A well-maintained wooden boat makes me stop and turn my head every time. They are beautiful and it’s one of the few types of boat that makes me eschew reason and practicality and mutter, “I want one.”   It’s why I enjoy the Antique Boat Museum in Clayton, New York.

I had a great time playing with modern build wooden Hackers up in Lake George, New York, last fall. I had good reason to be there. I got a great assignment from Boating Magazine to compare and contrast a Hacker 27 against a Cobalt 276, a top level fiberglass production model.

Pimping out my work, the story, “Wood vs. Fiberglass” is now online.

Here’s an article I wrote for my monthly column in Salt Water Sportsman about electrical power options on your boat:

AC Power On The Water

Note one of my sources is Ed Sherman. Ever since I took one of his American Boat and Yacht Council (ABYC) classes a few years ago, he’s been a go-to source for all things electric. His Boatermouth contributions are must read.

My first year on the job, my first Miami Boat Show, and the editor in charge of training me tells me to jump into the engine compartment to check out the twin diesel configuration. I oblige, literally jumping into the hatch, only to hear a crack under my feet. I look down to see water rushing into the bilge at an alarming rate. I had landed my jump on top of a plastic seacock that cracked on impact. “Ummm…guys?” I pleaded to the editor and boat builder, who were on deck discussing the boat’s features. That marked the first time a boat builder swore at me.

Thankfully he had a Leatherman and quick feet. He jumped into the bilge and jammed in the multi-tool and gave it a twist. The water slowed to a tiny trickle and he was able to save his boat from sinking.

This all went down in a 30-second span, while the boat was still tied safely in its slip. What if it happened offshore? What would be your plan?

The best thing you can do is plan before you even head offshore. For a quick plug, fashion wooden “bungs” to match the diameter of all your vessel’s seacocks and affix them nearby each one with fishing line or a small-diameter tether so you’ll know where they are when you need them.

On a big enough boat, you can install aftermarket crash pumps to handle volumes of water that exceed your bilge pump’s capacity. Or you can fit your engines with bypass valves that let them work as crash pumps when activated.

Otherwise, look for a quick way to plug the leak enough to let your bilge pump do the work. Wad up a t-shirt, try a length of dock line, anything.  If you have one, yeah I know, try the multi-tool.

Based on the what I’ve seen of the 2009 World Jet Sprint Championship, I need a reason to get to the event in 2010. Any magazines still have a travel budget? I’m a huge fan of participatory journalism, so get me in a boat.

But not this boat.

Photo courtesy of cobaltboats.com

Every boat rides like a dream. So you’d think if you, like David St. Hubbins, believed virtually everything you read. On the water there are ways to back up such bold marketing claims. Run down this quick checklist to determine if the ride you’re on is actually a good handling boat.

How quickly does it plane? Runabouts and sportboats should be in the 3-4 second vicinity. Longer than 6 seconds–it’s a dog. Small cruisers and cabin boats should be in the 8 second range. 10 seconds or more is slow going.

Does it Squat? Do you lose sight of the water in front of  due to bowrise you when you throttle down? Most planing hulls will have some sort of bowrise climbing over the hump, but too much squat is the sign of a dog.

How Does it Turn? With a properly trimmed boat you should be able to execute a hard-over turn at 30 mph, as per recommendation of the American Boat and Yacht Council (ABYC). If the boat feels out of control at that speed, it’s not a good handling hull. The best boats can execute hard turns at 3/4 speed up to wide-open throttle.

Any Porpoising? Bobbing up and down in the water at planing speeds like an aquatic mammal is not a good sign. In flat seas, the boat should not display a lot of up and down bow movement or lean to one side, but should ride smoothly and level across the beam.

How Does It Track? You shouldn’t have to constantly  work the helm to maintain a straight course in flat conditions. With the drives set straight, the boat should be able to hold a course. Point the bow at a target and see how long it stays on it without wheel correction.

There are many more, but these five will help you get a good general impression of a boat’s ride.

With the dawn of show season upon us, the opportunity is here to look at all the boats you could ever hope to buy in one giant cavernous showroom. If you’re lucky the show will have models to test drive, but if you’re stuck on the floor don’t just stand and gawk. Get under the hatches for some compare and contrast activity.

The hull-to-deck joint is an easy way to get a quick judge of the quality of a boat’s build. Usually you can take a look under a hatch and run your fingers along it.

The best boats are joined at the hull and deck with a sealant such as 3M 5200 and with through-bolts backed with locking nuts. Even better is when the bolts go through a wood or composite backing strip. Even better is when the whole joint is glassed in on the inside.

Down the list is screwed and bonded, pop-riveted and bonded, or simply bonded. Pop rivets are suitable for light duty vessels and should be avoided if you have offshore aspirations.

Also take a look at how well it’s all put together. If you notice gaps in the joint, or screws running askew,  that’s a sign of careless workmanship. If any bolts, screws, or rivets go through the deck cap but not the hull, that’s a weak spot subject to shear stress. Look for gaps or uneven application of the bonding agent, too.

If the hull is joined to the deck in shoddy fashion, walk away from that boat on the spot, because if this integral structural aspect isn’t good, what else is subpar?

I downloaded yet another iPhone app that bodes well for boaters with an addiction to their little phone buddy. The NOAA Buoy Data Reader app from Verona Solutions provides the latest update from the nearest data buoy, or from the one nearest to your ultimate destination. Rather than explain what it does, let me show you a screen grab from my phone for my home waters:

As you see, it gives you some basic data to judge your sea state. It is not a forecasting tool. But I tried it on the water this week and it worked well, providing us an accurate picture of waters.

The caveat: Make sure you’re not relying on your cell phone for ANY serious cruising data unless you’re 100 percent sure you’ve got cell phone or wifi coverage where you’re boating.

And if you’re going to whip your iPhone out on the water, for dog’s sake protect it. My favorite case is the Aquapac Phone Case.

The NOAA Buoy Data App costs $2.99 on the iTunes app store.

As an alternative consider the more comprehensive Bombora app that goes for $4.99. (Especially if you like to surf, too.)

Here’s a story I heard on a boat yesterday while fishing in a chill. “Greg” decided to go fishing for blackfish on a buddy’s boat one day and they ran a few miles outside the inlet. The temperature had dipped below freezing. Offshore, Greg noticed white smoke coming from the bilge hatch. Water in the Automatic Bilge Pump had frozen solid and the motor overheated trying to unstick itself. It sparked, causing a fire to jump up the wires towards the fuel tank. Fast action with the fire extinguisher saved them from an explosion and/or immersion in chilly water.

Anglers are most likely to push the margins of weather. Running a boat in extreme cold is not a casual thing to consider. Take heed of all that cold can do before leaving the dock.

First, think of all the places on board where water could freeze overnight. Water expands as it freezes, and could crack through-hull fittings, cause seacocks to jam, and harm your engines or internal systems.

Your body loses heat 32 times faster in water than in air. Read this Hypothermia article on Boating to understand why you should wear a float coat.

Tell someone where you’re going. And when you plan to be back. See above; if you get in trouble the faster help can find you the better. This would be a good reason to invest in a SPOT Personal Tracker.

Dress for the occasion. Here’s a review of cold weather gear I did one time. Here’s another one I did on layering for warmth. Being windproof and waterproof are essential parts of the equation.

Alcohol does not warm you up; it will make you cool down more quickly and, of course, impair your judgement. Save the flask for after you’ve driven home from the marina.

The SPOT Personal Tracker on duty in the Everglades.

In the Everglades there is a waterway known as Lost Man’s River. The name could serve as a descriptive modifier for the entire 1.5 million acres of National Park. The endless and barely distinguishable mangrove channels and rivulets of the Glades proved a perfect place to test a device that helps you stay found. So recently I took a SPOT Personal Tracker into the Everglades to see how it worked.

The Personal Tracker works via GPS only it doesn’t tell you where you are or where you are going. There’s no screen to view tracks to retrace. What it does is tell others where you are. When you get your SPOT unit you register it and create an account on www.findmespot.com. Then you type in the email and cell phone numbers of the people you want tracking you.

Cell phone reception dies about halfway down the road from the Park entrance to Flamingo, where we launched our boat. I used SPOT to keep in contact with people over the next few days. The Personal Tracker has four functions: SOS/911-hit it if you need to be rescued and it notifies the closest emergency response agency; Help-hit it if you run out of gas or need a tow; I’m OK–sends your GPS coordinates to all your contacts, and a personal message. The fourth, Track Progress, allows followers to view your waypoints on a Google Map.

Here’s what I didn’t like about the Personal Tracker. You have to lay it on a flat surface to make it work. The blinking lights indicating what function is working are too similar. I was never sure if I properly activated the Track Progress function. There’s no way to tell if your contacts are receiving your emails until you get home. And, finally, it’s one way communication. If you need dialogue, bring a SAT phone.

But here’s what I loved. It worked. And it worked well. My contacts could follow me in real time and knew, even though I couldn’t talk to them, that I wasn’t hopelessly lost in the swamp. At home I could retrace my trip in my personal account,  and show off my wanderings on my SPOT Shared Page. Overall, it’s a great addition to any boater’s safety protocol.

Price: $99 for unit, $200 for unit plus one year of basic service.

Contact: www.findmespot.com

NEW FROM SPOT: Satellite GPS Messenger

The Satellite GPS Messenger looks more user-friendly.

Over the summer, SPOT came out with an updated unit called the Satellite GPS Messenger. I have not tested it but it is smaller and lighter, and looks to have a more user-friendly keypad design than my tester. Plus it’s got a custom message function. And the “message sending” indicator light looks like it rectifies one of my issues with the original unit.

COMING SOON: SPOT announced at the Ft. Lauderdale International Boat Show two weeks ago that it’s coming out with SPOT HUG (Hybrid Universal Guardian), a service for boaters that incorporates the tracking functions of SPOT with a security feature that helps prevent boat theft. You install a “base station” on your boat and keep a key fob on your person. If your boat moves out of a designated “Home Base” range when you and your fob aren’t around, it sends an alert with GPS coordinates to you and a monitoring center. Look for HUG in the spring of 2010, and hopefully for a test here.

Stop me when I'm passing by.

The driver and his lady have to move enough Good Humor to cover the overhead and pay for fuel. That’s the type of pressure that can cause a person to eat into the profit center, one drumstick at a time.

All the dog has to do is show up and not jump overboard. That’s the type of work on a boat you can really build into a career.