Boating How To

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Troubleshooting a Boat's Basic Electrical Problems

Modern outboard engines are far more high-tech and complicated than those manufactured just a few years ago. But even with this state-of-the-art equipment, most things that ...
What are Roller Furling Systems on Sailboats

Roller furling systems on sailboats offer tremendous advantages while under sail and enhance performance, convenience, and safety. On boats with roller furling, it is import...
How to Take Care of Your Skin while Boating

Being on the water is a wonderful experience, but conditions can be brutal on your body. You might think of heavy wind or drenching rain as the most dangerous conditions, bu...
Boating at Night

When the sun dips below the horizon while out on the water, familiar surroundings and landmarks disappear and lights of varying intensities and meanings take their place. Ac...
How Boat Steering Works

Boaters often pay little attention to a boat’s steering system, as long as it takes the boat in the desired direction. Simply stated, a boat’s steering system de...
How to Boat Through Canals and Locks

Canals are a unique feature of boating. While oceans, rivers, and other waterways have drawn their boundaries over the course of thousands of years, naturally in balance wit...
How to Fix Drowned Outboard Engines

Many boaters would certainly agree that one of the most character building situations in recreational boating is dealing with an engine that has slipped its mount and needs ...
How to Get Your Boat Ready for Spring

These past few winter months have been long and cold, but here is the good news: it is almost spring! The air is getting warmer, the snow will start receding soon, and the t...
How to Predict the Weather at Sea

Though Weather Radio is a great way to know exactly what is going on, and NOAA and the NWS have worked hard to provide accurate information, predictions are not always corre...
How to Safely Store a Dinghy for Travel

When using a large vessel, a dinghy can be an essential part of a good trip. From a safety standpoint, it is a lifeboat. When moored at anchor, it becomes transportation to ...
Tips for Boating Alone

Boating can be a social sport and many enjoy boating with family and friends. However, occasionally you might find you have to move a boat on your own. Whether it is at the ...
Tips for Multi Day Canoe and Kayak Trips

Though it is common to consider smaller vessels like canoes and kayaks to be for short excursions only, this is far from what history has shown. Indigenous canoes of coastal...
How To Launch Your Boat

Launching a boat from a trailer can be tricky, but a little preparation and planning can make it fast, easy, and even fun. Launch ramps can become crowded, especially on Fri...
How to Plan a Boat Trip for Divers

Whether you are a seasoned diver or newly certified, taking your own boating and dive trip can be quite a change from the planned, guided excursions you have had in the past...
Planning a Multiday Boat Trip for Divers

You have decided to take your boat out for several days of diving. This can be a fantastic way to spend quality time at a distant dive site, to do your favorite activity wit...
Sailboat Types

So, you are thinking about chartering a sailboat. Where do you start? “Sailboat” is such a generic term that it can convey a wildly different range of mental ima...
Sailing on the Ocean

The moment that you first lose sight of land and are alone with your boat, surrounded by nothing but sea and sky, is a powerful experience for any sailor and one that cannot...
Avoid Getting Seasickness

The day has finally arrived. You step on your boat and cast off the dock in the calm waters of the harbor, the faint breeze ruffling your hair. Fifteen minutes later you are...
Basic Intro to Fishing Lures

Fishing is an activity that is loved by many kinds of people. It is a great source of meditation, of exercise, and of time in nature. However, those who like collecting migh...
Outboard Motor Maintenance

For most boaters, engine maintenance falls into two areas: routine (including post-voyage cleaning) and annual (basically, winterizing and spring fit-out) efforts. This arti...
How to Weatherproof Electronics

Modern boaters rely a great deal on electronics such as sonar and Global Positioning Systems (GPS) to guide them through the water. Devices that are intended specifically fo...
How to Anchor a Boat

Whether you’re stopping for a swim in a secluded cove, or cooking up lunch with the crew, knowing how to safely and securely anchor your vessel is an essential skill o...
How to Have a Man Overboard Plan

Boating is a wonderful hobby and way of life for many of us. As we travel between interesting ports of call and enjoy beautiful days on the water, risks and potential danger...
Enjoy Boating with Your Spouse

You want your spouse to enjoy boating as much as you do, right? Of course. The reason is simple: if your first mate loves boating as much as you do, you will be able to spen...
Tips for Battery Care

Many boaters take boat battery systems for granted, in much the same way as vehicle owners do with car batteries. Understanding the essentials of boat charging systems and b...
How to Prepare for a Coast Guard Inspection

You are cruising along at a leisurely speed, enjoying your day on the water, when you are approached by an orange boat. Lights are flashing, and it is hailing you to stop ov...
How to Choose Boating Shoes

Congratulations! You have decided to ditch your flip-flops in favor of something a little more substantial. Boat shoes, deck shoes, topsiders — whatever you choose to ...
Boating with a Baby

Discovering that you have a new, little bundle of joy on the way should not be the end of your boating career. With a few adjustments to your normal boating style, your litt...
Different Kinds of Chartplotters

A nautical chart is a map of a particular waterway. Good charts show shoreline and land features, water depth, channel markers, hazards, and other navigational aids to make ...
Planning for a Multiple Day Boat Trip

So you have decided to take a few days off and head out on a long boat trip. As you picture your upcoming vacation, scenes unfold in your head like a film. By making s...
A Guide to Dock Lines

Dock lines, also known as docking or mooring lines, provide a very important connection for boats – landing! Often the most overlooked equipment on a boat, having the ...
How to Reef the Mainsail

The deities of wind are a changeable bunch. One minute you'll be cruising along smoothly and the next, your sails are flapping wildly while the crew searches below dec...
Troubleshoot and Repair Marine Gauges

Marine gauges are a window into the operations of your boat, allowing you to know what is going on in your systems and warning you of impending danger. They can only do this...
Tips for Using Boat Fenders

Fenders (not “bumpers”) are inflatable or padded cushions that keep boats from bumping up against docks, moorings and other watercraft. They absorb shock to prev...
Onboard Water Tank Maintenance

Boating is all about water — both on the inside and the outside of a boat. The water outside a vessel mostly provides the pleasure part. Water in tanks aboard a boat, ...
How to Quickly Tie Your Boat to a Dock

How to tie up your boat at the dock: Captain Dave shows us how to tie up your boat quickly when arriving to a dock. He does this by using the round turn and two half hitches...
How to Prepare Your Boat for a Hurricane

Learn how to prepare your boat for Hurricane Sandy. Captain Dave shows us how to prepare a boat for a big storm. The boat featured in this video is a J105 sailboat, Spe...
How to Choose a Dive Boat

Diving is almost always better when you have access to a boat. It offers you access to dive sites that are difficult or impossible to reach from shore. It gives you a place ...
A Brief Overview of Celestial Navigation

When you are out at sea in these modern days, you have your GPS and radar, along with carefully mapped charts and the sum of thousands of years of knowledge. For the majorit...
Whale Watching on Your Boat

You have finally decided to take that dream vacation. Your boat has been rented and you are on your way to see some whales. Whether you are looking for gray whales off the c...
How to Dock a Boat

Docking is one of the most important fundamentals to boating. However, for people new to boating, docking can be a challenging obstacle. This article describes what to consi...
Bird Watching on the Water

One of the best parts of boating is the ability to watch wildlife that you would not otherwise see. Seabirds are a great example of this, and watching them can be a rewardin...
How to Take Control When Sailing in Bad Weather

Some days you will be out on the water and your sails will be full but not strained, you will be heeling gently but you will not feel like you are going to fall off windward...
Coiling and Stowing Lines

Keeping a taut ship is a critical part of ensuring passenger, crew, and vessel safety while underway. This includes efficiently stowing lines. Line stowage is important on a...
Storing Your Dock Lines on the Lifeline

After leaving the dock, you'll need to store your dock lines in an accessible place. One way to do this is by coiling your dock lines and tying them to the lifeline. Captain...
How to Tie a Figure 8, Stopper Knot

Captain Dave walks us through how to tie a Figure 8 or Stopper Knot.The Figure 8 or Stopper Knot is designed to be tied at the bitter end of a line. Typically it may be tied...
How to Connect Your Boat to Shore Power

Captain Dave shows us the Do's and Don'ts of connecting your boat to shore power while at the dock.Connecting to shore power allows you to use utilities such as the microwav...
How to Store your Dock Lines

When you depart from the dock, you will want to store your dock lines nearby so you can access them quickly. Captain Dave shows us one way to do this!First, coil the line to...
How to Tie a Sheet Bend Knot

GetMyBoat's Captain Dave shows us how to properly and easily tie a sheet bend knot. What Is the Sheet Bend Knot Used For? The sheet bend is used to tie line of dissimilar d...
How to Wrap a Winch on a Sailboat

Captain Dave shows us how to properly wrap a winch on a sailboat.Captain Dave is using a two speed, self-tailing winch, which makes it much easier to sail short handed. Wrap...
Jet Engine versus Sterndrives for Boats

There are many factors involved in selecting the right boat. With countless combinations including amenities, design, model, size, and price range, determining engine prefer...
Properly Tie a Bowline Knot

Captain Dave with GetMyBoat demonstrates how to properly tie a bowline knot. First Make a Loop Make a loop and ensure that the standing end of the line is on the bottom. Fe...
Tying a Boat in a Public Marina

Captain Dave with GetMyBoat demonstrates how to tie off your boat in a public marina. Leave a Tail on the Cleat Hitch When using a cleat hitch, be sure to leave enough tail...
How to Place a Fender

Captain Dave with GetMyBoat demonstrates how to place a fender while boating. Limit fender movement Tie your fender to an object with the shortest distance to the bas...
How to Tie a Slip Hitch

How to Tie Slip Hitch Captain Dave with GetMyBoat demonstrates how to tie a slip hitch knot. The slip hitch is an easy knot that is typically used for boat fend...
How to Bring a Catamaran to a Mooring Balling U...

Learn the Basics Tying up to a mooring ball shouldn’t be too complicated – pull up to the ball, pick up a rope, and tie it on your boat. Simple, right? &nb...
Choosing the Right Anchor

Anchoring is one of the least understood aspects of boating. It may be because anchoring involves both art and science. First, there is the physics of anchoring, such as kno...
How To Tie a Cleat Hitch

Captain Dave with GetMyBoat demonstrates how to tie a basic cleat hitch for a recreational boat of about 50 ft. The boat used in this video is a J170 sailboat. F...
Towing a Dinghy

Captain Dave of GetMyBoat shows boaters what to do while towing a dinghy. While towing a dinghy, have it set to ride just in front of the crest of the wave. This will minim...

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Boating How To

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