A Boating Blog Can Be Fun

If you love boating and want to share that love with others, why not consider starting your own boating blog? It’s easy, fun, and lets you pass on your experiences to others who might enjoy the same things. A boating blog is as simple or as complicated as you choose to make it. Here are some tips to get you started.

You first need to find a place to post your boating blog. But don’t worry; there are plenty of blog hosting spaces on the Internet. You could join the phenomenon of My Space where there is plenty of room for both blogging as well as telling about you and your love of boating. Another good blog space is www.blogger.com.

[nms:boating,4,0,50]

[nmspage:boating]

Another option for your boating blog is to create your own web page. This is easier than you think it is as many web hosting places like tripod.com will offer free tools for building your web site and will give you basic web space for free!

When you start your boating blog, introduce yourself. Be careful not to reveal too much personal information such as your last name, a specific address, or things like that. You will have all sorts of people viewing your web site – even bad ones – so be careful what you tell people.

Take some pictures of your boat. Tell a little bit about it. One blog on the Internet has a description of the boat from a first person viewpoint which we found to be quite interesting. Tell about her features, what her name is, and where she likes to go.

A good boating blog will have a personalized touch speaking from experience. Write about places you’ve been on your boat and what you recommend (or don’t recommend) to others as far as boating destinations. You may also want to write about your dream boating trip as well as places you want to go to in the future.

By all means, share your boating expertise in your blog! Have you learned a valuable lesson about boating safety? Got a tip on engine maintenance? Know about a great, secret place you want to tell others about? Write about it!

Consider putting an e-mail link in your blog. You can even invite people to sign a virtual guestbook. You never know who you might meet!

You don’t have to be a professional writer to start and maintain a boating blog. All you need is a love of boating and desire to share what you know. Boating blogs are modern day captain’s logs. They are everywhere and are awfully entertaining! Start one today!

Essential Boating Equipment

Boating equipment can be a wide and diverse subject. When you take up the sport of boating, the amount of equipment you need is as complicated or as simple as you want to make it. But the basic boating equipment that everyone needs includes a boat and a trailer.

The boat, obviously, is a no-brainer. You have to have a boat in order to participate in the sport of boating. But your most important piece of equipment is your boat trailer. It’s essential that you match your boat trailer to your boat. This will depend on the size of your boat mainly, but there are other considerations to be thought about as well.

[nms:boat trailer,2,0,100,boating]

[nmspage:boat trailer]

What is the size of the vehicle you will be using to tow your boat on the trailer? There are some lighter weight trailer models that can accommodate vehicles with less horsepower. Ideally, you’ll want a four-wheel drive truck that can handle both the boat and the trailer easily. But if you just have a small truck, look into a lightweight aluminum trailer that is easily towed by a smaller truck.

The type of boat you choose is also dependent on your vehicle. Most people choose their vehicle first and then their boat. If all you have is a smaller truck with little horsepower, you won’t want a 30 foot power boat traveling behind you. Handling will be difficult, and you run the risk of harming others on the roadway if you don’t pay attention to this big detail.

So, you’ve got your boat and you’ve got your trailer, what other type of equipment will you need in your boating adventures? Your boat must be outfitted with a life jacket for every person aboard, fire extinguishers, some type of sound emitting device (your mother-in-law doesn’t count), and adequate lighting for night boating.

[nms:gps navigator,2,0,300,boating]

[nmspage:gps navigator]

Two other essential pieces of boating equipment would include a two-way radio as well as some type of navigation device like a GPS system. When you are on the water, you don’t want to risk becoming stranded and not having any way of communicating with the outside world or being able to find your way back to shore.

If you will be participating in water sports, the boating equipment will differ from pleasure cruising. For water sports, you’ll need a tow rope and some skis or an inner tube for tubing.

What type of boating equipment you need will really depend on how you’re going to be using your boat. Decide for yourself what’s important to you and then go buy your boating equipment, but be sure you have the basics as outlined above!

Boat Seat Repair Tips

A variety of boat seat repair tips can be found on the web to help you with making repairs to the seat of your boat. Depending on what has happened to the seat, the degree of the problem and your skill will determine if you actually need to have a professional do the work for you or if you can handle the work yourself. As with any type of repair need that you may have, it is vitally important to consider all options that are available to you. Boat seat repair can be an easy way to benefit your boat’s overall condition and it can be a good way to prolong the use of your boat over the next years.

Replace, Repair, Or Something Else?

[nms:boat repair,4,0,5,boating]

[nmspage:boat repair]

Boat seat repair is widely available through the use of many boat repair providers. You can find that they are willing to do large and small problems alike but they will likely not be able to repair all damage. In some cases, it can be more inexpensive and much more time consuming to try and repair the seats. In this case, a professional boat repair service may advice you to actually replace the seats instead of trying to repair them. This may make the process a bit more affordable as long as you get the quality, style and coloring that you want.

For small tears or pinholes, you may be able to do the boat seat repair yourself. This will require a number of different things including the use of patch materials that are avialble in most boating shops or you can find them offered throughout the web. The goal that you should have is to find the type of product that fits your boat’s color, style, texture and need perfectly. Making small or larger repairs in this way is okay, as long as you take the time to consider the actual instructions for making it happen and don’t simply make repairs based on your quick judgment of the situation.

Hiring a professional to do your boat seat repair will mean paying a bit more money than doing the work yourself. Depending on your level of skill and the interest that you want to take in your project, you should determine what the best overall result for your needs is. It does take some time and patience to get the process going and it will take a bit of funds to actually make the repairs look great, but after wards you won’t know what the boat seat repair actually was.

Boating Holidays In Europe

When we speak of boating holidays, we aren’t referring to a day set aside to celebrate everything boating – although many boating enthusiasts would probably like a holiday like that! In Europe and many other places, vacations are referred to as holidays, so a boating holiday is essentially a boating vacation in Europe.

There are many wonderful boating holiday destinations around Europe. England is a great place to enjoy a boating holiday. They have miles and miles of canals where you can take a narrowboat up and down the water enjoying the beautiful countryside along the way. Narrowboats are like cabin cruisers with sleeping quarters and spacious places on deck for sightseeing.

[nms:boats,4,0,800]

[nmspage:boats]

One great part of taking a boating holiday in England is the availability of water side pubs where you can pull up to, tie off at a dock, and enjoy some old-fashioned English delicacies as well as some fine ale. Just be sure you don’t overdo it lest you become a dangerous boat captain!

You may want to also look into an Irish boating holiday. Many say that cruising Ireland’s rivers and lakes is an experience never to be forgotten and often repeated. Not only is the Irish countryside some of the most beautiful in Europe, there are many shore side places ripe for exploring including woods and castles open to the public.

There are many towns and villages along the way, and the local people are well-known for extending hospitality to visitors. The local shops and pubs on the waterways where you can find some great local entertainment found nowhere else. The fishing in Ireland is also excellent with some prize-winning trout, perch, and salmon readily found along the way.

Boating holidays in the beautiful country of France also are among top choices for avid boaters. French waterways travel through some of the most varied countryside in Europe with each region steeped in its own particular culture, history, and architecture.

The real France is found on a leisurely cruise along the French rivers and canals. On a boating holiday in France, you can see vineyards, chateaus, and quaint villages far from the usual tourist haunts. You can sample gourmet delights in beautiful country inns or feast on board your boat in the open air with some of the finest wines in the world.

Boating holidays in Europe are easily planned as there are boat rental places everywhere along the European waterways. Europe is a beautiful place, and when you plan a boating holiday in this beautiful part of the world, you’re sure to have memories that you will want to share for lifetimes to come.

Boating For Kids – A Great Opportunity

Probably the most important part of boating for kids is to teach them boat safety. Boating is an activity that the whole family can enjoy – especially kids. Boating safety is something they need to learn early so that they can carry it with them throughout their lives into adulthood.

The number one safety rule when boating with kids is that they must wear a personal flotation device (PFD) at all times. Accidents can happen no matter how careful you are. The number one reason for drowning is when people are thrown overboard and are not wearing a PFD. Many kids can’t swim well enough to stay afloat in a traumatic situation like that, so the PFD will literally save their life in most scenarios.

[nms:life jacket child,4,0,5]

[nmspage:life jacket child]

Teach your kids about the equipment that must be on all boats and why that equipment is there. For example, the fire extinguisher must be there in case of a fire on the water. Some kids think, “Why do we need a fire extinguisher when there’s water all around to put out the fire?” Explain to them that not all fires should be put out with water. The boat runs on gas, and if a fire erupts, you should not put a gas fire out with water.

Boating safety for kids also entails letting them know what various distress signals are and why they are used. For example, flares indicate a stranded boat. A continuous foghorn means a problem on board, etc.

Older kids may want to try out steering the boat. This can be a very exciting time for them. Start them out slowly and above everything else, explain to them the “rules of the road” including which boats have the right of way and how to pass safely. Plus, you should definitely stress to them to travel at a safe speed and not too fast to avoid accidents.

Kids should also know about basic first aid procedures. They should know not to move a person who might have a broken limb and even how to perform mouth to mouth resuscitation. CPR might be a little advanced for younger kids, but older kids can learn CPR from a Red Cross first aid course.

When you are boating with kids, the experience can be great for all of you. It’s a wonderful opportunity to teach them about nature, water life, and so much more. There are all sorts of boating trivia questions that kids will love to try and answer. Ask them why they think life jackets are orange and why they call the bathroom a head. You can make a game of your day on the water while boating and teach your kids valuable lessons. Boating for kids is a great learning opportunity that will stay with them forever and ever!

Simple Repair Of Boat Parts

If you own a boat, you know that typical yearly maintenance on the watercraft can be expensive, even without any kind of repairs to various parts and pieces. When there are things that need to be repaired or replaced, the cost can skyrocket, mostly based on the intensive labor that repairmen claim on the item. If you know for yourself how to repair boat parts and pieces that are standard to the vessel and need to be replaced yearly, you can save a lot of cash in your wallet.

For example, every year, the water pump is one item you’ll have to replace or repair. Boat water pumps are not that difficult to replace yourself, and you can save a lot of money by comparison to paying someone else to do the job for you.

[nms:boat repair,4,0,5,boating]

[nmspage:boat repair]

Start by draining the gearcase; then, place the gearshift in “forward” and leave it. Remove the trim tab on the lower unit, and remove the bolt from the hole where the trim tab was. Next, remove the two head nuts that are a few inches forward and move to the top of the L/U, where you’ll find another lock nut – remove it, then replace it, turning it only 4-5 turns. There are two more nuts to remove, one on either side of the gearcase. When all of these are removed, wiggle the gearcase down until the top nut is the only thing holding it on. Now, hold the L/U and remove this last nut, which lets the unit slide down.

The next step to repair boat water pumps is to locate the seal that looks like a rubber washer which seals the oil passage between the upper and lower units. Remove the o-ring that is on top of the drive shaft and then slide off the thick rubber seal that is further down on top of the plastic pump housing. There will be four nuts holding the pump housing in place – all of these should be loosened and removed.

To repair boat impeller parts, you must first remove the pieces in a certain order. Start with the upper housing, then the impeller, followed by the pump key, the top gasket, the stainless wear plate, and finally the lower gasket. Keep in mind that the key may fall out while the impeller remains in the housing. Don’t lose the key – it’s quite small and necessary to repair boat impellers. Now, you’ll slide the lower gasket, wear plate, and top gasket back onto the shaft in reverse order. Hold the key in place and engage the impeller with the key, then slide the upper plastic housing down, and as you turn the drive shaft clockwise, push the housing down over the impeller.

Finally, replace the nuts and bolts as removed, and refill the gearcase. Once you’ve tested the drive shaft, this simple repair process is complete.