Posts from — January 2010

For anyone who owns a boat, there are ten rules which should always be kept in mind. There is also certain equipment which should always be carried aboard ship.

1. Check your boat thoroughly and never leave your mooring until you have done so.

2. Never over-load your boat and at all times be especially careful about non-swimmers and children.

3. Carry a life preserver for every person on board. Be sure they’re worn when doing deck duty in rough weather.

4. Carry filled fire extinguishers.

5. Exercise extreme caution when filling fuel tanks – no smoking – turn off all fires and electric accessories – hold filling nozzle firmly against fill pipe (ground it) – wipe up spillage – thoroughly ventilate engine compartment and all enclosed spaces before restarting motors.

6. Observe carefully weather, wind, tide and current conditions before starting. Plan emergency harbors on long hops.

7. Keep to the right when meeting another boat and give the right-of-way to vessels approaching in your danger zone on the starboard (right) side.

8. Always be Courteous, Careful and Competent. Watch your wash! Slow down to 4 mph in harbors. Keep away from large vessels, which are not as maneuverable as smaller craft. Keep away from all sail boats – small ones may be swamped by the wash from a motor boat and large sailing yachts do not have the maneuverability of a motor boat.

9. Never make a turn at high speed. Small craft can easily be and have been swamped by their own wash.

10. Approach dock or mooring slowly against the wind or current, whichever is strongest.

Articles of Equipment Which Should Be Aboard Every Well-Found Boat, Though Not Required By Law

The Motor Boat Act prescribes that motor boats must carry certain equipment for the safety of those aboard. This includes life preservers, lights, whistle, bell, fire extinguishers, name arresters on carburetors, ventilating cowls and ducts for the bilges, and the certificate of registration. These requirements vary with the class of boat, and certain exceptions are made in some classes.

In addition to this required equipment, however, there are other things which should be aboard before a boat may be considered to be well-found. The extent of cruising the boat does will determine the amount and kind of equipment, such items as anchors and lines, boat hook, fenders, bilge pump, tool kit, spare engine parts, piloting equipment, auxiliary lighting equipment, and such special safety equipment as ring buoys, flares, and a first aid kit.

In the same category with tools and spare parts we might include a few good carpenter’s tools, extra pieces of line of several sizes, a ball of marlin, an assortment of nails, screws, bolts, washers, wire, caulking cotton, paint, etc. On boats equipped with sails a small repair kit should be added containing twine, wax, needles, palm, fid, and similar articles. All should be properly stowed to keep it accessible and in good condition.

Other miscellaneous items would be a deck mop, pail (some prefer a canvas bucket), a chamois for cleaning windows, brass polish, a supply of oil for engine, grease (both the regular and waterproof varieties as required), some light machine oil and penetrating oil for rusted parts, Vaseline, distilled water, a hydrometer, some clean rags and several rolls of paper towels. An emergency tiller is often carried.

Keep the ten rules of conduct outlined, and carry the equipment mentioned above, and you will be well-prepared for anything.

Striped Bass

Stripers are on a come back in NJ thanks to the conservation measures taking place in the 80′s . Several fish in excess of 50 lbs (Cows) are weighed in every year. They are perhaps the most sought after fish in the state due to their size, close proximity to shore and their long strong drag wrenching strikes. They can be caught along the beaches, bays and tidal rivers and rarely stray more then a few miles from shore. There are a number of party and charter boats that fish for them exclusively and will run trips during the day and night.

Time of Year:

Bass usually arrive in mid to late April and will sometimes hang around until Christmas. The small “schoolies” are usually more plentiful in the spring and the larger “cows” are usually caught in the fall.

How To Catch Them:

• Drifting live eels or sandworms usually accounts for the most fish.
• Sandworms in the spring and eels in the fall is a good rule of thumb.
• Both baits can be worked by tying a rig using a 3 way swivel. Tie the 3 way to the line coming off your pole. On the remaining 2 swivel loops tie a 12-18 inch dropper for your sinker, and a 5-6 foot leader for your hook. A 25 lb. leader is a good happy medium since Stripers don’t have teeth and you want to keep line visibility down to a practical minimum. Use the lightest sinker that will allow you to hold bottom. Let your sinker hit the bottom and continue to bounce as you drift. Keep your conventional reel in free spool with the clicker on. When a fish hits the clicker will sound. Let the fish run for a few seconds, engage the reel and set the hook with a sharp strong motion. If your using circle the hook is accomplished by putting tension on the line rather then a sweeping motion of the rod. When fishing with an eels it’s a good idea to let the Bass run a little longer to make sure the eels entire length is taken.
• Chunking from an anchored boat is also a popular way to fish for Bass. Pay out Bunker chunks to attract fish while dropping back pieces of cut bunker on your hook.
• Trolling tubes, jigs , bunker spoons, plugs or umbrella rigs work great too. This method is highly effective for locating fish. Some sharpies will troll to locate the fish and then anchor or drift in the area with bait. In order to keep your trolling lures down at the right depth it is usually necessary to troll with heavy drill sinkers or wire line. Wire line trolling is most effective. Some sharpies also use down riggers. Make sure you use at least a 6 ft mono leader when trolling for Bass since they tend to be line shy. Stripers like a very slow troll. Anywhere between 2.3 – 2.8 knots is usually about right. If you can’t slow your boat down enough either drag a sea anchor or a 5 gallon bucket.
• Chumming with Frozen Clam Chum has become very popular recently, especially in the spring. Take a bucket of frozen Clam Chum and place it in a wide mesh fish net or chum bag. Tie a rope to it and toss it over the side to create a Chum Slick. Shuck a fresh clam, put the belly on the hook with enough weight to hold bottom and try and cast your bait so it’s positioned in direction the Chum slick is flowing. Place your rod and conventional reel in the rod holder with the clicker on and in free spool. When the Striper hits you will hear the clicker go off. Engage your reel, set the hook and get ready for a great fight.

Best Places To Catch Them:

NJ Party boats and NJ Charter boats will fish for Striped Bass. Some fish exclusively in the evening. From north to south the most popular party and charter boat areas for Stripers are Leonardo, Atlantic Highlands, Shark River & Belmar, Brielle & Point Pleasant, Barnegat Light and Cape May.If you have your own boat popular areas are as follows

• Sandy Hook Area: Sandy Hook Rip and channel, Flynns Knoll, Roamer Shoal, Schrewsbury Rocks.
• Point Pleasant – Manasquan Inlet jetty and rock jetties along the shore.
• Barnegat Light: Along rock jetties on LBI and Island Beach State Park. Barnegat Inlet jetties.
• Cape May: Cape May rips.

Some Fishing Tips:

• When chunking be sure not to be too generous or skimpy with the chunks. It’s a good idea to release 4 or 5 chunks at 2 to 3 minute intervals to keep a consistent slick to attract and hold fish. Too many chunks and the fish will hang back for the easy meal and not bother to move up into the slick for your baits. Too little chum and your not going to hold or attract fish. Use fresh rather then frozen bunker if you can get it. One Bunker is cut into about 4 to 5 chunks. Don’t waste the head it’s good bait since its bony and will stay on the hook longer. When trolling speed is critical for Bass. Between 2.0 and 2.5 knots is good. When trolling bunker spoons slow it down until you see your pole pulsing in an erratic side to side and bobbing motion.
• When trolling other lures like tubes, jigs and umbrella rigs try and stay close to the bottom with out hanging up. Pay line out until you feel contact with the bottom and then reel in just enough to keep your lure from hanging bottom. If you have a fish finder and can determine a consistent depth where the fish are holding try and keep the lures at that depth. A usual rule of thumb for wire re line is 10 feet of line usually equates to 1 foot of depth. As an example, you would let out 90 feet of wire line if you wanted your lures to run at 9 feet. Every once and a while take the boat out of gear and let the lures free fall then engage the engine again. This change in motion is often time enough to entice a fish to strike. Make sure to use at least a six foot mono leader since these fish seem to be shy of wire. 40 Lb line is recommended for your trolling leader. Always try and keep the boat in gear a when fighting a fish. This allows you to keep constant pressure on the fish and results in less thrown hooks .
• When party boat fishing you usually drift so try and stay in the bow or stern so you can stay on the side where the lines are drifting.
• When fishing from shore with bait it’s best to use a float rig. It keeps the bait off the bottom and away from crabs. You can purchase one from almost any tackle store. Cut Bunker, Clams after a storm and live Eels at night are the best.
• If your surf casting with lures you need only cast beyond the breaking waves. Bass love the suds because of the structure and water motion. If you plan to fish on jetties use jetty spikes since jetties are usually very slippery.
• Always look for rips and tears in the water. Bass are attracted to structure and water motion.

The language of boating hits landlubbers in their ears with the same amount of sense as would be the case if Ubangi were being tossed into the air. Starboard tacks have points but only sails have heads. A sheet is a rope, not a sail- and a rope isn’t a rope, but is a line. Indeed it’s a strange sort of lingo and you must know at least a bit of it before you take to the high seas.

Glossary Of Boating Terms

ABACK: With the wind on the forward sides of the sails instead of the after sides.

BACKSTAY: A stay running from the masthead aft. A back runner is similar but is arranged to be slacked off upon occasion.

BOOM: The horizontal spar to which the bottom edge of a sail is laced.

CHINE: The corner where a flat or V-bot-tom boat’s side and bottom meet.

CLEAT: A two-armed device to which a line can be made fast.

DAGGER: A type of centerboard shaped like, or suggesting, a dagger.

FAIR BODY: The line formed by the out-Side bottom edge of the planking as it touches the keel.

GROMMETS: The metal eyelets in the edge or along the reef points of a sail.

HEEL: To tilt under the impetus of sails.

HELM: The tiller or wheel by. which a rudder is moved.

INWALE: A strip of wood around the in-sides of frame heads at the sheer line. In large, decked boats, usually called a clamp.

IRONS: In luffing, a boat without enough momentum may refuse to come about on the opposite tack. The sails will remain flapping. A boat in this position is said to be in irons.

JIB: Triangular sail forward of the mainmast.

LEE: The side of a boat opposite to that from which the wind is blowing.

LEECH: The after edge of a sail.

LINES: Rope used in handling a boat.

MISS STAYS: To get a boat into IRONS.

PORT: The left side of a vessel as you face forward, opposite to STARBOARD.

POUNDING: The shock felt in rough water when a relatively flat portion of the boat lifts above water and then forcibly strikes the surface.

PURCHASE: Any rigging consisting of two or more blocks used to hoist a heavy weight.

QUARTER ROUND: A narrow, triangular piece of wood with one face rounded; used for trim along the edges of cabins.

REEF: To reduce the area of a sail by lowering it, making fast the reef points, and hoisting again.

ROPE: Often confused with LINE. When a length is cut from a coil of rope, that length immediately is known as a line.

SEA KINDLY: Comfortable and safe in rough weather.

SEAWORTHY: Able to stay at sea. Often used when SEA KINDLY would be a better word.

SHEET: Line used to control the angle at which a sail is set in relation to the wind. The sheet is not the sail itself.

STABILITY: The ability of a boat to return to an upright position when she has been heeled by some force such as the wind or a wave.

STARBOARD: Opposite to PORT. The right side of the boat as you face forward.

TACK: The lower forward corner of a sail. Also, that variety of sailing where you proceed to windward by sailing on alternate courses so the wind is first on one side of the boat and then on the other.

TRAVELER: A metal rod running athwart ships to which the main-sheet block, or sometimes the jib-sheet block, is attached.

TRIM: The movement of a boat away from the upright in a fore-and-aft direction. As you walk forward, a boat will trim by the bow.

TURNBUCKLE: A pair of eye bolts threaded into a casting that can be turned to tighten wire standing rigging.

UNDER BODY: The entire hull below the water line.

WEATHER: Another word for WINDWARD.

WINCH: A mechanical device used for putting more power on the running rigging than can easily be applied by hand, Also used to hoist an anchor.

With these terms under your belt you are ready to go to sea!

Blackfish

Blackfish are usually caught in the early spring and late fall. Fishing with Green crabs and Filddler crabs from an anchored boat works well. Any rock pile in the bay or ocean will hold fish at one time or another. Locating and catching these fish requires a good bit of knowledge and skill. It’s not for amateurs. Fishing the ocean is some what tricky since the fishing is done by locating wrecks and rock piles. It’s best to fish from a charter or party boat that knows the wrecks and how to fish them. Blackfish are notorious bait thieves. You have to be fast. Some sharpies say you have to set the hook before the fish bite.

It’s a great way to cure your fishing itch over the long winter. The Easter holiday usually kicks off the season and that’s when the party boats start fishing for them.

Time of Year:

Blackfish usually like cold water so late fall/early winter and the beginning of spring are the best times.

How To Catch Them:

• Green Crabs or Fiddler Crabs are the best baits fished from a anchored boat. A 3 way swivel with a sinker and a 6 to 8 inch leader works well.
• You have to be right on the wreck or in the rocks or you won’t catch.
• Best fished from a boat or from a rocky shore line.

Best Places To Catch Them:

• Any natural or artificial reef is a good spot.
• Any rock pile in the ocean or bay is likely to hold fish at one time of the year or another.

Some Fishing Tips:

• Make sure to bring plenty of rigs. You’ll need them since you’ll be fishing in areas full of snags.
• Use a pole with a strong tip so you can get a good fast hook set.
• Some people like to tie the sinker on with lighter weight mono then the line your fishing with. If the sinker gets snagged it can break free and allow you to save the rest of the rig.

The market has a wide range of boat accessories to choose from. Boat accessories increase the fun and comfort that you can have with your boat. Additional accessories can escalate the worth of your boat also. A few accessories are mandatory and others are fads that give you more comfort and are luxury items. When you have to make a choice of boat accessories it is always safer that you start with procuring those that are vital to the smooth functioning of your boat and ensure the safety factors

You will have to select the trimmings that you need according to the type of boat that you have, and the purpose that you are going to use it for. The function that the boat is going to utilized for is the primary deciding factor for the added equipment and accessories that you will need. For example a fishing boat will require something other than a sail boat or a speed boat would. While contemplating on the kind of accessories you would like to buy, it is an even better idea to list out the accessories that you want to have starting with the fundamentals requirements first. You could also make a primary and a secondary list so that you have an idea of what you should buy on priority and what can wait for the next round of purchase.

Fundamental Boating Accessories

It would be disastrous to be caught “on the wrong foot” so to say in the mid water without the proper equipment. This could give rise to some emergency situations and give cause for anxiety. To play it safe here are some indispensable accessories for the that you should ensure you have:

1. Life jackets
2. Anchors and lines
3. Ladders
4. Mirrors
5. Paddles
6. Registration and lettering kits
7. Safety equipment like first aid kits
8. Stabilizers
9. Buoys
10. Lights
11. Maintenance equipment

Each one of these serves a different purpose and is needed to ensure that you have everything you require to keep you protected and help you to keep you boat in spruced up condition. Your life jackets
should be worn all the time or at least kept handy for immediate access so that you do not have to face an emergency situation and not be able to find them in a hurry.

Luxury & Fun Boating Accessories

You need not only look at essential accessories for the boat. This is a time for recreation and you should be able to enjoy the experience. These items would make your boat more attractive and also give you some added comforts while you are out sailing. Some of the luxury and fun items are listed below:

1. Boat fenders
2. Boat heaters
3. Water skies
4. Wakeboards
5. Wetsuits
6. Radios and speakers
7. Fish finders
8. Swim platforms

The list is endless and these are only a few of the accessories that come under this category. In case you have not been looking for added equipment for a while for your boat, you may be amazed at all the new gizmos that are available.

These added features not only dress up your boat, they also add to its value in case you wish to sell it sometime. Added comforts are always welcome and give their money’s worth regardless of how essential they are or not.