Times Spent Outdoors: Priceless!
Times Spent Outdoors: Priceless!
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What's Different About Fall Boating? Follow these five boating safety tips to ensure a great day on the water. Other than the colors of trees and cooler temperatures, what's different about boating in the fall? A lot, according to the BoatUS Foundation for Boating Safety and Clean Water, especially when it comes your safety aboard. One big issue is there are fewer boats – often the quickest pathway to a rescue – on the water, so flagging down a good Samaritan just got harder. So what's your pla...
Here's how to spot the email warning signs. The boating season is drawing to a close, but the cold weather buying season will heat up soon. On snowy nights, potential boat buyers will hunch over computers and cellphones looking at boats for sale, dreaming of sugarplums and their first boat, while current owners with two-footitis seek a larger boat and look to sell. Nearly all boat buying and selling scams involve emails and they often contain clues to alert you. Boat Owners Association of The...
Pretty soon, millions of recreational boats will be put into winter storage to await next year's season. As they sit unattended for months, they can easily become a target for thieves. Will your boat be on a crook's hit list? Here are five signs that may welcome a thief as well as simple things you can do to thwart them, from Boat Owners Association of The United States (BoatUS). 1. Leaving electronics aboard your boat mounted on a bracket over the winter is a sign that says "come take me."...
Here's everything else you ever wanted to know about putting away a recreational boat for the season (yes, even in the Southwest). Boaters in much of the U.S. and Canada, even in the colder areas of southern states, acknowledge the need to winterize their boat's engines each autumn. But what else can go wrong? Boat Owners Association of The United States (BoatUS) offers boat owners a free online resource. The website is chock full of winterizing checklists, tips, and a downloadable "Boaters...
The clock to protect your boat in the colder areas of the Southwest is ticking. The fall months are the start of nation's boat haulout and winter storage season. As boaters prepare their vessels for a long winter nap, it's time to check the boat's insurance policy for "Ice and Freeze" coverage. This coverage is sometimes offered as a policy rider or endorsement and is affordable, so you may want to check your policy now. Yes, Even In Arizona For boats stored in states where below freezing...
Personal Locator Beacons (PLBs), those pint-sized, individual rescue beacons used by boaters, sailors, and paddlers to summon emergency help have saved hundreds of lives since their authorization for use 17 years ago. That doesn't mean they are maintenance free, according to the BoatUS Foundation for Boating Safety. The boating safety nonprofit offers these simple tips to maintain and use a PLB. • PLBs need to be registered with NOAA. As a way to ensure accurate, up-to-date information, r...
For the nation's 12 million boat owners, Labor Day weekend was the last blast, with many enjoying the end-of-summer boating ritual with family and friends aboard, according to Boat Owners Association of The United States (BoatUS). The national advocacy, services and safety group cautions, however, that boating traffic and complacency have increased safety concerns every year. BoatUS's nationwide on-water towing fleet, TowBoatUS, often forecasts an increase in number of boaters on the water...
Aims to increase fishing line and soft bait recycling by tapping the public for ideas. Have you ever wondered how old, discarded fishing line is recycled and reused? You may be surprised to learn that turning fishing line into new products is labor intensive, requiring a series of workers to comb through, sort, clean, remove hooks and weights, and separate out miles of encrusted debris in entangled fishing line. There also aren't any recycling programs for fishing related materials like soft...
More first-time boat buyers are getting on the water this season than in summers past. Along with the boat, many new owners also find themselves shopping for boat insurance for the first time. What are the most basic things new boat owners should know about buying a boat policy? BoatUS offers three wise buying tips. Know the two basic types of boat insurance policies: Agreed Hull Value (AHV) and Actual Cash Value (ACV). AHV policies are the most popular type of boat insurance policy sold today b...
BoatUS Foundation personal locator beacon rental program saves money, increases safety aboard America's boat and yacht clubs and other groups organizing sailboat racing this summer, the rules have all changed. Captains know that having success with social distancing could mean having fewer (nonrelated) crew aboard this racing season. However, fewer crew could also mean fewer hands aboard – and potentially fewer eyeballs to spot someone in the water – in the event of a crew-overboard sit...
In the words of Margie and John Anderson who provided the motivating cover phone, "If you’re looking to get out of the heat and see some gorgeous country where it’s cool and green, I’ve got the perfect road trip for you. If you’ve ever been to Alpine or Springerville, you already know how pretty the Apache-Sitgreaves Forest is, and I’ve got a couple of back-road drives for you that don’t require 4WD. In fact, we saw a lot of RVs on the second part of our road trip." The rest of their story... Full story
What Can A Boat's Name Tell You? BoatUS issues annual Top 10 Boat Names list. While a boat's name can be as varied as the owner at the helm, certain themes do stick out, according to Boat Owners Association of The United States (BoatUS). The national advocacy, services, and safety group has issued its annual list of Top 10 Boat Names, which it compiles from those using the services of BoatUS Boat Graphics to design and purchase boat name graphics. "It's always a challenge to decide on a boat... Full story
Controversial order threatens reliability of hundreds of millions of GPS units. SPRINGFIELD, Va., June 25, 2020 – The nation's largest advocacy, services and safety group for recreational boaters, Boat Owners Association of The United States (BoatUS), says an April 22 decision by the Federal Communications Commission to give mobile satellite services operator Ligado Networks, a private-equity company, the green light to build and operate a land-based industrial 5G (fifth generation) wireless n... Full story
BoatUS Foundation: Don’t try to have your own fireworks show. Celebrating America’s birthday, thousands of boaters are expected to hit the water this Fourth of July holiday weekend, recreational boating’s traditional busiest time of the year. With COVID-19, it certainly won’t be the same. The BoatUS Foundation for Boating Safety and Clean Water has a few boating safety reminders just in time for the holiday. While boaters will need to follow social distancing guidelines, that’s not the only... Full story
BoatUS demystifies the coverage you need and explains which policy covers what damage. Most insurance is straightforward, until it’s not. When you have an accident or property damage, you file an insurance claim. But filing an insurance claim on a boat trailer isn’t so straightforward. That’s because it depends on how and what type of damage occurred that will determine which insurance coverage – auto, homeowners, or your boat insurance policy’s trailer coverage – that will pay the claim. By l... Full story
If you have not done so already, here is a check list from BoatUS to guide you through preparation for the summer boating season. By Charles Fort - Contributing Editor, BoatUS Magazine Last winter was likely a flurry of activity as you put your boat to bed, spending hours checking off every conceivable chore to make sure it was ready come spring. Or maybe, like a lot of people, you did just enough to make sure the boat wouldn't be damaged by the cold but left a few things for spring. If so,... Full story
Federal Boating Infrastructure Grant program pays for transient slips, moorings, fuel docks, navigation aids, restrooms, utilities and breakwaters. The Boating Infrastructure Grant (BIG) program, which funnels federal fuel taxes paid by recreational boaters back to the states to attract visiting boaters with amenities such as secure overnight dockage, has $24.7 million in funds (at press time) available to local governments, port agencies, private marinas and boat clubs. The associated visiting... Full story
Where do women sailors go to learn? The answer is a place where they can enjoy the camaraderie of other women sailors, learn from top instructors both on the water and in the classroom, and have plenty of fun. For 30 years that place has been the Sailing Convention for Women presented by Gail Hine, to be held next on Saturday, Feb. 1, 2020 at the Bahia Corinthian Yacht Club in Corona del Mar, Calif. Something Meaningful For Everyone "The Convention gives women an opportunity to meet other women... Full story
Boaters across the country are getting ready to put their boats to bed for a long winter's nap, but not every boat owner knows all the secrets of winterizing a recreational boat. Boat Owners Association of The United States (BoatUS) shares some quick tips to ensure safe storage until next season. 1. California, Florida and Texas have the most engine winterizing claims. Boaters in northern climates know to winterize but all it takes is one deep freeze in a normally balmy state to cause major dama... Full story
Taxes Paid By Boaters Will Fund Boating Programs The explosive growth of paddlesports - including stand-up paddleboarding, kayaking and canoeing - has local, state and federal governments working to ensure there's plenty of paddler access, including paddlecraft-only launches that make it easy to launch a kayak, increasing efforts to ensure paddler safety, and minimizing user conflicts with traditional boaters. The question is, who pays for it? Under a nearly seven-decade-old federal funding mech... Full story
Where do women sailors go to learn? The answer is a place where they can enjoy the camaraderie of other women sailors, learn from top instructors both on the water and in the classroom, and have plenty of fun. For 30 years that place has been the Sailing Convention for Women presented by Gail Hine, to be held next on Saturday, Feb. 1, 2020 at the Bahia Corinthian Yacht Club in Corona del Mar, Calif. Something Meaningful For Everyone "The Convention gives women an opportunity to meet other women... Full story
A recent report from the Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) has re-affirmed that outdoor recreation activities are a significant driver of economic activity in the country, making up 2.2 percent ($247.2 billion) of the U.S. Gross Domestic Product (GDP). When looking at “conventional” outdoor recreation activities, “boating/fishing” was the largest conventional activity for the nation as a whole at $20.9 billion in current dollar value added, surpassing RVing, motorcycl... Full story
New video outlines the unique precautions required when heading offshore to a marine sanctuary. The NOAA National Marine Sanctuaries include more than 600,000 square miles of marine protected areas, from the rugged Olympic Peninsula of Washington to the "shipwreck alley" of Michigan's Thunder Bay and the turquoise-hued shallows of the Florida Keys. These national treasures present great opportunities for recreational boaters, anglers, and sailors – but only if they're prepared and have the g... Full story
BoatUS App's New 'Connect to Local Towing Captains' feature shortens response time. When boats break down on the water, run aground or run out of fuel, many recreational boaters use the free BoatUS App to summon TowBoatUS for routine on-water assistance. The app's new Connect feature will automatically link app users with the closest local TowBoatUS captain, eliminating the need to call to BoatUS national dispatch and providing better service to boaters by shortening response times from the... Full story
BoatUS urges boaters to be aware of engine weight when repowering a recreational boat. Boaters Aren't the Only Ones Getting Heavier; Outboard Engines Catch Up One year ago the U.S. Coast Guard required new recreational boats to have more floatation to support the increased weight of newer four-stroke outboards if the boat becomes swamped. Now the agency is implementing those changes as reported in the Spring 2019 issue of the U.S. Coast Guard Boating Safety Circular. Boat Owners Association of... Full story
