Thoughts on nature

Boats can serve several purposes, acting as a means of transport on water and letting you access places that your car cannot. Owning a boat can be very convenient when you need to access places like remote islands or crossing a lake, they are much cheaper than going by air.

Apart from transport, boating is also a great recreational facility. You can use them to take your whole family out on a cruise one the water, join a yacht or a cruising club or embark on recreational fishing expeditions.

If your intend on buying your first boat, especially if you have no prior experience with them, there are a number of things you need to know. These help you make the right choices before making that final payment for a boat.

Here are some of the most important things you should know

There are different types of Boats depending on your needs

No matter how similar boats may look, each one is unique and has a specific purpose. A fishing boat is very different from a cruise boat. The first information you need to seek is knowledge on the different types of boats available, and their specific purposes. This helps you get a better understanding of which boat will suit your specific need.

This also means learning how boat sizes are determined, such information helps you buy one that and has enough interior space for your whole family or the friends you intend to take with you on recreational cruise adventures.

Learn about boat Warranties
Boats also come with warranties. A typical warranty may include information on the kind of service you will get in case of an engine failure, or damage of certain components and accessories. Check if the boat you plan to buy has a warranty, if you are buying a used boat, check if the warranty is still valid and if it is transferable to a new owner.

How to tell if a boat has been in an Accident
There is always a reason behind every used boat sale; the owner could be disposing it in order to get more cash for a new one, or just to get money for something else. Unfortunately, there will always be someone selling a boat that has suffered so much damage and has gotten too expensive for them to maintain.

In order to avoid the latter, you need to learn how to inspect boats for previous accidents and damages. For example, if the hull has mismatching paint, or if there are visible repairs, these are evidence of accidents.

Know a reliable boat repair service
Boats, just like your car, require regular services and may break down once in a while. You need to have a marine services so you can get quick help in case your boat suffers damage or when you experience engine problems.

Boat Features
Even after identifying the most appropriate boat based on your needs, you need to know how to evaluate them for important features. Features like cup holders, or facilities like on board entertainment. These greatly affect the price of a boat.

Learn how to gauge Performance
When you go out on a test run, you need to know how well the boat performs in terms of responsiveness, acceleration, its ability to turn and how it rides on the water.

With the right know how, you stand a better chance of making a good purchase that will meet all your needs and help you get a better return in case you sell it to someone else.

Never Go Out to Sea without These

Only someone who has never been out to sea or someone who is irreparably stupid does not respect the sea. The thing is that it does not even have to be the open sea or a part of a certain ocean that is particularly dangerous. Sea is fickle, capricious, mercurial and above everything else, it can be extremely dangerous. Sea can turn into a vicious killer even on the clearest, calmest of days and one needs to be respectful of it at all times. One also needs to be prepared when going out to sea and here, we would like to talk to you about things that you should at all times bring with you on your sea voyages, no matter how short, how easy and how fun they might be.

First of all, of course, you need to have your safety equipment that is always prescribed by the law and without which it is illegal to set sail. The required safety equipment varies from one part of the world to the next, but for Australia, the following items are a must:

one lifejacket per person,
one anchor,
one bucket/bailer or a bilge pump,
one compass,
two distress signals (orange smoke distress flare),
two distress signals (red distress flare),
one EPIRB (Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon at 406 MHz),
one fire bucket,
one fire extinguisher,
one paper map of the area,
one marine radio,
paddles or oars unless the vessel has secondary propulsion,
one safety label,
one air horn,
one V sheet,
2 litres of water per person and
one waterproof floating torch.

There are some additional requirements and changes to the requirements depending on the type of the sea-faring vessel and the distance from the shore that the vessel is going out to. The best thing to do is to contact the authorities in the area and make sure that you have the full list of requirements. The thing to remember here is that this safety equipment is not just so that they can charge you for not having something of it. Every single piece of safety equipment can be the difference between life and death at sea.

In addition to these, there are some other things that are not required by the law but that you should have with you every time you set out to sea. For instance, you should always have some food and additional water, depending on how long the voyage is going to be. Also, if you are taking your pets with you, you should make sure they have plenty of water and food. If there are smaller children on board, you might also consider taking something interesting for them to do in case they get bored of simply sailing.

It is also a good idea to have some cordless tools with you on the boat as you never know what might spring up and when you might need to make some smaller repairs to the vessel. Furthermore, there are now these cordless heated jackets that are perfect if you are going out to sea during colder months or at night when it can be cold.

If there is anything better than a warm day on your boat and discovering the world behind the horizon then it is doing all of that in the company of your dog. Dogs make great company and this goes for water as well. No sailing trips is complete without your first mate and the fact is that taking your dog sailing is much less complicated than most people think. Most dogs adore water and they will have tons of fun with you on your sailing trip. However, you do need to be prepared and we will try and give you some advice on how to do that.



The absolute first thing to do is to get your dog a life jacket. You can find one at your local pet shop or an online one. These are not expensive at all and they are really easy to put on. They are the most important thing that you will purchase for your sailing trip and they are totally and absolutely necessary.

It would also be a good idea to put a tag on your dog that will have all the information about the dog’s name, the name of the boat and your name on it. This is meant for cases where the dog might wander off while you are on land, but also if something should happen that would result in someone else getting your dog out of water.

You should also make sure that you have brought enough water for the dog as most sailing is done in summer and the dogs can get dehydrated quickly in such weather. Also, you should bring enough paper towels and other aids that will help you clean up after your dog. They will make a mess on any longer sailing trip and there are no two ways about it. Short-haired dogs will also need sun screen that will ensure that they do not get sunburnt. This is the one thing most people forget about. Do not be one of those people.

When you finally do bring your dog to the boat, you need to understand that they will need time to get used to it. You should leave them to explore the boat and to make it their home for the time being. Most dogs will have absolutely no problem with being on a boat and sailing.

Finally, we do have to cover the eventuality of your dog going overboard. This happens very rarely and the most important thing to remember here is not to panic. Your dog will be in the life jacket and they will not drown. Dogs can swim anyway and there is no danger of them drowning. You have to cut the engines and slowly circle back to where they are and then simply either “fish” them out, so to say or help them aboard in some other way.

Remember these and you and your dog will have the best sailing trips ever.

One should plan vacations in detail. It can be like moving house and the entire family for a quick spell, to a place from your usual home. Let us see what the different things are needed to get an affordable boating vacation in general.

Budgeting

This is basically the biggest item on the agenda, but once you have crossed this hurdle, you will find the rest of the organizing is very easy. If you have restrictions on money, then you can either get budget tours with discounts and various travel deals for taking particular routes or you can go on a team tour.

Choosing the location

This is also effortless. Look up a few travel agents to assist you decide what are the best spots available. Many of them will be able to bundle the tour itinerary in order that several offers are available. These offers could be visits to tourists spots along the way, stop at hotels or entertainment inside the leisure time.

Preparing the things and provisions to carry

Depending on the time and variety of vacation, you would need different items. A camping vacation is different from a angling trip and as far taken out as a hiking holiday from the caravan trip. Boating travels are adventurous and give one a lot of freedom too.

Establishing the time limit

Setting your capacity to purchase is actually setting the time restriction on your vacation. You can expect to enjoy the entire trip should you work this out properly. Holidaying for short stretches has recently become easier.

Making choice plans if things get sticky

Always keep a back up program ready. If one leg of your vacation does not take off, then you should have another place to attend, and another place to visit. For those who love the water, boating down the canal is a perfect method to spend the vacation. Look at the pros and cons of this kind of a holiday.

Routine maintenance:
Trailer and Boat motor maintenance may be as simple as a freshwater clean down after each use and keeping them taken care of between adventures, helping to always keep maintenance costs at bay.
For more involved services, for example winterizing and oil changes, anticipate paying what you will for your automobile on an hourly basis, despite the fact that costs for routine maintenance vary by region. Pre-owned or operated boats can need much more maintenance.

Space for storing:
You have several choices depending on the dimensions of your vessel. You will not look for a less-costly way to keep a motorboat than keeping it with a trailer with your driveway or yard.
An additional alternative for small boats is holder storing. An average stand storage facility maintains your boat inside a protected shed with trailer-like cradles.

For owners of larger watercraft, and those who own small watercraft who desire comfort, a marina fall is the simplest way to go. Price varies by condition/region along with by how big your boat.

Take into account the fact also that most of the locations near the water have lovely and cheap food. Your entire household can only come to this verdict about canal boating vacations: they are perfect for the whole family. One could include some romantic areas to travel and visit there in the boat. Holidays can be a season in life; one should not miss them. There is sure to be described as a boat waiting if you choose to drift away on your next holiday.