So many choices – so little time!
Yes, summer is short, but you can certainly put your best foot forward and get your boat equipped properly with both some safety equipment as well as some equipment such as a marine radio receiver. How do you know what to buy for your needs? Well, I guess we all struggle a bit with that one…. Safety equipment is quite easy (although that will change depending on what waters you “play” in). In larger bodies of water, you will want to include at least a Hand Held VHF Marine Radio – one that has NOAA weather alert capabilities. Some other great ideas would be a fixed marine radio as well as a CB Radio (either fixed or hand held) for communicating with those other boats in your party. There are a lot of good units on the market. I would recommend staying with brand names – and sometimes better yet, take a stroll along the marina docks and talk with other boaters to find out just what works best for them! You’d be surprised just how much information you will gain from that and you’d also probably be surprised that most boaters are very friendly and consider it fun to talk about anything on their boat. A lot of marinas, however, have certain areas which are off limits for “strolling” (boater owners only allowed) so be aware of those rules and be considerate of the boater’s privacy. There are plenty of spots you can find to talk that aren’t off limits! HAPPY BOATER.