On the Hook for December

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Life is getting back to a normal state for many; but we must never forget....

Generosity and the simple act of giving has brought out the best in all of us.

Be the "Best that You can be"

Give if you can,
Share what you take for granted,
Volunteer your time to help those less fortunate during the Holiday Season!

Be even Better than You can be

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A little Winter project

HOW TO MAKE A CANVAS BOAT HATCH DODGER

The dodger can be used whether the hatch is all the way open or nearly shut.

Its purpose is to keep rain out of the hatch when the boat is at anchor, docked or under way.
In fact it should work in most sea conditions, allowing for ventilation even though spray is washing over the deck.

The dodger can be used on sailboats or powerboats.

It is especially useful if you are away from the boat and don't want to close it up tight while you're gone.

A proper hatch dodger should be watertight on the forward and side edges.
It should be large enough to allow the hatch to be open all the way (80 degrees maximum) and should have sides that completely enclose the area between the hatch lid and the deck.

The dodger should also extend far enough aft so that the rain coming from aft doesn't reach the hatch opening.

If you have Plexiglass in your hatch cover, vinyl glass can be used in the top of the dodger to continue to let light shine through.

You should realize, however, that the vinyl glass will need replacing before the canvas.
Click here for complete instructions including drawings and a material list
You also find a few other boat upholstery projects there!
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Holiday Boat Parades

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Boats, big and small / sail and power, are decorated by their owners.

Towns present their parades on different nights so boats can often appear in 2, 3 or more parades in the same season.

On the night of a parade, the banks along the intercoastal and canals are lined with land-lubbers viewing the festivities.

Lawns, patios and balconys of homes and condos along the waterfront become venues for Holiday "Boat Parade" Parties.
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Boats can be elaborate to just a few simple lights.

Many folks spend days preparing decorations.

A Few Up-coming Boat Parades

-- Long Beach & Marina Del Rey California--

There are three Christmas boat parades, two in the Long Beach area:

NAPLES BOAT PARADE (Naples in Long Beach) The second oldest boat parade in Southern California. Information: (562) 436-3645;
PARADE OF 1,000 LIGHTS (Shoreline Village in Long Beach). Information: (562) 435-4093;

MARINA DEL REY BOAT PARADE. The second largest boat parade on the west coast. Information: (310) 822-9455

Glamour of Winterfest boat parade returns

The glamour, glitter and whimsy of the 30th annual Winterfest Boat Parade will descend once again on South Florida this Saturday, when local fascination with the good life afloat overflows into an evening of fantastically decorated yachts, music and celebrities.

The holiday tradition was started 25 years ago by Edwina and Archie Hahn, who wanted to add some flair to the season.
Anyone with a boat that fits along the parade route is welcome to participate and no sign-up or registration is needed.

Harvey and Dolores Mardis floating Christmas party on board their 68-foot blue water yacht, Tranquility, will lead Cape Coral’s Holiday Boat-A-Long on Sunday.
“I heard about it, got some lights and decorated the boat,” Harvey Mardis said.
The couple sailed to Cape Coral from Kentucky after they retired in 1989 and have been living on yachts ever since.
They only meant to dock for a while and visit some friends at Tarpon Point before moving on.
“But we met more people here and it became home”

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Pumpout facilities $5 Maximum

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The official indication that a pump out station is available.
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Clean Vessel Grants

Congress approved the Clean Vessel Act in 1992 to reduce sewage pollution from recreational vessels through a five-year grant program to be administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

The federal funds, which can be up to 75% of the grant, came from the Sport Fish Restoration Account; $40 million for the initial grant program.
Congress reauthorized the program in 1998, providing $50 million in grant money through 2003.

The grants are only made to states that then accept applications from public and private marinas to install pumpout stations, dump stations for portapotties, and pumpout boats.

The state and the marina have to come up with the remaining 25%.
A portion of the grant money is also earmarked for the operation and maintenance of the pumpout boats.

Marinas which use grant funds to construct or maintain pumpout facilities can charge no more than $5 for boaters to use them.

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Recreational fishing scores victory in New Jersey

Governor Donald DiFrancesco has pledged to sign the bill, S.2252/A.3512, upon its arrival from the Senate.

The menhaden reduction vessels extract the fish and use it primarily for animal feed. Menhaden is a forage fish that feeds most of New Jersey's inshore species, such as striped bass, bluefish and weakfish. The reduction vessels have a regional impact on predator-prey relationships, not leaving enough forage for these species.

The Recreational Fishing Alliance (RFA), Jersey Coast Anglers Association, Menhaden Project, New Jersey State Federation of Sportsmen Clubs, and the ad-hoc group The Salty Dogs, came together urge passage of the bill.
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Manatee protection zone expanded

The ordinance defines five areas where boaters must go slow out to the 1.8 metre depths of the eastern Tampa Bay shoreline from the Alafia River to Bahia Beach, said a report from the Tampa Tribune.

The ordinance, drafted by Susan Fernandez, senior assistant county attorney, includes gaps in the speed zones that allow boaters to speed up and reach deeper waters.

In addition, it requires slow speed during the winter in the Port Sutton Channel, an area where manatees flock for warm-water discharge from a Tama Electric Co. station, according to the report.

The zone must still be approved by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Kelly Schratwieser, commission staff member told the paper that will happen early next year.

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America's Cup sailor killed by pirates

Blake, who was part of New Zealand's America's Cup sailing championships in 1995 and 2000, had traveled to the Amazon for several months of sailing, according to a report from the Associated Press.

******* And a couple days later *******

--Arrests made for murder of sailing champion--

Police arrested seven men and said they were closing in on another in the murder of Sir Peter Blake, a New Zealand sailing champion who was shot to death by pirates in the Amazon.

Masked pirates boarded Blake's yacht at its anchorage intending to rob it, according to an 8 December report from the Associated Press

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News items of interest

Boat dealers are expressing concern after two members of Washington state's Whatcom County Council recently moved the county a step closer to banning the use of two-stroke engines on Lake Whatcom .

http://www.boating-industry.com/news.asp?mode=4&N_ID=27831

Marine telephone company to offer skippers e-mail, privacy safeguards

It's a lot more than talk. Expansion of direct-dial marine radiotelephone service in the key Gulf Coast/lower Mississippi shipping area
- and throughout the nation -
will offer important workboat/fleet management tools that will also be of interest to the cruising/liveaboard community .

It's not hard to envision skippers of pleasure craft, especially cruisers and live-aboards, taking advantage of the adaptation of this technology to marine radiotelephone — and MariTEL is crafting service plans for this market.

"We will probably offer a specially priced plan for recreational boaters' e-mail this summer," said MariTEL Public Relations Manager D. Scott Croft. "However, if someone, such as a pleasure boater, wants service sooner, they would look at a single-vessel commercial plan."

E-mail service will allow mariners to connect a laptop or personal digital assistant (PDA) to "MariTEL-ready" VHG radiotelephones.

http://www.boating-industry.com/news.asp?mode=4&N_ID=27829
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Walking on Water

Fred had heard stories of an amazing family tradition.

It seems that his father, grandfather, and great-grandfather had all been able to walk on the water on their 21st. birthday to the boat club across the lake for their first legal drink!

Well, when Fred's 21st. birthday rolled around, he and his pal Butch took a boat out to the middle of the lake.

Fred stepped out of the boat and nearly drowned.

Butch finally managed to pull him safely back into the boat.

Furious and confused, Fred went to see his grandmother.
"Grandma," he asked, "it's my 21st. birthday, so why can't I walk across the lake like my father, his father, and his father before him?"

Granny looked into Fred's eyes and said:

"Because your father and grandfather as well as your great-grandfather were all born in January;
you were born in August!"

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Fishing Funnies

Click the link under the cartoon to get your very own Fishing Funny VIA e-mail every day.

Coming next month:
Some more winter-time projects.
Boat show tips.
Product reviews that might save the day.

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Got any Boating Buddies who claim they know how to read?
Feel Free to forward a copy of this newsletter to them.
Later you can give them a little quiz!

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BEST WISHES FOR THE HOLIDAYS

HAVE A HAPPY NEW YEAR

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