Marine Fun

Boat Covers

There are many added expenses to living on a lake. Many of the expenses may be considered luxury items to many people, but they are needed if you are going to enjoy your lake property. My husband and I have always enjoyed spending time at different lakes. We love to fish and take day or weekend trips around the area. We planned to retire by a lake, but we decided to make the move earlier because we found a house and lake shore at a very good price.

We moved at the end of July five years ago. The former owners of our home did not have a dock on the lake. We have a steep bank that leads to the water so we also needed to design some type of step system. We had a carpenter look at the bank and come up with a design that he could do the following spring. My husband also told me that we needed a bigger boat in order to safely fish the lake we were living on. The lake is sixty miles around and twenty seven miles across so the waves can become quite large. Along with a bigger boat we also needed to invest in boat covers for the new boat as well as the small paddle boat that we bought. We also needed a boat lift to keep the boat out of water when it was down by the dock. One of our new neighbors tried to convince us to put a canopy over the top of the boat lift rather than invest in the boat covers. This seemed like a good idea at first, until we noticed all the bird droppings on the canopies of the surrounding neighbors. The birds liked to perch on the canopies as well as build nests underneath them. We decided that we would buy boat covers. We took the measurements of the two boats to a marine dealer. The boat covers that they had in stock were not very good quality and they were generic so they would not fit very tight on the boats. The marine dealer told us that there were names of several people that made custom boat covers on the bulletin board. We wrote down several of the names and telephone numbers.

We called several of the custom canvas businesses. Most of them were booked with orders ahead of us. The quotes we were give for the boat covers were very high. My sister-in-law is a wonderful seamstress and I have done some sewing in the past. We decided that we would attempt to make the boat covers. It took us several hours to design a pattern and several more hours to sew the canvas, but we completed very nice, sturdy boat covers.

Speed Boats

Growing up a sailing family, I had a rather negative view of speed boats. speedboats and yachts have a traditional rivalry. To sailboat hobbyists, motor boats are a hazard and a menace. They kick up a lot of wake which causes sailboats to rock back and forth, spilling their wind. They go very fast, and occasionally collide with other boats. In short, speed boat racers are the ones who are ruining the lake for everyone. From the other side, people in motor boats see sailors as stuffy and stuck up. They are out there to have fun zooming across the lake, and they don’t see why everyone else can not do the same.

If it weren’t for a used boats sale, I never would have tried speed boats in the first place. I had actually wanted to get a sail boat for a few years, but I had not had enough money. After saving up a little bit of cash, I went off to a boat show to take a look around. Although I didn’t find any sailboats that I liked, I did find a speed boat vendor who was willing to take potential customers out on test drives. By coincidence, I know him pretty well. He had actually sold me my used car, and I knew he was an honest businessman. I felt that there was no harm in trying out speed boats, and that I actually might like what I found. We set up a meeting the very next day for me to try one of his offshore boats.

If you have never tried speed boats or jet skis, you have never lived! It is as simple as that. What looks like a calm lake actually feels very rough once you start skimming across it at high speeds. The boat planes, jumping up and down, as the wind whips through your hair and the spray flies into your face. The speed felt almost unreal, and I was instantly hooked.

Speed boats haven’t totally replaced my love of sailing, of course. I still like to go out on a sailboat now and then, if for no other reason than to reminisce about my childhood. Nonetheless, I have to say this: I have a need for speed. Once you fly across the lake at nearly the speed of sound, it seems pointless to drift across on the breeze. I’d rather have the thrills!

Sail Boating

Sailing boats has been one of my biggest passions since I was very little. My dad owned a sail boat - a model called a Flying Scott, pretty stable but reasonably peppy too. We used to take all of our friends out on day sailing trips around the lake. There wasn’t that far to go or that much to see, but even so, it was nice to feel the clear wind blow as we tooled around the lake.

As I grew older, however, I have less and less chance to go sailing on the lake. Sailboats were not a big part of my life. I was getting ready for college, then I was moving away, and finally I was settling into my own career. Now that I am a little bit older, however, I want to get back into sail boats again. I have actually been looking into boat shows for the past year, but it is hard to decide. Sail boat designs have changed so much since I was young, and they cost more than ever. Of course you can get financing for purchases, but I am definitely not in a place where I want to get further into debt! It took me a while to decide, but I finally figured out how to get back into sailing.

Over the summer, we took a sail boat charter on the ocean. It was one of the most exciting events of my life. We left from San Francisco, sailed up the coast, and eventually docked in Seattle. Some of it was pretty rough sailing, but it was all a lot of fun. Best of all, we didn’t have to do very much of the work. Most of it was all done for us! And because we chartered the boat along with several other couples, it was a pretty affordable trip. All in, it was not much more expensive than a normal vacation, although it was one of the most thrilling adventures we have ever had.

Now that I know what I want, I have been looking at sailboat classifieds. It won’t be long until I find the perfect sail boat. The great thing about buying used boats is that they depreciate so quickly in value if any damage is done to them. That means that, if you are willing to do some repair work yourself, you can get a used sail boat for next to nothing! You just have to know where to look.

Boat Racing

I was first exposed to boat racing as a kid. My dad was a big America’s Cup fan, and we would often watch sailboat racing on TV. I say often, but it was every four years in fact. Nevertheless, it was such a great event that I would remember every race in perfect detail until the next event. Each race would take hours, and there were dozens of race. It gave us plenty of time to bond, and he explained all the strategy to me.

We actually got involved in sail boat racing ourselves a few times. My dad had a boat on a nearby lake, and we would go out there on most Sundays. We would crank down the rusty old boat lift, walk it out to a nearby buoy, raise the sails, and be off. For a long time, my dad didn’t have anything to do with boat racing. He was not very competitive by nature, and the people involved in the boating club out there raced every weekend. Finally, however, I convinced him to try boat racing with me one time. Although he wouldn’t admit it at the time, he definitely seemed to love it. We didn’t win, but we did finish respectably in the middle of the pack. For our first boat race, it was actually a pretty good showing.

I didn’t get into motor boat racing until I was in college. You see, my dad was a sail boating fan. As such, motor boats were anathema. They made a lot of noise, polluted the water, and most importantly churned up the lake. That would create a lot of wake which would spill the wind out of the sail boats sails. They would also zoom around too close to us, sometimes threatening to hit us. Needless to say, I didn’t tell him when I bought some boat plans, made a motorboat of my own, and set out to race. I wasn’t in a serious racing league or anything - it was strictly an informal thing between me and a few friends. Nonetheless, we had a lot of fun racing boats up and down the lake until we were caught by the sheriff one time. That put an end to that fun! Still, it didn’t put an end to racing for me. I decided to race sailboats again, and dived into the sport with enthusiasm. I have been doing it ever since.

Boat Shows

The world of boating is a fascinating one, for those in the industry and for people content to look and admire the various vessels. International boat shows are a great way to see what’s on offer from the latest designs in motor boats and yachts. There are several prestigious annual events, attracting thousands of visitors. They give an opportunity to manufacturers to exhibit and for the media to report on the latest innovations, all with their own local flavor.

The Fort Lauderdale Show is a family friendly event in the Florida sunshine. It exhibits boats, yachts and accessories with a particular emphasis on superyachts. Usually scheduled for some time in October, the displays are across six different locations. The local interest in fishing is reflected in the number of fishing related events. There is tuition for adults with specific sessions for ladies and children. Children in the 4-16 age range can learn things like fishing and they also get the chance to do some face painting.

Southampton Show is the major event on the calendar of boat shows in the UK. The September 2007 event was a great success and offered a wide variety of activities and the opportunity to explore the lovely marina. One of the highlights was the appearance of the HMS Bounty, a replica pirate ship that recently featured in the movie, Pirates of the Caribbean: World’s End. There was a Chinese theme at the show, in honor of the coming Olympic Games in Beijing. Visitors could try out Chinese food and see fireworks displays, martial arts weapons and lion dancers. Trips on power boats and yachts were very popular as were the displays by the Coastguards and the RNLI (Royal National Lifeboat Institution). There was also tuition from scuba diving instructors.

The luxury end of the boating market is seen in the opulent splendor of Monte-Carlo at the Monaco Show. This is the only one of the boat shows to exclusively show superyachts with a minimum of 25 meters in length. Many manufacturers like to premier their latest vessels at this sparkling event. The world’s most prestigious shipyards, naval architects and interior designers are represented here. The September 2007 show continued the tradition of on board cocktail parties and other social functions. Industry representatives and members of the public both enjoy all the high class amenities that the area is famous for.

The Sydney Show is another jewel in the crown of international boat shows, set in its beautiful marina and comprising a number of exciting events. The August 2007 show featured a superboat race, offshore power racing and the World Water-skiing Championship. There were workshops on boating for novices and the more advanced, which included tips on sailing through bad weather.