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Electronic Monitoring
In the past six or so years, several very progressive and forward-thinking companies started developing integral onboard vessel monitoring systems. These systems have been the beneficiary of a...
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Engine-Room Ventilation
As a young deckhand, I can remember doing engine-room inspections to make sure everything down below was in good working order as we steamed to or from the grounds. Back then, most engine-room...
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Panbo: Geek Squad, the biggest marine electronics installer?
While the currently advertised marine services sound modest, the Geek Squad has major ambitions regarding the marine electronics installation business. To be more specific, they hope to eventually...
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Towing a Small Boat Right
In our never-ending pursuit of good fishing and fun, we continually add elements to our operation that make things more interesting and offer new opportunities. Towing a skiff behind your...
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Tournament Strategies for Boat Owners
When you choose to put your money down and start fishing competitively in tournaments, you should never underestimate the value of preparation, particularly as it pertains to your boat and your team....
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Choosing the Right Tender
Over the last 20 years, the size of sport-fishing boats has increased tremendously. Back in the late ’70s and early ’80s, 55- and 60-footers were considered huge for sport fishing, and many top...
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Tuna Towers
Over the years, tuna towers evolved from a simple mast and crow’s nest into incredibly useful tools and awesome works of engineering. Crews fishing the famed Tuna Alley at Cat Cay helped make tuna...
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Bottom Coatings
A friend who has a boatyard was talking about the advantages of using some of the newer-technology bottom paints on the market. As a facility owner, he is constantly under the scrutiny of regulating...
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Watermakers for Your Boat
There’s no question that watermakers have earned their place on board sport-fishing boats. These incredibly valuable tools have become so handy and user-friendly that they are almost required...
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Emergency Repair
I was recently happy to find an old friend, Pettit’s Splash Zone A-788, which got me home and saved our boat from a near sinking. It’s a two-part underwater epoxy repair kit that’s been rereleased in...
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When Lightning Strikes
This past June, we experienced a rash of lightning strikes in our marina, and several boats were struck, including the boat I run, Brier Patch. Interestingly, we did not even take a direct hit; the...
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Long-Range Fuel Bladders
Over the last 35 years, we have done many high-mileage open-ocean transits. In the early days, the boats were 30 to 45 feet with limited fuel. Now, with the big sport-fishing boats being 60, 70 and 80...
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Anatomy of a Refit
It’s hard to believe Stalker is now 10 years old. It seems like only yesterday we were wrapping things up at Spencer Yachts, eager and excited to head south and start fishing. Since then, we have...
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Paying Attention to Your Boat’s Electrical System Prevents Breakdowns
I recently saw a boat hauled out that had hot-pink propellers and shaft nuts. There were no zincs left, and the pink was a sure sign of a “hot boat.” It reminded me of an incident we had years ago on...
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How Top Captains Analyze New Water
As captains and anglers, we spend countless hours in preparation for our day on the water. All of the phone calls, rigging, emails, and research become justified when we can look back on the day and...
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Extended Trip Planning
Reaching far-flung fishing grounds has gotten much easier over the past 30 years, thanks to larger boats with more fuel capacity, reliable GPS plotters, and owners willing to explore and fish places on...
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Portable Power
The first charter boat I worked on in the mid-1970s didn’t have a generator. We had a transom fish box and drink coolers that we loaded with blocks of ice every morning. The first boats that did have...
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The Ins and Outs of Repowering a Sport-Fishing Boat
There are some really neat experienced boats that with a little love — and usually a bunch of money — stand ready to be reborn. A boat’s engines often represent the largest area of investment, so a...
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