Category: Cruising
by B.J. Porter (Contributing Editor) It’s that time of year again, when everyone in the temperate zones is scrambling to get their boats in the water. By April, the most hard core folks are already out there boating in their foulies, but for the rest of us aiming for Memorial Day, it’s commissioning season. And […]
- Posted in Blog, Boat Care, Boating Tips, Cruising, Fishing, iNavX, iNavX: How To, Interviews, Navigation, News, Reviews, Sailing, Sailing Tips, Uncategorized
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- Tags: boat yard, Safety, winterization
by B.J. Porter (Contributing Editor) Years ago, when I was shopping for my first set of foul weather gear after we got our first boat, I asked my wife if she’d like to go try some on too. “Absolutely not,” she said. “If we need foulies, I don’t want to be out there sailing.” We […]
- Posted in Blog, Boat Care, Boating Tips, Cruising, Fishing, iNavX, iNavX: How To, Interviews, Navigation, News, Reviews, Sailing, Sailing Tips, Uncategorized
- 4 Comments
- Tags: bad weather, cyclone, foulies, hurricane, sailing storm, storm
by B.J. Porter (Contributing Editor) The Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in the U.S. and also has some of the nicest cruising and sailing waters on the east coast. It’s big – 200 miles from end to end, and thirty miles wide at its widest. Over 150 rivers and streams feed the Chesapeake watershed, […]
- Posted in Blog, Boat Care, Boating Tips, Cruising, Fishing, iNavX, Navigation, News, Reviews, Sailing, Sailing Tips
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- Tags: annapolis, baltimore, chesapeake, crab, wye
by B.J. Porter (contributing editor) Planning boat trips is a lot of fun, but there’s only so many chances to get time off and go – you really want to get it right! While organizing a boating vacation has the same basic considerations as a land vacation, the details are different for a week or […]
- Posted in Blog, Boat Care, Boating Tips, Cruising, Fishing, iNavX, Navigation, News, Reviews, Sailing, Sailing Tips
- 3 Comments
- Tags: boat trip, cruising, destination, mooring, sailing trip, trip, vacation
by B.J. Porter (Contributing Editor) On a family vacation in Maine as a kid, we went down to the beach at our campground to check it out. It was a nice sand beach, but it was clear the tide was out. We were curious just how far it was out, so we stuck a good […]
- Posted in Blog, Boat Care, Boating Tips, Cruising, Fishing, iNavX, Navigation, Reviews, Sailing, Sailing Tips
- 2 Comments
by B.J. Porter (Contributing Editor) Looking at a chart can be a confusing thing for the first time, but it’s not necessarily as confusing as the bewildering array of marks, floats, buoys, cans, nuns, beacons, lights and other official aids to navigation you might encounter in your travels. But there is a system, and understanding […]
- Posted in Blog, Boat Care, Boating Tips, Cruising, Fishing, iNavX, Navigation, Reviews, Sailing, Sailing Tips
- 1 Comment
- Tags: aids to navigation, green, navigation, navigation aids, red
by B.J. Porter (Contributing Editor) In the world of electronic charting, you may come across two types of charts – Vector and Raster. You may use both types with iNavX, and most chartplotters and navigation software can use either type. So…what’s the difference? Is one better than the other? Should you use one preferentially? Neither […]
- Posted in Blog, Boat Care, Boating Tips, Cruising, Fishing, iNavX, iNavX: How To, Navigation, Reviews, Sailing, Sailing Tips
- 2 Comments
- Tags: marine charts, nautical charts, quilted charts, raster, raster charts, vector, vector charts
by B.J. Porter (Contributing Editor) Who doesn’t love jumping off the boat for a quick cool off one hot sunny summer day? Swimming off the boat is such a good time, and an easy way to enhance your boating. Unfortunately, every year people get hurt swimming off boats. There are a lot of ways to […]
- Posted in Blog, Boat Care, Boating Tips, Cruising, Fishing, iNavX, Navigation, News, Reviews, Sailing, Sailing Tips
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- Tags: Boating, diving, fishing, Sailing, snorkeling, spear fishing
by B.J. Porter (Contributing Editor) “Out of sight, out of mind,” right? Never a good idea when it’s about your boat. We’re headed into the heart of winter and your boat is nicely tucked away all snug in her winter bed, and you’ve not got a care in the world for her until it’s spring […]
- Posted in Blog, Boat Care, Boating Tips, Cruising, Fishing, iNavX, Navigation, Reviews, Sailing, Sailing Tips
- No Comments
- Tags: ice, snow, Winter, Winterizing
by B.J. Porter (Contributing Editor) Whether you’re a sailor or a power boater, the odds are good you’ll have an outboard in your life. And whether it’s your primary source of propulsion or it just runs your dinghy in to shore, it’s going to take some care. And like everything on a boat, it has […]
- Posted in Blog, Boat Care, Boating Tips, Cruising, Fishing, iNavX, Navigation, Sailing, Sailing Tips
- 2 Comments
- Tags: Boat, dinghy, motor, outboard, outboard motor