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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...

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...

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...

Maintenance on you boat is important.   We all know that.   Sometimes, we don’t know all of the items that we need to take care of though.   Even a non-boater can tell you that you need to change the oil, but do they know about impellers or outdrives?   Here are some important maintenance items that are commonly ignored on boats, what they do and why you should pay attention to them. Impellers What they do:   They are responsible for drawing water into the engine’s cooling system to keep the engine operating within proper temperature range.   Depending on your boat’s propulsion system, they can be located in the outdrive, on the front of the engine or in a separate housing.   Maintenance:   They should be replaced every two years.   If you use your boat extensively, you may need to replace them every year.   Don’t forget that if your boat has a generator, it will have an impeller also. What happens if you ignore them: ...

Boats are getting pricey.  This pontoon lists for $185,000. There is an old saying that says nothing is guaranteed except death and taxes.   I’d like to add one more thing to that list:   The price of new boats rises faster than the price of anything else.   Yes, we all know that it’s a fact of life that prices generally go up.   A loaf of bread today costs more than a loaf of bread when I was a kid.   It should then be no surprise that a new boat today costs more than a new boat did 10 years ago.   If you have been around boats for as long as I have (or even just a few years), you know that to be true.   Is it just me or does it seem that the price of new boats is rising exponentially?   Sure, the newest floating toy does have technology that older boats do not but prices seem to be getting a bit out of hand.   This cannot be more true than when looking at some of the newest pontoon boats on the market today.   The fir...

It is that time of year again.   As boaters, we are excitedly looking towards what this boating season is going to bring.   I am fortunate enough to be able to use my boat year round but there are still some things that I do in the spring to prep things for a great boating season.   One of them is to renew my membership with TowBoatUS.   I have been lucky enough where I have only needed them twice in my boating career and one of those times was when I had an issue with my tow vehicle while on the road. Regardless of what type of boating you enjoy, I highly recommend a membership with TowBoatUS or Sea Tow because you never know when you may need it.   That being said, you still want to avoid having to make that call if you can.   Here are some of the most common reasons that boaters have to call for a tow and ways you can avoid the same issues. Engine Overheating I actually had someone ask me how a boat engine could possibly overheat when there i...

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