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Me and the Admiral tried a whole bunch of different things and settled on the Eartec headsets after much trial and error. I am severely hearing impaired (deaf) and have a cochlear implant. Somewhat perversely, this means that sound quality and lack of latency is even more important for me to be...

It's true that if you have a current leak, the IT will make it so that it's not readable from the shore-side connection. That was not an issue in my case. We installed it because ELCI pedestals don't like slow inverter phase sync at all and treat it like a current leak even when there isn't one...

Install an isolation transformer and all this becomes moot anyway. Plus, you'll never have to worry about ELCI dock power being snooty about your inverter phase sync again. I moor in a freshwater marina which has older (non-ELCI/non-GFI) AC power. That can be a very dangerous situation...

This is a terrible idea. Inclusion of metric IN ADDITION TO standard is fine. Probably helps out the foreigners coming into US waters. But replacement? No way.

"Unprepared people have disasters. Prepared people have experiences."

Back before I decided I needed a more ruinously expensive hobby (boating), I used to fix up old muscle cars. POR15 was a staple for sealing up rusted body panels (something ubiquitous in old American cars). It does an amazing job of binding with rust, sealing a corroded part, and preventing...

If you love being out on the water and have a very healthy respect for Mother Nature and her fickle, tempestuous, sometimes lethal moods, that's all you need to start. As others have said, there's a lot to learn. But if you are motivated to learn it and have enough natural caution and humility...

When we were in Prevost Harbor three weeks ago, two of the five Parks buoys were not available (taped off with signs saying no moorage). The anchorage was pretty full, and also the kelp beds have been expanding quite a bit in there. When we pulled up our anchor, we had a 300 lb ball of kelp on...

I didn't say it was "exploded from low pressure". I said the combination of high winds and vortex pressure differentials can yield much more extreme localized forces on a boat than even a hurricane. That's clearly what happened here, though it now sounds like a combination of design...

Yeah. That really stands out. An AVS under 80 is "calm waters only" level of stability, and certainly not something offshore rated, let alone self-righting.

It's both. Which is how it's taught in structural and architectural engineering classes regardless of what "weather.com" says about it.

Tornados/Waterspouts do cause damage from high-speed winds, but the much bigger danger and source of damage is from the extreme low atmospheric pressure inside the vortex (which is what is creating those winds as a secondary effect. With the tornado damage you describe, where a house is blown to...

I always do a Douglass Hitch, but instead of tying off the bight at the bull rail, I run it and the loose line end back to the boat and tie them off in tension there. You need enough length on the line to do this securely, but it allows all the lines to be cast off easily from the boat side with...

If you're looking for something that you can use as a bike (recreationally), then you are in for four figures and needing a significant space to store it. If you just need something to help you get into town and back from the boat with a few groceries or something like that, maybe look at...

Jim Merrick (Marine Surveyor, Captain, Instruction, Investigation) did my purchase survey on my current boat and was very thorough. He did not do the mechanical survey though. I hired a specialist in MTU/DD engines for that (Pacific Power Group - A Leading Provider of Power Solutions - Pacific...

I had Progressive coverage on my old boat, a Maxum 3200 SCR express cruiser. We got slammed by a wave out in the Strait and it broke the oil cooler on the starboard engine loose, dumping a couple hundred gallons of salt water into the engine room before I got the seacock closed. Progressive...

Yes. We build around a hundred homes a year right now, and have a dedicated in-house warranty department.

In addition to getting a good survey done, new or used, always plan on "commissioning" any new-to-you vessel before taking off on any serious voyage. That means shake-down cruises, system checks, etc. Use a low-stakes cruise to find stuff that needs fixing before you are totally dependent on it...

Home builder here. Same deal with houses and boats: find a quality builder who stands behind their work. Even car manufacturers can't achieve zero defect builds. Homes and boats are much more complex with lower volume. A quality builder will not cut corners on stuff that matters, and will stick...

Elling makes CE Category A (Ocean) rated power boats in the 35 to 65 foot range (E3, E4, and E6). Looking at them, you can see a lot of the issues discussed in this thread put to practice.

The 37 year old Galley Maid electric range oven aboard Jackaroo has given up the ghost and I have been looking at replacement alternatives which might suit real cooking better than replacement marine units. This review was helpful, thanks. I've also been looking at the Anova Precision...

If you smell diesel fuel inside the boat, you have a fuel leak somewhere. If you smell diesel exhaust inside the boat, you have an exhaust leak or it's blowing back in through a window or opening somewhere. Diesels are noisier than gas engines. That's the nature of the beast. Different types...

As for learning to drive it, hiring a captain is certainly an option. Is there a local Power Squadron chapter near you? The Power Squadrons often offer boat handling courses with real, hands-on experience. When my wife and I first moved up from a ski boat to a twin engine cruiser, we took a PS...

I'll pipe in and echo the earlier poster who recommended looking at a Ranger Tug or Cutwater (same hulls, same company, different layout and superstructure). The smaller ones (under 30 feet) are great pocket cruisers, are trailerable, hold their value well, and have options for outboard motors...

My OA is 37 years old now. Was 35 when we bought it two years ago. It was well kept and upgraded by previous owners. Not bristol, but in good enough shape that dock walkers regularly comment on it. Like any old boat it still had some things it needed. These were almost all identified during...