Eight Knots A Boater Should Know

What is a knot but a simple twist, a clever bend of a piece of rope or line that when used properly can make fast a boat to a piling, dock, mooring, fender, an anchor, another boat; anything that needs pulling, lifting or fastening. If done right, it can be tied easily, securely and can be just as easily untied. Knots are a boater's blessing, take advantage of the nifty little tricks invented centuries ago. Master the eight knots shown in this video you should be able to handle most, if not all of your marlinspike seamanship needs with the skill of a magician.

Introduction by William L. Gills aka Bos'n Bill

William L. Gills aka Bos'n Bill is the author of the book, Lubber's Log published by Llumina Press; a boating primer and adventure story about a couples experiences in moving up to a bigger boat.  

You can visit his website here.

Easy Cure for Mold and Mildew - A Boater's Woe

Article by William L. Gills aka Bos'n Bill

When Spring arrives and boating season begins in earnest for those who aren't fortunate to experience year round boating, it's time to open up the boats. If precautions haven't been taken with moisture absorbers, odor control bags and other types of dehumidification you might be greeted by a boat whose interior has turned into a veritable mold spore. This can happen too if your boat is in the water closed up, but partially exposed to the elements where moisture can get in and mold take hold.

This year, in vast sections of the country, we experienced enough rain to build a fleet of arcs. For me, the unfortunate consequence of all this rain was more mold and mildew than any I've ever seen before on any boat, let alone my own; it made the perfect Petri dish for an unsightly, unpleasant dose of those little living, thriving organisms and all the attendant cleanup that goes along with getting rid of them. When I invited other boat owners to board my boat to view the spectacular display of fungal might, they opted out, preferring not to have to experience the full effect on the nose. It was that bad.

After taking a survey of the secrets of several others who appeared to be free from this common boating affliction, I explained that our usual way of getting rid of the little buggers was to wait with a stiff brush for a stiff breeze, wearing face masks and eye gear. They laughed, preferring their own well thought out cloak-and-dagger remedies.

Wanting to take more extreme measures anyway, my wife helped me unzip and unsnap all the covers to lay them out on the dock so we could wash them down with an all-purpose cleanser, water and a scrub brush on a boat hook. That worked well I thought, but she believed we might do better, deciding to experiment with something else, a product we had been using to clean our hull.

The verdict? It cleans off mold and mildew easily, like butter off a hot knife. Just spray on, rinse off, no residue, not a trace of mold, low odor and it's water based, biodegradable and doesn't bleach like some other touted mold killers do. I have no vested interest in this product, but I want you to know, one boat owner to another, in my experience, this is the best mold eradicator I've found and I want to share it with you. It's made by Supreme Chemicals of Georgia, Inc under the brand name, Krud Kutter. I guarantee you won't be disappointed.

One more thing. It cleans everything under the sun and you won't have to pay the steeper price for other marine grade products. All my wife and I know at this point is that it works extremely well on boat covers and hulls. I wonder if it can make my Mercruisers sparkle?

William L. Gills aka Bos'n Bill is the author of the book, Lubber's Log published by Llumina Press; a boating primer and adventure story about a couples experiences in moving up to a bigger boat.
You can visit his website here.

4th of July Fireworks Set To Music- Mesmerizing! Electrifying! Magnificent!

The Fourth of July on the water is the best place to be when the fireworks start; the reflections on the water, the expanse of sky and the way sound carries makes for a pyrotechnic palette of exploding reds, yellows, greens, silver and gold shimmering into crackling contrails followed by a delayed sonic boom echoing across the water as if trying to catch the speed of light.

If you've been there, I'm sure you had your favorites, and cheered, whooped or blew your horn in jubilant approval. The cacophony of different pitched boat "whistles" from air horns to car horns adds to the excitement. Here I share a majestic display set to music to get you in the mood for one of our most treasured boating holidays: Independence Day!

Introduction by William L. Gills aka Bos'n Bill

William L. Gills aka Bos'n Bill is the author of the book, Lubber's Log published by Llumina Press; a boating primer and adventure story about a couples experiences in moving up to a bigger boat.  

You can visit his website here.

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http://www.lubberslog.com

Drowning Doesn't Look Like Drowning.

Introduction by William L. Gills aka Bos'n Bill
I don't like to dwell on tragedy, especially as it relates to time on the water; it's our high time as boaters.  But experience will reveal in some small cases, that there are times when drowning is a specter looking for a victim. If we, as observers of someone in trouble in the water misinterpret their signals, choose to ignore them, or think them pantomiming a pretend victim,  life can be lost simply because we're only casually  interested in the panicky behavior, taken as a pranky call to us for help.  I think we need to be more vigilant, know the signs of the drowning distress signals and pay attention to them.. This article by Mario Vittone brings all this to light.  Thank you Mario for your insightful advice...   Please read this post! You and I may be there to save a life thanks to his counsel!

Article By Mario Vittone

The new captain jumped from the deck, fully dressed, and sprinted through the water. A former lifeguard, he kept his eyes on his victim as he headed straight for the couple swimming between their anchored sportfisher and the beach. “I think he thinks you’re drowning,” the husband said to his wife. They had been splashing each other and she had screamed but now they were just standing, neck-deep on the sand bar. “We’re fine, what is he doing?” she asked, a little annoyed. “We’re fine!” the husband yelled, waving him off, but his captain kept swimming hard. ”Move!” he barked as he sprinted between the stunned owners. Directly behind them, not ten feet away, their nine-year-old daughter was drowning. Safely above the surface in the arms of the captain, she burst into tears, “Daddy!”

How did this captain know – from fifty feet away – what the father couldn’t recognize from just ten? Drowning is not the violent, splashing, call for help that most people expect. The captain was trained to recognize drowning by experts and years of experience. The father, on the other hand, had learned what drowning looks like by watching television. If you spend time on or near the water (hint: that’s all of us) then you should make sure that you and your crew knows what to look for whenever people enter the water. Until she cried a tearful, “Daddy,” she hadn’t made a sound. As a former Coast Guard rescue swimmer, I wasn’t surprised at all by this story. Drowning is almost always a deceptively quiet event. The waving, splashing, and yelling that dramatic conditioning (television) prepares us to look for, is rarely seen in real life.

The Instinctive Drowning Response – so named by Francesco A. Pia, Ph.D., is what people do to avoid actual or perceived suffocation in the water. And it does not look like most people expect. There is very little splashing, no waving, and no yelling or calls for help of any kind. To get an idea of just how quiet and undramatic from the surface drowning can be, consider this: It is the number two cause of accidental death in children, age 15 and under (just behind vehicle accidents) – of the approximately 750 children who will drown next year, about 375 of them will do so within 25 yards of a parent or other adult. In ten percent of those drownings, the adult will actually watch them do it, having no idea it is happening (source: CDC). Drowning does not look like drowning – Dr. Pia, in an article in the Coast Guard’s On Scene Magazine, described the instinctive drowning response like this:

1. Except in rare circumstances, drowning people are physiologically unable to call out for help. The respiratory system was designed for breathing. Speech is the secondary or overlaid function. Breathing must be fulfilled, before speech occurs.

2. Drowning people’s mouths alternately sink below and reappear above the surface of the water. The mouths of drowning people are not above the surface of the water long enough for them to exhale, inhale, and call out for help. When the drowning people’s mouths are above the surface, they exhale and inhale quickly as their mouths start to sink below the surface of the water.

3. Drowning people cannot wave for help. Nature instinctively forces them to extend their arms laterally and press down on the water’s surface. Pressing down on the surface of the water, permits drowning people to leverage their bodies so they can lift their mouths out of the water to breathe.

4. Throughout the Instinctive Drowning Response, drowning people cannot voluntarily control their arm movements. Physiologically, drowning people who are struggling on the surface of the water cannot stop drowning and perform voluntary movements such as waving for help, moving toward a rescuer, or reaching out for a piece of rescue equipment.

5. From beginning to end of the Instinctive Drowning Response people’s bodies remain upright in the water, with no evidence of a supporting kick. Unless rescued by a trained lifeguard, these drowning people can only struggle on the surface of the water from 20 to 60 seconds before submersion occurs.
(Source: On Scene Magazine: Fall 2006 (page 14))
This doesn’t mean that a person that is yelling for help and thrashing isn’t in real trouble – they are experiencing aquatic distress. Not always present before the instinctive drowning response, aquatic distress doesn’t last long – but unlike true drowning, these victims can still assist in their own rescue. They can grab lifelines, throw rings, etc.

Look for these other signs of drowning when persons are in the water:

 Head low in the water, mouth at water level

 Head tilted back with mouth open

 Eyes glassy and empty, unable to focus

 Eyes closed

 Hair over forehead or eyes

 Not using legs – Vertical

 Hyperventilating or gasping

 Trying to swim in a particular direction but not making headway

 Trying to roll over on the back

 Appear to be climbing an invisible ladder.

So if a crew member falls overboard and everything looks OK – don’t be too sure. Sometimes the most common indication that someone is drowning is that they don’t look like they’re drowning. They may just look like they are treading water and looking up at the deck. One way to be sure? Ask them, “Are you alright?” If they can answer at all – they probably are. If they return a blank stare, you may have less than 30 seconds to get to them. And parents – children playing in the water make noise. When they get quiet, you get to them and find out why.

William L. Gills aka Bos'n Bill is the author of the book, Lubber's Log published by Llumina Press; a boating primer and adventure story about a couples experiences in moving up to a bigger boat.  

You can visit his website here.

Morning on the Water - Best Time of the Day?

Introduction by William L. Gills aka Bos'n Bill

One of the best times to be "on the hook" is in the morning when the sun is coming up, in the evening when the sun is going down and all the times in between! But, all things being equal, I think morning wins the prize for being the most peaceful time of the day, when the boating community sleeps in and nature begins to stir; the world wakes slowly from its slumber as you revel in the peace and calm and beauty of it all before the pace quickens.

I discovered an article by Robert Beringer entitled Peace Of The Morning" I'd like to share with all the larks, loons and terns of the world.
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PEACE OF THE MORNING

Robert Beringer

“When you arise in the morning, think of what a precious privilege it is to be alive — to breathe, to think, to enjoy, to love." Marcus Aurelius Roman emperor and philosopher A.D. 121-180

There can be no doubt. For boaters, the best place in the world is on the water first thing in the morning. For a few fleeting moments every day, it’s when angels sigh; when all the world, but for the drift of the tide from stem to stern, is still. My eyes open with the gull’s first cry and I crawl out from the cramped aft cabin, careful not to hit my head. In the saloon, motion is barely detectable, just enough to feel the swing of the rode, and the crackle of shrimp around the hull the only noise. On deck the air is heavy. Dew covers all exposed surfaces. I extinguish and stow the anchor light, as the waning moon smiles down from a lavender sky. The water is glass. Spiders, knowing that light converts them to prey, abandon their webs to seek solace within the many confines of the bimini. Something nips at the water’s surface; a small fish jumps. Our anchorage, so boisterous last evening, is now the picture of equanimity.

Private conversations are telegraphed from the distant shore. A baby cries, a motorcycle races, a dog barks. Prop-fouling crab pots that can be so hard to spot underway are now cleanly laid out in a long dotted line, awaiting their waterman. Dolphins and manatees are visible from great distances.

The sun cracks the treetops; its rays kiss the wind indicator, then slide down the mast. When they strike the deck, the boat comes to life: the vent fan begins to spin, the solar panel clicks, a faint mist forms above the deck.

A distant tug’s wake bumps the hull and the halyards rattle. A line of brown pelicans glides a foot above the water. The crew, too, comes to life. I hear the pump of the head, the clank of the coffee pot. Soon a delicious smell will waft up from the galley.

The still, cool of the morning belies the forecast of a hot and humid day; thunderstorms are coming. In the cockpit, I consider the day’s options and review the chart. Can we make the mouth of the St. Johns before the storms hit? How long will we have a favorable tide? We’re upwind of today’s destination; cat’s paws claw the river upstream. I’ll set the mainsail and pull the anchor, eschewing the engine. I’ll surprise late risers when they stumble on deck to find that we’re far from our anchorage.

Soon our floating world will be a beehive of activity: a meal, a destination, a course, a repair. It will be a busy day with a hundred tasks to perform. But for a few halcyon moments, I have the morning.

By Robert Beringer

Originally a Great Lakes sailor, college administrator Robert Beringer splits his time between the Chesapeake and Florida’s St. Johns River. Since buying Ukiyo (Japanese for “the floating world”) in 1998, he’s logged 22,000 coastal and ocean miles.

William L. Gills aka Bos'n Bill is the author of the book, Lubber's Log published by Llumina Press; a boating primer and adventure story about a couples experiences in moving up to a bigger boat.  

You can visit his website here.

Preparing for Boating Season - Do You Have a List?

By William L. Gills aka Bos'n Bill

One of the best parts of boating season is the anticipation of being back on the water on a clear day with a fresh breeze and good friends. When anticipation turns into reality you may once again be faced with an extraordinary list of things to do before "she" goes in the water and an equally extensive list of things to do before you can fully engage in the season without distraction. I personally enjoy this reintroduction to the boating season when I can again check off each task on a "to do" list, bringing me ever closer to that flight from the routine to the freedom of time and choice where you decide what to do, when and where to do it.

But first, you need to take a look at a typical checklist of boat prep essentials if you want to stay afloat, have propulsion, comfort and peace of mind. A look at my checklist revealed twenty-two out of the water and twenty-nine in the water "Spring" prep items. Your list may look different given the type of boat you own. In fact, yours may not look anything like mine if your not a list maker. If you're not accustomed to enumerating even the most essential of tasks, your going to forget something and it may put a hold on your season.

For me, the "labor of love" begins when your boat is on the trailer or on the jack stands when it's a good time to take care of the things that don't require you to be in the water; get them out of the way. You know, like the cleaning stuff: the vinyl, stainless steel frames and hardware, glass, bilge, lockers, cabin, scuppers, the hull and bulkhead. Then there's the pre-immersion stuff: installing zincs and battery(ies), checking the oil and transmission fluid levels and test running the engine. Most importantly, don't forget the bail plug!

In the water, check all your systems, safety equipments and deck lines. Systems like your lights, hot and cold water, steering, GPS, radar, VHF, blowers, bilge pumps and air-conditioning; safety equipment like your visual distress signals (are they up to date?), fire extinguishers, first aid kit, "whistles" (I call them horns), flashlights, handheld devices like GPS and VHF; deck lines, are they secure, will they need adjusting or readjusting?

Finally, when the last item is checked off, it's time. The moment you savor has arrived. Save the dinghy, outboard and gas you're ready to rock and roll on the body of water of your choice without concern for the mundane. Congratulations, you can now focus on the 3-P's: Pastime, Pleasure, Peace and repose.

William L. Gills aka Bos'n Bill is the author of the book, Lubber's Log published by Llumina Press; a boating primer and adventure story about a couples experiences in moving up to a bigger boat.  

You can visit his website here.

Used boat or New boat?

It's a good time of year to be thinking about making that major decision before it's too late; buying a boat before the summer boating season really begins happening. The pivotal decision in most cases is...should I buy the boat new or pre-owned? The "Boating Guy" from Discover Boating does a great job of laying out the pros and cons for beginning boaters or those who are moving on up or down...I love this guy and this site, he's really good!



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