Blog 2017

PART ONE

Help Your Boat Live Longer

 “Wax, wash, flush and cover.”

Great advice we've all heard but, there’s more you can do to extend the life of your boat.

Many a boat has died an untimely death, or looked like it was about to, because of an ignored 29-cent part or a few missed hours of upkeep.  Sometimes that might be all it takes to keep your boat young.

So here's some tips on staying young.

Bring It Back
Your gelcoat is only 10 to 20 thousandths of an inch thick, so clean it with care. Don’t use products with bleach, as found in many of the brown-waterline or rust-stain removers. Products with solvents such as acetone and toluene can clean almost anything but will also wipe out the gelcoat’s plasticizers. Abrasives are natural no-nos too. Look for cleaners with chelating agents that get into the gelcoat on a molecular level and carry the dirt out as you rinse.

Time: Two hours

Cost: Star Brite Instant Hull Cleaner, one quart, $16

Frequency: Varies

And Keep It Back
Gelcoats contain plasticizers that keep them shiny and supple. Over time, these leach out, making the gelcoat dull and brittle. To slow the process, use carnauba — the hardest natural wax. Carnauba isn’t reflective, so the product you use will also need silicone, oils, other waxes and solvents to produce that jaw-dropping shine. Don’t pay extra for waxes that claim to be 100 percent carnauba — anything more than about 30 percent would be rock hard and impossible to apply.

Time: About five hours for a 24-foot hull

Cost: Meguiar’s Pure Wax, 16 ounces, $14

Frequency: Twice per season

Breath of Fresh Air
Sad to say, but our boats sit unused and sealed up most of the time — a perfect environment for mold, rot and corrosion. All of which can be prevented by circulating fresh air. Ideally, you want to replace the air in every part of your cabin every hour, and you can’t rely on natural ventilation. Use solar-powered fans. The cabin of a typical 30-footer holds about 800 cubic feet of air. Nicro claims its 4-inch solar vent moves 1,000 cubic feet per day. Use one for intake and another for exhaust. To reach all parts of the boat, drill vent holes at the tops and bottoms of
lockers and closed-off areas.

Time: Half a day

Cost: Two 4-inch Nicro solar vents, $140 each

Frequency: Once

Healthy Carbs
When “ethanol-induced” varnish deposits start to clog the jets of the carburetor, less gas gets into the engine. Your now lean-running carb can lead to hotter operating temperatures, making the aluminum pistons expand and causing cylinder scuffing and the loss of compression. Or the engine simply seizes up. Spray the intake with a carburetor cleaner. Do this when you first crank over the engine each spring, and regularly add a stabilizer containing fuel-system cleaner to the tank during the season.

Time: Two minutes

Cost: Gumout Carb + Choke Cleaner Jet spray, $3

Frequency: Every third fill-up

Time and additional expense can be saved by preparing the vessel for inspection and making her more accessible.

IF YOU WANT TO SAVE AND HAVE THE INSPECTION GO WELL CONSIDER THIS.

Arrange to present a clean, shipshape boat, and have all papers and miscellaneous gear ready. If applicable, you will need to make arrangements with the marina to haul the vessel for bottom inspection, and retain a captain for sea trials. Lockers and cabin areas should be cleared of all miscellaneous gear.

The surveyor should never be asked to prepare a boat for inspection. The surveyor may request minor dismantling of interior ceilings, headliners, flooring, etc. in order to gain access to the suspected areas. Random removal and examination of below-the-waterline fasteners on wood boats may be required. Any dismantling and re-installation of parts should be performed by qualified personnel and is the responsibility of the person ordering the survey.

Written authorization from the owner may be needed to board and/or to remove part of the vessel. 

ONCE YOU RETAIN THE SURVEYOR, HE OR SHE WORKS ONLY FOR YOU AND REPORTS TO NO ONE ELSE. THE SURVEYOR IS THERE TO PROTECT YOUR INTERESTS!

Recommendations:

Many times when I perform surveys for clients, I offer them recommendations, as will most surveyors.

What are recommendations and why do I offer them?

Generally, these items can be normal upkeep items that should be addressed as you can or address with the person who are considering purchasing from.

Examples include:

• Water leaks through ports or hatches
• Anodes in need of replacement
• Loose or worn engine belts, hoses, and engine mounts
• Cosmetic issues
• Winches in need of service

Keep in mind that while surveyors inspect a boat with an eye toward industry safety standards, such as those written by the American Boat and Yacht Council (ABYC), we recognize that newer standards were not in place when older boats were built. But some of those standards, like the need for carbon monoxide alarms or proper wiring, are critical enough that insurance underwriters may still require boats to comply with them.

All of the recommendations can usually be used as negotiation points for buyers. Any purchase contract should specify that a sale may be voided if the survey results are unacceptable to the buyer. In some cases, a seller may opt to address the required repairs before a sale, but make sure the boat is reinspected before the sale is finalized.

Usually surveyors will reinspect specific items for a fee, after the sale is made, and sign off that they appear to have been properly done. If, after the sale, the buyer choses to make the repairs, insurance coverage can begin immediately, while the repairs are in progress. But, either way, the insurance company will usually require a written statement from the owner, or yard bills, to confirm the recommendations have been completed correctly. 

IT'S A GOOD TIME TO CHECK THE OLD TOOL BAG AND MAKE SURE WE ARE READY FOR THE NEW SEASON

Here's an article on the best tools to keep with you.

Ten Top Boat Tools

By Tom Neale for BoatUS

You may have lots of tools in your bag, but are they all necessary? Here's my selection of those I just can't leave the dock without.

  It seems that you can never have too many tools. I have hundreds that I've collected over the years, but there are some seemingly simple tools that have gotten me out of a jam more times than I care to remember. If I had to whittle the list down to just 10 that I couldn't do without, these would be on it.

The majority of these tools can be bought from online retailers for just a few dollars. Buy good quality tools because they last longer and will be cheaper in the long run.

1. Magnetizer/Demagnetizer: This enables you to quickly magnetize your screwdriver so that it'll hold ferrous screws. It also enables you to demagnetize it.
2. Locking Forceps: The perfect tool for reaching into tight places to retrieve or insert small nuts, bolts, circlips, and O-rings. Also good for clamping small hoses.
3. Block Of Wood: Use as backup for hammering, screwing, drilling, cutting and gluing, and as a cushion for tapping jobs.
4. Old Inner Tube: Cut one to make temporary gaskets and insulation. Also useful to give hands extra grip for torque. You can probably get one of these for free from a tire shop.
5. Good Mechanics Gloves: Protect your hands, but also increase grip when you need to undo things like spin-on filters. Try them for size before you buy, as they should fit, well, like a glove.
6. Plastic-coated Wire Coat Hanger: Bends to innumerable shapes and are perfect for clearing drains and hooking dropped objects. You can most likely find one for free, on the floor of your closet, behind all the clothes.
7. Oscillating Tool: Mine is a Rockwell, but there are other makes. Will cut directly into surfaces, including fiberglass. With the right adaptor can also be used as a detail sander, reefing tool for teak decks, or power scraper.
8. Quality LED Headlamp: I like the swiveling type so that you can adjust it to suit your work. Far safer, and way more comfortable, than holding a flashlight in your teeth.
9. Mechanic's Stethoscope: Invaluable for diagnosis, use one to familiarize yourself with component sounds now, so that you'll recognize abnormalities later.
10. Stainless Wire Brushes: For cleaning threads and terminals, removing rust, surface prep, and much more. 

The Bill Murray Technique for Saying “YES”

I came across this article last week, and it really made me think. I’m no stranger to saying no, ( I can see you snickering…..you know who you are!)

But what a reflective piece.

Let me know your thoughts

• Published on December 29, 2016
• Featured in: What Inspires Me

By James Altucher

I can’t say “No”.

If people ask me for something, it’s really hard for me to balance their needs with my own.

Like, if I need to spend time with my kids. Or I need to read or work on writing or business. But people are asking me to do X, Y, or Z.

This is why I had to write a book, “The Power of NO“. Because of my many problems saying no and taking care of myself.

But then Bill Murray taught me by example how to say “Yes”.

The Four Layers of No

LIE: 

At first I would lie to people if I said “no”. Like: “I broke my leg so I can’t go to your wedding.” Yes, I’ve said that.

SILENCE: 

Then I would just not respond to people. I’m going to use the wedding example again.

I lost my best friend because I couldn’t say “no” to him when he invited me to his wedding.

So I just never responded. He called, he wrote, he asked, “I don’t understand,” he said. And I just never responded. I kept feeling more and more guilty. We haven’t spoken since. I’m sorry.

EXPLAIN: 

Then I’d try to give an explanation. “I can’t go to your wedding because I’m having a hard time getting through a divorce.”

Which is a rationale I gave ten years ago to one invitation. But those people are not my friends now either.

And there’s never a point where they can explain why they are not my friends. They just hate me.

People tell me: Well they weren’t good friends in the first place.

Which is nice to hear, and makes me feel good to think about. But then I’m sad I can’t talk to them anymore anyway.

NO: 

The fourth layer of “No”, and the only one that really works for me is to just say “No, I can’t do that.”

No explanation needed. I don’t need to argue my case in the court of friendship.

Does this work?

Not really. People still get upset. And I still feel bad. But it’s the quickest and sharpest.

It’s a hard world: people want your time from 6 in the morning to ten at night. They want their demands and needs met. They want your hands on their dirty messes.

This is cynical. So let me put it another way.

When you say the right “No” it gives you the air to find your very personal and important “Yes”.

Bill Murray says “No” to most things. People ask him to act in a movie. 99% of the time he says, “No”.

People ask to take their picture with him. He says No. People ask to partner with him on their restaurants. He says No.

Does it mean he’s selfish? Of course, not. You can’t be selfish if the things you say “Yes” to are unique to you and uniquely change the world in the way only you can do.

This is the essence of choosing yourself. Not to be selfish.

Only when you unravel and reveal the unique YOU, can you have impact on the world. Having impact today changes the future tomorrow.

Here is a Bill Murray yes:

One time he was in a cab for an hour-long drive.

He started (like he does) talking to the cab driver. He asked the driver what he does when he’s not driving a cab.

“I like to play the sax”.

“How often do you practice?” Bill said.

“Not very often. Busy driving this cab.”

“Where’s the sax now?”

“In the trunk.”

 Bill told the cab driver to pull over. Bill said, “Guess what. I know how to drive a car also.”

They got out and Bill said, “Get the sax”.

Then they switched places. Bill drove the rest of the ride.

The cab driver sat in the back and played the saxophone for an audience of just one, the new driver.

This is a Bill Murray “YES”.

How often can you take a moment in time and sculpt that moment into a beautiful work of art.

Art that has your unique signature all over it.

“Yes” you can.

HAPPY NEW YEAR

As we embark on yet another year of promise, I took some time to reflect on the current state of things.

                                             So here’s my end of year musings: a brain dump of  my state of the state

First, Stop what are you doing to the game of football?

It seems the public at large thinks football is too dangerous?

And that players are too socially irresponsible?

Last time I checked, it’s supposed to be a violent game. Dancing is a contact sport!

Football is a collision sport! Strap it on, suck it up, and prepare to go to battle!

The players that choose to participate know that. They get paid a lot of money to perform on a humongous stage and recklessly throw their bodies around.

The players who choose to partake in this war know the sacrifice and pain they will endure.

 Leave the game alone!  Stop with the whistles, the replays, the he hit too hard penalties! Men are supposed to be men!

If you want me to spend a fortune to attend a game, and cheer the battle, give me what I want, not this watered down, over officiated, watered down sludge that the game is becoming.

I think football is now becoming the new boxing.

I’m not sure which is more insane, the celebration after a play, even when you are down late in the game, or the complaining after every play by players and coaches, or the celebration penalties after the team has scored? ....and every play is either a penalty or a review!

In reality, the real issue is the message our kids are getting from all of this. I’m not sure that sports were created way back to develop the art of the complaint, or to mold soft, rules driven performers. Sports mold character, strength, relationships, and toughness. Let's get back to that!

Record Stores are Back

Hey, don’t look now but vinyl has made a comeback, and I love it.

Pay phones, toll collectors, and bookstores have all fading, but the old record store seems to be on the upswing. Hooray,! Maybe my collection will be heard again!  Unfortunately, tellers, cashiers…and even checkout stations…are about to be extinct. Seems jobs that actually service the public and have human interaction are disappearing. What does that say about our society?

Have we seen the last of big-box retailers?

We’ve got restaurants, drug stores, fast food, grocery stores, yoga studios and gyms. But big retailers? Nope. Amazon and the rest of e commerce has changed that. We've seen the last of the small boutique shops. Even Wal-Mart is closing some locations. This can't be good.

Which thought will prevail?

Why shop in the store when I can easily buy online? 

OR

I love the fun and art of shopping.

I used to look forward to going to a store and looking around. Something tells me this new trend isn’t a good thing.

Some more thoughts

Do driver-less cars mean you can work a little more before getting to the office?

Do we really need driver less cars? I mean really?

                   Is it too hard to drive?

Baseball is getting more popular than ever. It may help if they can cut down the time of games to between 2 – 2 ½ hours!  If the NFL isn’t careful, MLB will again compete with the NFL as the most popular sport in the country. I wonder why?

Hmmm, maybe we are again ready to watch a sport where we can talk to each other during it, cheer at the appropriate times, and see the players perform without endless officiating delays to review plays that are trivial to the big picture.

Maybe the silver lining with the elections, forgetting all the rhetoric, is that we have been talking about politics and world issues in the last six months more than we have in years. We may be able to get somewhere in the future. This election was being talked about in classrooms! Maybe we will see a lot more people voting and there will be a lot more people aware of what's going on in politics. 

I don’t think we should underestimate social media. Kids should be taught more about the real-world consequences they can suffer for doing something really stupid online, and while we are at it, maybe we can stop giving everyone participation trophies. Let’s go back to rewarding accomplishment not just showing up.

 What are your thoughts?