Captain's Blog

     When we purchased Pau Hana (formerly The Spirit of Whitby) it came with a 3.5 HP Tohatsu 4 stroke and a Porta Bote folding boat.   1st "Splash" Placida, FL     I had no interest in the folding boat as it was a pain to set up, so we sold it and saved the money toward a RIB.  The only issue with the Tohatsu was, the carburetor was off & in pieces and there were a few parts missing. With some research I learned that these motors are notorious for carburetor issues so no surprise that the previous owner had issues with it as well.      In looking through the motor, I had a cracked fuel tank as well.  I was able to locate a new carburetor kit as well as the tank and some new "ethanol" tolerant hoses. There is a carburetor kit that brings the HP of the Tohatsu up to 5 HP & it comes with an aluminum prop. I figured what the heck & ordered it.  I saw some discussions on line that suggested upgrading to the higher ...

AIS Displayed on SIMRAD GO9 & Radar Overlay After reading quite a bit of information, especially on the AGLCA forum, I became pretty convinced of the importance of AIS.  The Automatic Identification System (AIS) uses transceivers mounted on the boat to supply and/or read information about ships/boats in your vicinity (VHF range) such as ship name, size, identification, position, course and speed.  The information can be viewed by boats having the system installed and provides a way for the operator to communicate with other ships without having to "guess" who they are attempting to communicate with.  The system is very handy when operating in or near areas of large ship and barge activity.  Especially on rivers where you can't see around the bend. Imagine coming around the bend in a river only to be met by a tug pushing a bunch of loaded barges. With the AIS the captain of either boat can hail the other and provide information about what they may need to pass saf...

      Alot of Fresh Water          Living here in Crystal River Florida, the water is pretty kind to our engines.  We run out to the gulf and always get a good freshwater flushing from the spring fed river when coming back to the dock.       While at rest the water inside the raw water cooling portion contains very little saltwater, a good thing for marine engines and certainly something that will extend it's life.     We plan to move the boat to Tampa for 6 months & it will be in a much harsher saltwater environment than we have here.  Pau Hana's intake strainer has a Groco Safety Seacock. It is a nifty device that can serve as an emergency bilge pump inlet or better yet, a freshwater flushing system.     The problem I had was that I didn't have the inlet for the Groco.  Not sure if the previous owner ever had it or not. It wasn't cheap, about $75, but much cheaper & easier than insta...

      "we've got a thing & it's called Radar Love..."     Before those summertime thunderstorms start to roll through, I wanted to get the radar installed.  I ordered the Simrad Halo 20 which is a 24 nm radar and matched my Simrad Go 9.  My chosen mounting spot was on the front of the flybridge.  Not ideal as it would limit me from "seeing" what is behind the boat but I had 2 reasons for doing this. 1. I didn't want to incur the cost of doing a radar arch (although that would be the optimum way to mount it), and 2. I have a bridge I have to clear & that would mean hinging.   Good 'ole T-Bevel     I measured the angle of the front & once I had the unit I drew up the bracket I thought would work and cut the pieces out of 1/8" plywood on the laser.   Perfect cut every time!     This proved to be a good idea as after cutting the first set, I needed to adjust some of the holes & the angle of the b...

         Phones and tablets have become a huge part of our life and that doesn't stop with boating. When we go on a cruise we each carry a phone and we have 2 iPads on board. My 1st Mate generally brings her laptop to take care of business items as well. When we bought the boat it came with an iPad Pro that the owner used along with an additional iPad as all of his navigation equipment.  While this is fine, I feel that regular "land based" electronics have limitations. The main limitation is the ability to hold up to the tough marine environment. That equates to 2 things. First, the screens on phones and tablets.  The screens can't always handle the heat and direct sunlight. A piece of marine electronics can generally be mounted in an open boat and is designed to handle water, sun & humidity. The internal workings are similar but it's the screens & the "sealed" components. Marine electronics are "sunlight" readable. In other words, when...