Marine Accessories

Improper boat safety accounts for many deaths and injuries each year, and in many of those cases, the problems were completely avoidable. For that reason, make sure that you and your family are properly trained and knowledgeable about both boat and water safety. With that in mind, the following are some rules to follow every time you venture to the marina.

First and foremost, every person aboard a boat must be wearing a high quality and properly fitted life jacket. There are a variety of brands available from Coleman life jackets to Mustang life jackets.

Also, never operate a boat under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Treat a boat like any motorized vehicle. You wouldn’t get behind the wheel of a car if you were drunk. So don’t get behind the wheel of a boat either.

And finally, carbon monoxide is a potentially fatal gas emitted by your boat. Don’t swim anywhere near the exhaust outlets, and make sure the boat is always properly ventilated. Carbon monoxide poisoning can sometimes seem like a simple case of seasickness, so if anyone on your boat begins to exhibit these symptoms, get them immediately to fresh air. Remember, it’s always better to be safe than sorry.

A fishfinder is one of many tools used by fishermen, both recreational and commercial, to increase their success when fishing. But how do these handy little devices work? How can they potentially convert an entire day of sitting in a boat without one nibble into a boat full of flopping fish?

The technology behind these devices is in no way new. Sometimes known as a fathometer, these devices work on the principles of echo sounding—also known as SONAR. In essence, a pulse is transmitted from the device which is then turned into a sound wave. That wave is sent through the water where it hits anything and everything in the immediate area. When it hits something solid, like a sizable trout, the image of that object is displayed on the fishfinder’s screen. It can account for shape, size, and composition of whatever object it’s detecting.

There is, of course, a range of quality within these products. Some of the higher end options can detect additional features such as distance of the fish to the boat. And some units, like the Garmin fishfinder, are even equipped with GPS navigation abilities.