Late Spring Thaw Could Lead to Trouble for Boaters

With some of the waters in the northern US still choked with ice, the opening of the season has been delayed for famed tourist boats such as Niagara Falls’ Maid of the Mist and the ferries to Michigan’s Mackinac Island. The brutal winter is also delaying the start of the season for the $121.5 billion recreational boating industry, and Boat Owners Association of The United States (BoatUS) says the late spring thaw – or “ice-out” as it’s known to some – could lead to trouble for boat owners.

“Boaters want to be in the water by Memorial Day, and this year they will have less time for spring commissioning work,” said BoatUS Vice President of Public Affairs Scott Croft. “That unfortunately leads to more engine troubles or other lack of maintenance issues. Requests for on water assistance to our 24-hour towing dispatch call center could be up a bit as a result.” BoatUS has these tips for boat owners to ensure a smooth launch:

Springtime sinkings: Boats sink in the springtime for specific reasons – but they all generally fall under the category of simply “rushing to get it done.” Take your time inspecting engine hoses and hoses clamps, keep a path clear for water to drain off the boat (ex. leaves in scuppers); inspect any seacocks or sea strainer for cracks. On larger boats with stuffing boxes, check for leaks and adjust nut if necessary. Go to www.BoatUS.com/springchecklist for a full Spring Fitting Out Safety Checklist.

Have the right safety gear: While the air temperatures are warming up, water temperatures are likely to remain cool longer than usual – a real hypothermia threat, especially for owners of small boats according to US Coast Guard fatality statistics. Do you have a way to get back into the boat if you fall off? See how BoatUS staff fared when testing boarding ladders on small boats at www.BoatUS.org/ladderlessons
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Be prepared for breakdowns: After you’ve done everything you can to get her going, stale or ethanol-laden fuel can be a problem in the spring, as is the simple wear and tear of another new boating season. Get yourself an affordable on the water towing plan for the unexpected breakdowns. BoatUS has choices available at BoatUS.com/towing, including a roadside assistance plan for boat trailers and tow vehicles.

Springtime Boat Buying Tips

With the number one boat buying season of the year kicked off, springtime boat buyers are on the prowl. The nation’s largest recreational boating advocacy and services group, Boat Owner Association of The United States (BoatUS), has some must do tips before you sign on the dotted line.

• The Internet is your friend and foe: Of course it’s always good to research a boat you’re considering online, first. While the Internet is not always 100% accurate, you may learn about serious problems other owners have had. Check owners group chat boards or online boating, fishing or cruising discussion groups for the kind of boat you’re looking at. BoatUS has the only national consumer complaint database for boats as well, searchable by members. Also be aware of Internet scams if you’re buying online. Any whiff of something odd and you should proceed with caution.
• Always get a professional marine survey: Surveys will uncover potential problem spots and can help with price negotiations. On a boat with expensive engines or generators, a separate engine survey could save huge headaches later. Make any purchase contingent on the survey. For a list of accredited surveyors, visit BoatUS.com/surveyors.
• Take the boat on a sea trial: You wouldn’t buy a car without taking it for a drive, and you should treat buying a boat the same way. It doesn’t matter whether it’s 16- or 60-feet.
• Give yourself some reasonable protections: Make sure that any deposit is 100% refundable if any contingencies such as a survey, financing or insurance are not met. Get it in writing. If there is a warranty or promise to fix something as part of the sale, get it in writing. Did we say get it in writing?
• “Who am I talkin’ to?”: Before getting too serious about a boat, verify that the owner (or brokerage/consignor) has the title and registration on hand. Any liens will have to be paid before transferring title.
  

BoatUS has additional resources at BoatUS.com/guide including a free buying guide and boat evaluation checklist.

Annual List of Top Ten Boat Names

If a car’s vanity license plate can tell you a lot about the person behind the wheel, what can a boat name tell you about the person behind the helm? Boat Owners Association of The United States (BoatUS) just released the national boating organization’s 24^th Annual Top Ten Boat Names List and may have the answer.

The BoatUS list of Top Ten Boat Names:

1. Serenity
2. Second Wind
3. Island Girl
4. Freedom
5. Pura-Vida
6. Andiamo
7. Island Time
8. Irish Wake
9. Happy Hours
10. Seas the Day

“We’ve had indicators that a boater who names their boat Second Wind may have rebounded from a misfortune such as divorce, health or other major issue, while someone who names their boat Island Girl or Island Time may enjoy a more carefree spirit and need an escape from everyday life,” said Greg Edge of BoatUS Boat Graphics. “And you can guess that boats with names like Happy Hours may be the most popular boats on Friday night at the marina or Saturday afternoon raft-up – their more outgoing owners celebrating with family and friends.”

Need a boat name? BoatUS has over two decades of top ten boat name lists and over 9,000 names in its online Boat Name Directory, a checklist to help pick a name, christening ceremony information and an easy-to-use online design tool to make your own boat name, all at BoatUS.com/boatgraphics.

Camps, Schools to Get Low Cost Child/Teen Life Jackets

Non-profit summer camps, schools, or local non-profit organizations providing on-the-water programs for kids have a strong need for safety, and having right-sized life jackets for kids is key. Now, the BoatUS Foundation’s Kids Afloat Program is offering kid/teen-sized, vest-style life jackets for just $5 each. However, supplies are limited and groups need to apply online at www.BoatUS.org/Kids-Afloat by Friday, February 28, 2014. The Foundation will then choose those applications that best match program guidelines and post them to the Foundation’s website and Facebook page for public voting in the spring. Those with the most votes will have the opportunity to purchase the deeply discounted life jackets.

Said BoatUS Foundation Outreach Manager Alanna Keating, “We hope that by involving the public in selecting the sites that receive the jackets, it will help promote these programs in their own communities.”

The life jackets are Type-II and Type-III vests – the most comfortable non-inflating type available today that normally retail for about $30 each. Applicants are allowed to request up to a total of 50 life jackets in infant, child, youth and teen sizes.

The Kids Afloat program is for groups currently offering on-the-water programming, such as educational boat trips, fishing trips or canoe and kayak excursions that include safe and clean boating in their curriculum. However, groups that don’t currently include safe and clean boating education may also apply if they commit to add these topics to their program.

For more information, go to www.BoatUS.org/Kids-Afloat.

Have a Hassle-Free Summer by Doing Seven Winter Boat Projects Now

Boaters can get frustrated when a repair or upgrade takes a long time, but delays are often a simple result of supply and demand. “Spring and summer can be the most challenging times to get work done on a boat because everyone else wants their work at the same time,” said BoatUS Director of Consumer Affairs Charles Fort. But with a little foresight boaters can get the services they need — sometimes at a better price — now. And some things on a winter “to do” list don’t require outside help. Here are some common projects boaters should be looking at doing now, before the spring rush:

Engine and Prop: Getting your boat’s motor worked on in June is like waiting to buy Billy Joel tickets at the door. Get your mechanic on it now if you have a project in mind. It’s also the time to have the dings taken out of the prop – your prop shop guy will be glad to see you.

Canvas and Sails: Canvas and sail lofts are notoriously cyclical businesses so don’t feel guilty about asking for a discount on winter work. Now is the time to get the new bimini top made, repair the camper canvas, or get the sail stitched up.

Wiring: Every boater needs an extra 12V outlet at the helm, or knows of a corroded wire or two somewhere on the boat that needs fixing. If you want to take on this project yourself, here are some tips on wiring: http://www.BoatUS.com/boattech/articles/choosing-cabels-and-terminals.asp.

Paint and varnish: Generally you need warm weather for these projects – but consider taking home hatch boards, tiller handles or wood trim projects and working on them now in well ventilated basement or heated garage.

Line splicing: Maybe it’s an extra long spring line you’ve always wanted, or dock lines that will actually fit your boat’s cleats. Curl up by fire, sing a sea chantey, and start splicing because you will never want to do this in the summer. Here’s how to do it: www.BoatUS.com/boattech/casey/rope.asp

Chart and Electronics updates: Does your chartplotter use an old chip or are you using the same paper chart you had 10 years ago? Your helm electronics software may also have downloadable updates that make them perform better.

Do a winter tacklebox overhaul: You’re never going to want to do this once the fish start biting. BoatUS Angler pro Steve Chaconas shows how to get your tacklebox into shape at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UMzNtCkVbic.

Five Ways Your Boat's Insurance Policy Can Fail You

Insurance is one of those things you hope you never have to use, but if you do, you expect the policy to fix the boat or compensate you fairly. If you haven't taken a close look at your boat insurance, you could be surprised to find that you may not be entitled to a payout with some common types of claims. That's because unlike home or auto, boat insurance policies offer a wide range of coverage, from very little to a lot. Boat Owners Association of The United States (BoatUS) recently took a look at the most common claims over the past five years, and has these tips so you will know if your boat's insurance policy will live up to your expectations:

Consequential Damage: If you take hurricane losses out of the list of common claims, the number one claim is for sinking, and half of all sinkings occur at the dock when some small part below the waterline fails. The most common culprits include hoses/hose clamps, stuffing boxes, outdrive bellows, and sea strainers. But these parts most often fail due to "wear, tear, and corrosion" which is a lack of maintenance issue, so policies won't pay you for a new outdrive bellows or sea strainer. But what about the rest of the boat sitting sunk on the lake bottom? Some policies won't cover that, either, as they exclude any "consequential" damage as a result of wear, tear and corrosion. That's why you need "Consequential Damage" coverage that covers losses that often start with a failed part.

Fuel-spill liability: Some policies only pay the cost of cleaning up a fuel spill if it occurs due to a "covered loss." So if your sunken boat wasn't covered because the outdrive bellows failed due to wear, tear or corrosion, the resulting fuel spill won't be either. Sometimes fuel spill coverage is subtracted from other liability payments. A better policy separates out fuel-spill liability and provides coverage up to the maximum amount you can be held liable for under federal law, which today is a whopping $854,000.

Salvage: Hurricanes lead the list of most common claims from 2008 to 2012. In every hurricane boats get scattered and need to be salvaged and safely brought back to their storage area. That takes cranes, travel lifts, flatbed trucks, and other heavy equipment that typically costs hundreds of dollars per foot of boat length. However, as a few boaters found out with Hurricane Sandy, some policies subtract the money paid to salvage the boat from what you get paid to fix the boat, while others only offer salvage coverage up to 25% or 30% of the insured value. A better policy provides separate salvage coverage up to the insured value of the boat - in addition to any payments to fix the boat or replace equipment.

Wreck removal: When fires, sinkings, hurricanes or running up on a shoal destroy your boat, you end up with a "wreck." Most boaters assume their insurance company will cover the cost of cleaning up what's left, but some policies will give you a check for the insured value and only a specified percentage for wreck removal - 3% to 10% is typical - and walk away. That leaves your wallet short and you managing a job you have little knowledge of. Better policies pay up to the liability limit, usually $100,000 or more, to clean up the mess, and don't let you go it alone.

Liability-only policies: Looking through the claims files, injuries make the top ten list for payouts not because of their frequency, but because settlements tend to be expensive. Having no insurance could leave you open to a six-figure settlement. If you have a liability-only policy, the better ones will cover injuries as well as salvage, wreck removal and fuel-spill liability.

The "Magenta Line" To Get a Safer Route

It's over 70 years old, a thin magenta-colored line appearing on over 50 different navigational charts covering the Atlantic Coast and Gulf, snaking along the route of the Intracoastal Waterway. Now, thanks to NOAA's Office of Coast Survey and a public-private partnership with Active Captain, an interactive cruising guidebook, NOAA will be updating the "magenta line" on all of its newly-issued navigational charts to help keep boaters in safe waters. Boat Owners Association of The United States (BoatUS) submitted comments on the proposal to NOAA, who had initially proposed removing the line entirely. However, responding to BoatUS' and other boaters' comments, NOAA will tap into users of Active Captain to update the route in an on-going effort that will benefit the boating community.

"Some boaters had assumed the magenta line, which was last updated in 1935, was a precise route through safe waters," said BoatUS Government Affairs Senior Program Coordinator David Kennedy. "However, over time the forces of nature made the line inaccurate as shoals shifted and underwater topography changed, leading some boats into shallows, over dangerous obstructions, or even into land. We thank NOAA for a change of course in keeping the magenta line, listening to boaters and coming up with a creative public-private partnership that recognizes the value of this important guide to navigation."

The magenta line appears in charts covering all Intracoastal waters, and is essentially two distinct routes along the eastern US and Gulf Coasts totaling about 3,000 miles in length. Said Captain Shep Smith, chief of NOAA's Coast Survey's Marine Chart Division, "Today's decision to reinstate the magenta line is not a quick fix. It will take at least three years to fix problems that were 70 years in the making."

Boaters may contribute to the updating effort by joining Active Captain at www.activecaptain.com.