The Ships Logg

Most boaters regularly cruise bodies of water that are local to where they live, but sometimes we strike out to discover new areas that are totally unfamiliar to us. Of course, there are many options for advanc e research and maybe we even get a chance to talk to someone who has done it. Still, there is that butterfly feeling you get in your stomach when you head off into the unknown. Will this end up being one of the best adventures of my life or will I end up on the rocks? This is what The Ships Logg is currently doing. Unless you happened to notice the obscure icon on the front page, you may not have realized that there is now a channel for The Ships Logg on YouTube. There are even a few content videos there to watch! Yep, they are a bit rough; definitely not as polished as some of the YouTube experts out there but I am learning as I go. The plan is to once again provide useful and entertaining content related to the boating life. So do me a favor. Sail on over to th...

Several months ago, I noticed the shower drain in my boat was not removing water as it should. Rather than water running down the drain, it just collected in the pan at the bottom of the shower. Recently, I decided to tackle the job and figure out what was going on. I knew I was going to spend the entire July 4 th weekend on the boat and I wanted to be able to take a shower without worrying about the water building up. If you are not familiar with the workings of a basic shower sump system on a boat, it is actually pretty simple. The drain at the bottom of the shower empties into a box down in the bilge. Since the box is most likely below water level, there is a pump in the box that pumps the water up, out and overboard. Often the pump has a float switch attached to it to cycle the pump on when the water gets to a certain level and off when the box it empty. A Basic Sump Pump Setup In my case, I had already checked the line from the shower drain to the b...

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We are well into boating season now and as expected, the traffic on our local waterways has picked up quite a bit. But if your experience is like mine, you may have noticed that boat traffic is even more than it was at this time last year. We can thank COVID-19 for that. In this age of social distancing, people are realizing that spending time on the water is one of the best ways to have your fun and remain safe. It is pretty easy for a family to be out on the water, whether on a boat or a few PWC’s, and keep their distance from other individuals. Statistics have shown that boating has long been one of the best activities for families to participate in. It seems that more and more people are starting to realize that again. Flying across the water on a PWC, a bow rider or raising the sails and gliding across a body of water is not a bad way to spend your time during a pandemic. It sure beats staying indoors. On Lake Lanier, where I do most of my boating traf...

____________ Visit our archive and check out more interesting articles from The Ship's Log by clicking here .  If you found this article useful, use the space below to subscribe and you will be notified by email every time a new article is published in The Ship's Logg. Don't forget to check your email afterwards for a subscription verification email from Feedburner. Your email address will only be used for notifying you when updates are made to The Ship's Logg. Enter your email address: Delivered by FeedBurner

____________ Visit our archive and check out more interesting articles from The Ship's Log by clicking here .  If you found this article useful, use the space below to subscribe and you will be notified by email every time a new article is published in The Ship's Logg. Don't forget to check your email afterwards for a subscription verification email from Feedburner. Your email address will only be used for notifying you when updates are made to The Ship's Logg. Enter your email address: Delivered by FeedBurner

If you have been boating for a long time like I have, you probably already know that no matter how diligent you are about doing the right things, sometimes things just come down to blind luck. I guess you can just say that about life as well. Sometimes your luck is good and sometimes not so good. One thing is consistent though. You can usually learn a lesson from whatever happens. Such is the case with an experience that I recently had on the water. It was February 23 but a nice day for late winter. The temperature was in the upper 60’s and the winds were calm. The Bear’s Den II had not been out of her slip yet since November 2019. That’s not normal for me. But life happens. I was eager to take her out. Two of my friends and I headed to the marina and boarded the boat. I let the blower run while I did my preliminary checks before turning the keys to bring the twin Crusader 454’s roaring to life. After a few minutes of warming up, we cast the lines and headed out...

____________ Visit our archive and check out more interesting articles from The Ship's Log by clicking here .  If you found this article useful, use the space below to subscribe and you will be notified by email every time a new article is published in The Ship's Logg. Don't forget to check your email afterwards for a subscription verification email from Feedburner. Your email address will only be used for notifying you when updates are made to The Ship's Logg. Enter your email address: Delivered by FeedBurner

____________ Visit our archive and check out more interesting articles from The Ship's Log by clicking here .  If you found this article useful, use the space below to subscribe and you will be notified by email every time a new article is published in The Ship's Logg. Don't forget to check your email afterwards for a subscription verification email from Feedburner. Your email address will only be used for notifying you when updates are made to The Ship's Logg. Enter your email address: Delivered by FeedBurner

____________ Visit our archive and check out more interesting articles from The Ship's Log by clicking here .  If you found this article useful, use the space below to subscribe and you will be notified by email every time a new article is published in The Ship's Logg. Don't forget to check your email afterwards for a subscription verification email from Feedburner. Your email address will only be used for notifying you when updates are made to The Ship's Logg. Enter your email address: Delivered by FeedBurner

Admit it. If you are a boater, you are a different breed. You march to the tune of a different drum. Most likely, you are more comfortable in shorts and flip flops than you are in slacks and shoes. You plan to spend your weekends on the water rather than working in the yard. You walk through life with a different view of things and it's most likely because there are some things that you understand that most people do not. Here is a list of some of those things: Winter Sucks Okay, maybe I listed this one first because it is currently January. Unless you live in a tropical location, you are probably hating life right now because it is cold outside. Cold weather and recreational boating typically do not mix. That’s why winter sucks. A Bad Day Boating is Still Better Than any Day at the Office Have you ever run aground while boating? Maybe you had engine trouble and had to be towed back to your dock. It’s happened to me. The fact is at the end of the...

Twas the night before Christmas, I swung on the hook.  Passed out on the settee, asleep with my book. When up on the deck I heard footsteps and stuff:  I’ve been boarded! I thought, and I tried to be tough.  Then down the companionway hatch came a dude.  He was dressed like a nut and I thought “I am screwed”! But he laughed and he hummed and he surveyed my junk.  So I figured he must be the resident drunk. His eyes were lit up like a junkie on speed.  But he gave me a whole bunch of stuff that I need.  Like rum and cigars, new charts and a dinghy,  And some kind of fancy electrical thingy. I thought it was stolen but I wasn’t telling.  I hoped he was giving and wasn’t just selling. I poured him a grog which he downed with a wink.  Then I poured one for me (I sure needed a drink). Then he staggered above to the dark tropic night.  As I peaked I beheld an incredible sight. Eight tiny d...

So here we are again, sitting at home looking out the window as the wind blows the leaves around the yard.   Maybe even some of us are looking at snow.   We are wondering how another boating season has gone by so quickly.   For those of you who live in places like Miami or Phoenix this does not apply to you, so I guess you can skip this paragraph and move to the next one.   For the rest of us, we are once again wondering how to pass the winter months as landlubbers.   Here is a suggestion:   Learn how to tie some knots. Here are six of the most useful knots for boaters, what you should use them for, and how to tie them. Bowline This is definitely one of the most versatile knots you can have in your arsenal.   I have heard a lot of boaters claim that if you only learn one knot it should be the bowline.   Some call it the life saver because it is taught to sailors as the knot to use to tie themselves to a lifeline should they fall ove...