winter Boat Shows to research and shop for your nautical accessories, as well as your new boat. What should you know about a Boat Show?

Why struggle with First Mate chores every day
When someone has already found an easier and better way?