COMMON MISTAKES BOAT OWNERS MAKE

on May 27, 2020

Not Sea-Trialing The Boat After Repairs Are Made A client purchased a used powerboat with a large outboard that had a cracked head. Because he wrote into the contract that the engine had to be working before he would buy the boat, the dealer had the engine fixed and claimed they performed a compression test to verify everything was fine. After paying for the boat, the first time the new owner took the boat out, […]

RENEWING YOUR COAST GUARD REGISTRATION

on May 20, 2020

Renewing your boat’s U.S. Coast Guard documentation The Coast Guard can’t prevent outside vendors from helping boaters with renewals, but it comes at a cost — private companies typically charge three times more than the U.S. Coast Guard National Vessel Documentation Center (NVDC). Some of these third-party companies may also send out official-looking letters offering renewal. A number of boaters  have complained that these letters direct them to the same misleading websites. Often, the mailings […]

WI-FI AND YOUR BOAT

on May 6, 2020

Wi-Fi has invaded just about every aspect of our lives. It’s in our homes, our workplaces, and our cars. Now it’s even showing up on our boats. But do we really need or want Wi-Fi aboard? Despite the downsides of cost, complexity, and ceaseless badgering from the outside world, the answer for most of us is a resounding “Yes.” Getting your boat connected has some huge advantages. The enhanced communications offers both convenience and security; […]

WORKING FROM YOUR BOAT

on May 1, 2020

Sometimes, being able to take care of professional and personal business while on your boat can give you more freedom and peace of mind. Here’s advice about improving communications aboard. Getting online while onboard is relatively easy and reliable these days. We’ve lived, cruised, and worked aboard our boats since 1979, so our office capabilities are probably more complex than those of other cruisers. But through trial and error, we’ve learned solutions to many communications […]