Friday, March 26, 2010

Choosing Boat Covers to Suit Your Needs

Your boat is a major investment. It is only natural you would want to do as much as possible to protect your investment. This will allow you to enjoy your boat for many years to come. One of the best ways in which you will be able to protect your boat is through boat covers.

The covers you can choose from range from just what will cover the controls to a cover which will cover the entire boat. You can also opt to buy a cover which is more like a garage for your boat. No matter what you choose, you will get a cover which will protect your boat from the elements.

Bimini Cover

One of the very standard boat covers is the Bimini cover. This is the cover which will only protect the controls for the boat. It is a cover which will offer the captain protection even while driving the boat. This will help to keep the sun out of your eyes and the rain off of your head.

This style cover does not offer complete protection for the rest of the deck, but it will help to protect your controls from becoming weathered and faded. Increased exposure can also cause your controls to become cracked and damaged. The Bimini cover will prevent this from happening.

Custom Covers

Most boat companies will offer boat covers which are designed specifically for the model you are purchasing. These are perfect to keep your boat from being exposed to the elements when you are not using it.

While these are generally only used while the boat is in a dry dock or on a trailer, they are designed so you can even cover your boat while it is still floating in the water. These are recommended for the maximum protection of your boat. Because it is designed to the exact design of your boat, it will even keep wind out.

Boat Cover Styles

There are boat covers which are designed to fit a general design type. These will come as close to a custom boat cover as you can buy. They will not offer the full protection a custom boat cover can offer, but they are the closest you can get. The design is made so that it can easily fit on the boat. The securing mechanisms will make it where the boat gets pretty good protection from the elements. Most importantly, the boat will be protected from rain and sun.

Makeshift Covers

Some owners will opt for makeshift boat covers. These covers are sometimes nothing more than a plastic tarp which will cover the main part of the boat. These can be held in place with bungee cords or with rope. While these kinds of covers do not offer as much protection as the ones which are fitted for your boat, they will still offer you more protection than nothing at all. No matter what kind of cover you choose for your boat, make sure you have something so you will be able to enjoy your boat for years to come.

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For more on boat accessories, see www.bestboatguide.com.

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posted by KC @ 12:03 PM 0 comments

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Boat Maintenance For the Cruising Boaters

By Bill Rountree

There are a few very important points that I felt were worth sharing regarding boat maintenance. Most of these relate to the 2 years that I lived and cruised on my 40 foot sailboat, but they also apply to just about any type of boating you may do.

1. Maintaining your boat is not the same as maintaining your car. I don't do any of the maintenance on my car - but I do much of it on my boat because I feel that boaters need to know how to maintain their boat for a variety of reasons:

• If you get stranded in your car help is usually much more readily available than when you are in your boat. Even if you operate your boat in protected inland waters you might be in the back of a cove or otherwise out of sight of potential help. But if you are cruising in a remote area - or one out of the United States, you really need to know how to fix problems on your boat yourself and have the tools and supplies to fix it. I had problems with my diesel engine once in a small harbor in the Bahamas and after a day of working on it with no success I decided to go ashore and try to find a local mechanic to help me. None existed. I was told what I would have to do is fly one in for about $1500 - just to look at it, repairing it would be extra. I spent 2 more days working on it and finally got it running.
• If you get stranded in your car you can walk to find help - not the case in a boat. Have you ever tried paddling a large boat - not too easy.
• Boats tend to not be as reliable as cars because they are not used as often and therefore are more prone to have a failure. The belts, hoses, electrical connections, valves etc, etc all deteriorate over time and through not being used. Every time I visit my boat I start the engine, turn on the water and run it through the various outlets, open and close the seacocks, run the air conditioner, operate the bilge pump - basically turn on and run all of the mechanical devices on my boat. This has been especially important when my boat was on the coast several (or many) hours away and therefore I could not use it often.
2. Buy some good books on boat maintenance. If you have a boat with an engine you should have at least one general book on boat maintenance. My favorite book which was always close at hand is 'Boat owner's Mechanical & Electrical Manual' by Nigel Calder. If you have a larger boat you really should consider getting some other more specific books such as repair and maintenance manuals for your engine.

3. The most important advice I can give is to always watch closely while your boat is being repaired. Any time my boat's mechanical or electrical system is being worked on I always make sure that I am there to watch and learn. I ask lots of questions and even help while the work is being done. It makes the repair job quicker (and therefore cheaper) and I learn how to repair it by myself next time if I need to. After the mechanic leaves I write down notes on what was done with diagrams showing the key areas that were repaired or accessed.

The author, Captain Bill Rountree, is a lifelong boater, holds his US Coast Guard Masters license and a US Sailing instructor certification. He has owned motor yachts, sailing yachts, racing sailboats, rowing shells, kayaks, windsurfers and on and on. He spent two years living aboard and cruising on a forty foot sailboat and has over 10,000 blue water miles. After returning from his cruise he was dissatisfied with the resources available to sell his boat (and did not want to pay the 10% broker fee) so he started his own online website to sell his boat and help others buy and sell their boats. The website and other articles can be found at http://www.myflexads.com

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For more on Boat Maintenance, see www.bestboatguide.com.

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posted by KC @ 7:44 AM 0 comments