Boating Tips from Capt. Bill

“Boating has gotten so sophisticated, particularly in terms of electronics,” Bill said. “But the reality is these simple, basic things can save your rear end, and are probably doing so for somebody this very minute.”

1.“There’s a reason people are still buying binoculars,” Bill said. “And they are still used by professionall seafarers.” A quality set of binoculars will seriously improve visibility—during the day, of course, but especially at night. Binoculars concentrate light from a variety of sources after dark, allowing the viewer to look past distracting lights on shore. Bill has owned his pair for more than 25 years.

2. “When we were going into Murphy’s Creek, I used my eyes to locate the boat in the center of the channel and made sure our position matched the position on the GPS plotter,” said Bill. The point? You can’t—or shouldn’t— rely totally on the accuracy of your electronic cartography.

3. “Old diesel fuel in a boat that you’re not sure of is a very iffy commodity,” he said. And cruising with iffy fuel can be problematic, especially in rough weather. Bad fuel typically contains algae, sludge, asphaltine—all kinds of stuff. “When a boat rocks and rolls, contaminants get stirred up and can plug up a fuel-water separator and shut down your engine. Monitor this by keeping a close ear on engine pitch and a close eye on your tach or tachs.”

4. “When punching into head seas, always come at them obliquely, never straight on,” Bill said. Obliquely? He means off the main axis of the wave by 10 to 15 degrees. “It’ll make the boat ride better, you’ll make better speed, and maybe there won’t be as much water coming over the bow.”

5. “Some people can steer a boat, some can’t—that’s just the bottom line,” he explained. When boating with friends or acquaintances, it’s good to establish the skill levels of all those aboard. Steering in the daytime is one thing. Steering at night is another. Before you turn the helm over to anyone, make sure you can trust them to do the job.