Nautical Humor

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Stupid Human Boating Tricks

With the engine on high rev, the trailer and Jeep disappeared backwards into the lake. At the last second Larry yelled to his buddy to get out of the Jeep, at which point he bailed out of the drivers window ...

Ah, Spring: the time of year coveted by boaters across the country all Winter long. If yours has been one of the many regions affected by cold weather conditions, then take advantage of the Season! According to the NMMA, half of the 16 million recreational boats in the country are captained by avid fishermen. This is no surprise to us here at NBOA, as many of our agents are boating and fishing enthusiasts as well.

So, are you really ready for the Open Season? Here are some things to consider before setting off for your first fishing trip of the year.

Although your boat uses a gasoline engine for its primary propulsion, without ample electricity, that outboard is pretty much out of business. Let’s tackle a fistful of the most common boat battery-related topics. To keep things simple, we’ll discuss a single engine boat; however, the principles are similar for multi-engine installations.

“How much fuel will it burn?” is one of the most-asked questions at a marine dealer’s showroom. It certainly is a question we get tons of mail about. But you might not realize that the answer to that question is largely in your own hands: It’s in the way you handle the throttle. It’s also in the way you load or overload your boat and the way you trim it. There are more than a half-dozen contributing factors to an overindulgence at the fuel pump, so to give you the best tools to boat green and save gas, we tapped our contacts at the Ralph Evinrude Test Center in Stuart, Florida.

Can’t figure out where or why there is a new, rattling noise coming from the lower unit area of your stern drive or outboard? Hopefully you haven’t hit something with the gear case. Here’s another possibility. If you have an interchangeable hub style propeller on your engine or drive, it could be that the noise you are hearing is the sound of the hub rattling inside your propeller housing. This is more likely to be the case if you are running a stainless steel prop, but it is also possible with an aluminum prop.

Introducing new products for 2011 at iboats.com! Our April spotlight is on Taylor Made Boat Covers with GORE® TENARA® sewing thread, Rush-Co Marine Canopy Covers, Perko Trim Tab Mounted LED Underwater Lights, and NRF 45 and NRF 60 Series Portable Refrigerator - Freezers from Norcold.

My summer consisted of fishing and shooting. Many of the older campers ridiculed my ambition to become an expert. I could barely lift the rifle, they scoffed. I stayed with it, and by the end of summer I was a Marksman First Class. A year later I got in the zone and qualified as Expert Rifleman.

I have been back in the zone many times with a rifle. Not always, mind you. We don’t stay in “the zone” but we need to be prepared when opportunity comes along.

We would like to congratulate Fergal Butler on winning our "Ugliest Seat Contest" sponsored by Tempress Marine Group and iboats.com. Fergal has won his choice of a Helm Seat or up to 2 Fold Down Tempress Seats. Way to go Fergal!

Welcome to our new Humor feature and enjoy a few select "unbelievable" images from our I Love Boating Facebook page!

Enjoy our humor feature of boating cartoons drawn by renowned cartoonist Jerry King. You can view new boating cartoons daily on our website, follow this link for more cartoons.

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