Five Ways to Keep Winter From Taking a Bite Out of Your Boat & Trailer

It's already a brutal winter in parts of the country. If your boat and trailer are going to spend the snow season outside exposed to the elements, Boat Owners Association of The United States (BoatUS) has five tips to protect your investment and prevent winter's bitter effects from taking hold and causing problems down the road:

Water is enemy #1: Keeping the boat and trailer rig in a slightly bow-up position will allow water to drain. Don't forget to remove drain plug and tie it to the ignition key where you will find it in the spring. Yes, do this exactly as instructed. Now. You will lose it otherwise - trust us, we know. Also ensure that the boat's cover is tight and periodically check inside throughout the winter - just to make sure no water is accumulating and that no critters have moved in.

A little spray will do you good: Spraying water-and-dirt displacing lubricants such as Boeshield T-9 on metal trailer roller assemblies, winch gears and electrical connections will keep moisture away and rust at bay. Now may also be the time to take care of any rust spots on the metal trailer frame: sand, prime and paint.

Best boat theft prevention tip in the world: If you're storing your boat in the driveway, turn it around 180 degrees, with the tongue facing towards the house. Not only will this keep your neighbors guessing all winter long about that name on the transom, but it will make the job harder for a thief to steal your boat and that's the real name of the game here. Adding a lock on the trailer hitch only improves your odds the bad guy will look somewhere else.

What to do about boat trailer tires: In addition to being a theft deterrent, removing the tires and storing them inside the garage will keep the sun from damaging them. With the tires off, this may also a good time to repack the bearings. Block the trailer's frame and secure plastic (contractor grade) trash bags over the hubs and brakes to keep them dry. If tires won't be removed, position the trailer so that the tires rest on a piece of plywood or plank to prevent dry rot, as parking on grass can hasten a tire's demise. Cover tires (again with plastic bags or covers) to keep the sun off and hubs and brakes dry. To avoid flat spots from happening, move the trailer periodically a few inches throughout the winter.

Don't park under trees: Howling winter storms can snap off tree limbs. Besides adding unsightly stains, falling leaves and needles can make their way inside blocking transom drain holes, making your boat into a nice bathtub as it slowly fills with water over the winter.

How to Safely Truck Your Boat Over the Road

Last year, Steffen Schmidt wanted to move his 37-foot sailboat from Seattle to Rhode Island. Schmidt was not unfamiliar with hiring boat transportation services, and had done it once before with no issues. But this time was different: the boat was delivered in Wickford, Rhode Island with its mast gashed and mangled; the prop and cutlass bearing damaged. Then problems occurred in getting compensated for the damages. How can a boat owner looking to transport their boat over the road avoid an experience like Schmidt's? Boat Owners Association of The United States (BoatUS) has four tips:
 
1. Find a boat transportation specialist: It's best to use a shipper that specializes in boat transport. Request copies of DOT or state license documents and cargo insurance - reluctance to provide this information is reason enough to look elsewhere. You can also check a company's history of inspections, crashes and the status of commercial carriers' licenses at http://safer.fmcsa.dot.gov/companysnapshot.aspx. Had Schmidt checked here, he would have found his shipper had high percentage of failed truck inspections - a red flag. All transportation agreements should be in writing, with complete information about costs, taxes, tariffs, scheduling, security, and pickup and delivery locations, as well as rules about refunds for cancellations or delays. Make sure you read and understand the shipper's contract.

2. Prepare the boat for shipping: "When shipping overland, most insurance claims come from poor preparation - not from hitting bridges," says BoatUS Director of Consumer Affairs Charles Fort. Consider that your boat may be traveling down the highway in hurricane-force winds and experience road vibration for days. To help prepare, Fort strongly advises boat owners use an experienced prepper and consider hiring a marine surveyor for the loading and arrival of the boat, as they know load points and can also document damage. Also take lots of pictures with the date imprinted, just in case you need prove your case for compensation.

3. If something does go wrong, document it: It's the boat owner's responsibility to document any damage upon arrival and unloading. Don't let a trucker depart without acknowledging in writing any damage on the "condition of cargo" documents and share copies. This is where more photos can help your case. And call your insurance company immediately if any damage is noted.

4. A word about online bidding websites: The BoatUS Consumer Protection Bureau has received numerous complaints from members who used bid-type clearinghouses to find transportation service providers. For a fee, the websites allow you to enter your information and receive bids from several transport providers. Unfortunately, the websites don't verify or validate the claims about experience, insurance coverage, and licensure made by trucking companies that are bidding for your business. They also won't help if you have problems with the shipper. If you decide to use such a service, use the same diligence you would if you called a shipper directly. BoatUS members have access to the BoatUS Consumer Protection Complaint Database and can also check for any record of complaints.

To see more detailed information on boat transport, go to: BoatUS.com/boattransport.

Incredibly 80% of DSC VHF Mayday Calls Have No Vessel Location

Now Is the Best Time to Get
Your DSC-Equipped VHF Hooked Up Right 

 

This time of year, life gets a little slower for recreational boaters, perhaps freeing up time to fix the important things like having a fully working VHF radio on board. If you have a basic VHF, checking the connections for corrosion, inspecting the antenna and doing a simple radio check may be all that it takes. But if you have a newer Digital Selective Calling (DSC) VHF, this is the time to ensure its life-saving, one-button mayday feature is fully working. This allows anyone on the boat to simply press a button that gives rescuers near pinpoint location and identification information, greatly speeding rescue times. 

 

However, the DSC functions on new radios only work if a Maritime Mobile Service Identity number (MMSI) has been entered into the radio. Further, the US Coast Guard reports that approximately 80% of the one-button distress calls from DSC VHF radios it gets each year do not contain vessel position information, meaning that life savers cannot effectively respond. Boaters can take two simple steps to make sure their DSC radio will provide rescuers with the information they need, according to Boat Owners Association of The United States (BoatUS):

#1: Connect the DSC-VHF to the GPS/Chartplotter. While some of the newest handheld DSC VHF radios have GPS built in, most fixed-mount DSC VHF radios must be connected to an external chartplotter in order to broadcast location information. This single, critical wired connection increases your margin of safety a thousand times over by allowing rescuers to find you quickly

While there have been challenges with a uniform, industry-wide plug-in connector to make it easy for do-it-yourselfers, having both the radio and chartplotter of the same brand and each manufactured within several years of each other makes it easier. Taking the time to open up both operating manuals is also a good first step - you likely won't need to know how to read a wiring diagram as instructions are in plain text. Most electronics manufacturers also have customer support phone lines ready to help. And if you're still having trouble? Get a professional electronics installer to do the job. After all, aren't your family's lives worth a relatively small $150 service fee to have a pro do it right? To find one near you, ask at your West Marine store, local marine electronics retailer, marina or go online at http://www.nmea.org/content/nmeatrained/nmeatrained.asp.

#2: Get a free Maritime Mobile Service Identity (MMSI) number that identifies your boat. The MMSI number is a bit like a phone number for your boat. Having one helps verify an emergency, identifies your boat to rescuers, and cuts down on the instances of false alarms, ensuring that critical rescue resources will be available when you need them. BoatUS offers MMSI numbers for boaters (who remain in US waters) for free at www.BoatUS.com/MMSI, along with an easy to download tutorial on DSC VHF radios and how this drastically improved technology is saving lives as a part of the US Coast Guard's Rescue 21 System. If you boat in international waters such as Mexico, Canada, Caribbean or abroad, you'll need to get your MMSI from the FCC at: http://wireless.fcc.gov/uls.

The Top Ten Costliest Ways Boats Come To Grief

Putting Thousands of BoatUS Insurance Claims Files Under a Microscope

ALEXANDRIA, Va., October 23, 2013 - It's a cross between the CSI and Cold Case TV show crime dramas: taking a look back through the thousands of dusty, old settled boat insurance claims files to identify patterns that can teach today's boaters how to avoid becoming a statistic. That's exactly what the BoatUS Marine Insurance publication, Seaworthy, did in the recent feature, "Top Ten BoatUS Marine Insurance Program Claims," which appears in the October 2013 issue.

"The last time BoatUS did such a detailed analysis was in 2005, and this kind of information is not available from anyone else in the industry," said Seaworthy Editor Beth Leonard, "The time seemed right to revisit our findings and share them with boaters so they can learn from other's mistakes." Here's the list of the top ten claims in terms of dollar value over the last eight years, along with some tips that could help prevent becoming a statistic, or if you're simply unlucky, lessen the damage:
 
#10. Lightning: Make sure to haul out your boat after a lightning strike to check for "exit wounds" that can compromise the hull's integrity.

#9. Theft: 90% of boats are stolen on their trailers. Make it as difficult as possible to simply hitch up and run.

#8. Injury: Many injury claims involve inexperienced guests. Be sure to warn your non-boating friends about wakes, waves, slippery surfaces, and other hazards.

#7. Grounding: Accurate charts - whether paper, electronic, or on a mobile device - and a depth sounder are your best defense against grounding.

#6. Collision: Most collisions result from some combination of three factors: inattention, blind spots, and too much speed.

#5. Fire/explosion: Faulty wiring causes most fires; most explosions result from fueling issues.

#4. Striking a submerged object: If you hear a loud clunk from down under, stop and look in the bilge, and, if you find any water coming in, haul out the boat to check for structural damage as soon as possible.

#3. Weather/wind: Keeping your boat in a well-protected location away from trees is the best way to protect it from non-hurricane weather damage.

#2. Sinking: Check, squeeze, and tug all fittings below the waterline at least once a season to make sure your boat stays afloat.

#1. Hurricane: A well thought out hurricane plan can keep your boat safe in all but the most extreme storms (see www.BoatUS.com/hurricanes).

Go to www.BoatUS.com/toptenclaims for the full story.

New Jersey Announces Successful Completion Of Hurricane Sandy Waterway Debris Removal

More Than 101,000 Cubic Yards Of Debris And 360,000 Yards Of Sediment Removed From State Waters

The unprecedented clean-up of New Jersey waterways following Superstorm Sandy, which resulted in the systematic removal of more than 101,000 cubic yards of debris from storm-impacted tidal waters, is officially coming to a close, the Christie Administration announced today.

The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has notified impacted municipalities that all waterway debris removal performed by three state-hired contractors for this effort will cease on October 30.

“The success of this massive project is the result of a true team effort involving not just the DEP, but the hard work of our contractors, our sister state agencies, the federal government and local and county governments,” said DEP Commissioner Bob Martin. “With this enormous effort, we were able to clear debris from bays, inlets, wetlands and the ocean.”

While debris removal is ending, sediment removal from state waters will continue through the fall. To date, more than 360,000 cubic yards of identified Sandy-related sediment has been removed from marinas, lagoons and back-bays.

In addition, the state Department of Transportation is developing a separate plan to dredge state channels, some of which suffered impact from Superstorm Sandy.

Earlier this year, during the first 100 days following the storm, the DEP and impacted municipalities cleared more than 8 million cubic yards of debris from the streets of storm-ravaged communities. The materials, including more than 4.5 million cubic yards of construction and demolition debris from some of the hardest hit towns in Monmouth, Ocean, Middlesex, Cape May and Atlantic counties, were sorted and safely disposed or recycled.

Then the DEP turned its focus to the challenge of removing docks, bulkheads, pieces of boardwalks, boats, cars and even houses, and other storm debris from tidal waters from Bergen County to Cape May and up the Delaware Bay to the Delaware Memorial Bridge in Salem County.

The DEP hired three contractors through public bidding to focus the federally-funded water cleanup effort in separate coastal regions. The DEP separately engaged three debris monitors to provide FEMA-required oversight of the debris removal work, and a project manager, Dewberry Engineers, Inc., to manage this complex undertaking.

The firms surveyed nearly 195,000 acres by side-scan sonar and gathered and removed the following materials from New Jersey waters:

• 360,000 cubic yards of sediment (to date)
• 101,716 cubic yards of debris
• 6,019 submerged targets – which could be any type of storm-related debris
• 194 vessels and vehicles
• 4 mostly intact homes

The bulk of the debris removal work was completed by mid-summer. However, remaining wet debris and submerged material took longer to locate and remove.

“The waterway debris removal project represents the finest efforts of New Jersey, showcasing our ability to pull together the best resources available to get the job done safely, on time and with utmost respect and consideration for the environment and, of course, for our residents and businesses,” said DEP Assistant Commissioner for Environmental Management Jane Kozinski, who coordinated the water and land debris removal projects.

Agencies that worked with DEP on this concentrated effort include the state Department of Transportation's Office of Maritime Resources, the State Police Marine Services Bureau, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Earlier this month, municipalities were given until October 15 to notify the DEP of any remaining waterway debris removal requests. With the passing of this deadline, municipalities are again solely responsible for the safety of their beaches and public areas and hazards in the water.

For more information on the DEP’s Sandy recovery efforts and waterway debris removal visit: http://www.state.nj.us/dep/special/hurricane-sandy or http://www.state.nj.us/dep/special/hurricane-sandy/wwdebris.htm

Should nautical charts show a recommended route through the Intracoastal Waterways?

Should NOAA nautical charts have a recommended route through the Intracoastal Waterways? This route has been shown for decades as magenta line on nautical charts giving boaters a guide for safe travel. Now NOAA is looking to do away with the "magenta line". For more information and to make your opinion known click the following link.

https://www.federalregister.gov/articles/2013/09/26/2013-23440/intracoastal-waterway-route-magenta-line-on-noaa-nautical-charts

What You Need to Know About Ethanol and Boat Insurance Before You Put the Boat Away

Are you putting your boat away for winter soon? Boat Owners Association of The United States (BoatUS) says recreational boat owners need to take special precautions with E-10 gas and review their insurance policy before they put their boat to bed for a long winter's nap. Otherwise, they may be in for trouble next spring when they try to start the engine:
 
Keep ethanol at bay: Today it's highly likely that your boat's gasoline contains a mixture of up to 10% ethanol, which is known to damage engines and boat fuel systems, especially over the long winter storage season. If you have a portable gas tank on your boat, try to use as much gas as possible before you put the boat away at the end of the season. Any remaining gas or gas-and-oil mix that's left in the portable tank can be put in your car or outdoor power equipment, respectively. The goal here is to use it up as quickly as possible.

If your boat has a built-in gas tank that cannot be emptied, add a fuel stabilizer, and then fill the tank as much as possible, leaving just a smidgen of room for expansion. This will greatly reduce the amount of moisture laden-air that can enter through the tank's vent and potentially condense on inside tank walls over the long storage season. The goal here is to prevent water from being absorbed into the gas and ethanol mixture, which if left unchecked, results in phase separation and damage to the boat's fuel system and motor. For a more detailed look at ethanol and winter storage, go to www.BoatUS.com/seaworthy/ethanolwinter.asp.

Look for "ice and freeze coverage" in your boat's insurance policy: Many boat owners think they don't have to worry about freeze damage if they live in temperate states or if they keep their boat in an indoor, heated storage area in Northern states. But every year, BoatUS gets multiple freeze damage claims for boats in Southern states hit by a hard freeze and for boats stored in indoor facilities in Northern states where a storm took out the power. So the first rule of winter storage for any boat is to winterize it properly.

Even then, small winterizing mistakes like not draining all of the areas of the raw water system can easily destroy an engine. For that reason, BoatUS recommends ice and freeze coverage just in case something got overlooked when the boat was winterized. Typically offered as a policy "rider" to boats stored in northern climates, it's inexpensive (BoatUS offers the add-on coverage for as low as $20) and can go a long way toward protecting you from a catastrophic engine loss. Ice and freeze coverage may also be a smart option for do-it-yourselfers who want peace of mind, or for trailer boaters who store their boat in a heated garage or travel between warm and cold states.

However, there is a deadline to purchase this coverage as most insurers don't offer it once temperatures get cold, usually the end of October. BoatUS says that boats in warmer, temperate states often have this feature added to their policy automatically, but you should check with your insurer. For more information on boat insurance or ice and freeze coverage, go to www.BoatUS.com/insurance or call 800-283-2883 .