CONTINUOUSWAVE

I forgot to mention that other boaters are required by law to give 300 feet of clearance to a boat displaying a dive flag on open water. The distance is reduced to 100 feet in a river, inlet, or channel.

Duane, I have found your posts well written and informative. I am not going to cite Florida statutes but your description of dive flags is also concise in that the Feds it is courtesy flag. In Florida, the red/white is mandated by law even when snorkelers are in the water. I am also led to believe t...

Duane, thanks for the concise information about USCG ratings and the efforts needed to obtain (earn) them. Like you, I run a boat and also dive. I really do not see the value in having a USCG captains rating for the average recreational boater. In many situations, that rating will become a liability...

It would be helpful if you told us the make and model of charger that you are using. There are many combinations out there and it would be bad advice if we did not know the particular charger specs.

A small note to add to Jimh's advise is to locate shrink tubing that has an adhesive on the inside. When that is not possible, buy some liquid tape (West Marine, others) and use that to totally waterproof your splices.

Like wives and dogs, don't settle for the first one that crosses your path. There are literally thousands of those boats out there at all levels of quality. Make some decisions with your son, mainly do you want to spend the rest of the year (including summer) restoring a beat up boat, or buy somethi...

Jimh, I am familiar with Bells products. I did a project in Grand Rapids (beer mecca) and had the good fortune to sample the wares. I'll organize a trip up before summer makes us all busy.

Now that we are in the depths of Winter, what projects are on the list for some of us this year? Having the advantage of living in Florida, I can boat year round, but cloudy winter days are best for improvements. I am leaning towards trim tabs. Still on the fence about whether to go with Bennett or ...

Jimh, you're a hoot!!! We should be doing this face to face with some fine beer and or another fine libation. I have to admit that you do dig into new and exciting things related to our world of boating as it interests you. If you recall, we have common interest in and have exchanged info on a few S...

As stated earlier the originals straps were rubber cords with plastic hooks on the ends and crimped in a loop on the brackets. Change them out with bungy material and a metal or plastic hook on the end. Crimping the bungy is easy. Get the proper SS crimps from the same supplier of bungy and use a pr...

Hoosier, I suspect that getting the USCG to relax any of their rules much more likely to happen than changing "the entire websites attitude towards innovation" as Jimh described my contribution (if you even want to call it that) to this topic. For what it's worth and this opinion applies t...

Well said, Butch. Advancing years, wisdom, and patience are not mutually exclusive.

Don, most places don't get snow 6-8 months of the year like Michigan or Canada. And with this year as a guide Michigan will not be experiencing the amounts of snow that would be a problem for your lights. So the energy efficiency argument that you present is not applicable for many if not most of us...

I'd go with a 115 or larger. Do you guys go out looking for someone to have a boating accident with?

Running with scissors? We've all done it at some point. Some of us are cautious and conservative. Others hove the need for speed and if it doesn't sink your transom, let it fly. My first Whaler was a 16' Dauntless. Rated for 115 HP but on the lot with a Mercury 90-HP four stroke. It wasn't the worst...

One thing to remember in this discussion is that [John Greviskis] most likely gets all this stuff for free in exchange for the exposure he gives the respective companies. That in itself slants any and all comments he makes in his show. I doubt we will ever learn what the [problems with the E-TEC out...

Most if not all T-tops on newer Whalers are going to be made from aluminum. There is a ton of info on the subject of aluminum vs. stainless for structures like a T-top. Most all describe stainless steel as the lesser of the two in terms of durability. It seems that stainless steel does not react wel...

It seems that the Lowrance and Humminbird don't really know where they are. There are two different lat-lons displayed on the chart page. [Moderator's note: one position is the cursor position on the chart, the other position is the receiver position.--jimh] I am assuming you were standing still dur...

Good idea! Now I have to put some thought into this...

Bill, while the outcome was not what I hoped for, I thank you for putting in the effort.

The Homosassa weekends were indeed great times!! Unfortunately, as with most good things it got too big and some spoilers decided that it should be more family friendly, pet friendly, Muslim friendly, LGBT friendly (always was, Pat and his sheep were there), drug free, alcohol free, gun free, raffle...

Next time the cover is off, I will try this. I may not be able to measure the current without breaking the wires. My clamps are all rated for higher voltages and may not read the incidental current draw of an LED. My Fluke meter will but needs to be in series with the device and all my connections a...

Jimh, I can most likely check the current draw. How would one go about testing the RFI? I will try both and report back.

I am currently using two festoon bulbs in my red-green navigation lights now for about three years. Prior to that I could not go one year without one or both incandescent bulbs burning out. Once I figured out the polarity it was easy sailing. I even soldered the bulbs into the Perko light fixture as...

Go play the Powerball. You are one lucky guy!!

I'm still in for two. How do we get you the cash. Paypal? How much with shipping?

Sailor, mine is a 2005 model. At the dealer the boat had an Optimax 175 and was underpowered in my opinion. I asked about a larger engine and a 225 hp Fourstroke Mercury was suggested. I went ahead with it and have not looked back even though the engine only really produces 208 hp. A wiser friend th...

I will take two also. Let me know when and how to send payment.

An old one from a Florida rendezvous

I can attest to the worries when the old site went down. Glad to see it back up and much improved. I sincerely hope that it takes some of the admin load off your back. You are a saint amongst those of us that can't pass a day without some Boston Whaler info in front of us when we are unable to actua...