We’ve written a lot of about ethanol in marine environments for some important reasons – it is “hydrophilic”.This means it loves water and absorbs it in greater quantities than conventional gasoline [read: not good for engines]). Also, it is a strong solvent – older resin-based…
Posts tagged as “Vincent Pica”
Not too long ago, a friend of mine fell overboard – while boarding a boat at the dock! Sound crazy? Not really – the “victim” wasn’t wearing proper shoes… he stepped on the gunwales and not into the boat… and the wake of a passing…
When I teach seamanship classes, I eventually get around to the fact that the sea is a dangerous and hostile place – but, if prepared, you can increase your odds dramatically if you view yourself as an astronaut on a far away planet. Help is…
Not too long ago, a friend of mine fell overboard – while boarding a boat at the dock! Sound crazy? Not really – the “victim” wasn’t wearing proper shoes… he stepped on the gunwales and not into the boat… and the wake of a passing…
Before reading the weekly tide tables as gospel, let’s take a moment to review a few essentials. First, don’t mistake precision with accuracy. What??? Just because we can predict the tides to the second as far into the future as you could imagine (after all,…
Certainly, tragedies abound that point to the urgent need for more understanding by boat captains about the forces of capsizing. There is a tremendous amount of data on “righting moments”, centers of buoyancy and gravity, thanks to the US Navy and the US Coast Guard,…
Any school child knows, or at least believes, a terrible storm or other natural phenomena that causes damage to your property, or, causes your property (your boat) to damage someone else’s (another boat), is an Act of God. Behind this “fact” lies protection for the…
Recently, NOAA issued an updated hurricane forecast, indicating a windy road ahead. After thinking about protecting yourself and your family, what about the boat? Tis the season of heavy weather. This column is about that. Let Me Say It Again…Never stay on the boat. I…
Last month, we talked about cell phones aboard boats and the issues thereto. But they are fantastic devices – and therein lay another issue. As the functionality of cell phones starts to rival computers (did I say “rival” – I should have said “outpaces!”), we…
When I have written in the past about the need and use of a VHF radio, I noted that if you didn’t have a radio aboard that you were risking your life over a couple of hundred dollars – it was “nutty” not to have…