New Stuff, Gadgets, and Gizmos 

Boat Stationary - I don't have a better way to describe this, but here goes. Linda Bauer offers a pencil sketch of your boat from one or more photographs.  She creates the 11x17 inch sketch and scans it into a computer.  Then, she can create additional prints of the sketch, business cards, Holiday cards, notepads, etc.  The initial sketch runs around $200 and 500 business cards run around $40.  You can contact Linda directly at portraitdesign@hotmail.com or by calling 610-248-2211.  She does require that the photos be mailed to her, rather than email.

Another satisfactory source for cards is www.vistaprint.com.  I've seen the quality of their cards and they look good.  Cost is around $65 for 1000 cards. I don't recommend the free cards since they usually put advertising on the back.  They offer a good toll-free number service to help you along.

Transom Art - Sue and Jim, aka AnswerLady and TechGuy, purchased Poverty Sucks and decided to rename her Arcadia.  Sue is a southern California girl - she and Jim were married in Arcadia a couple of years (or 30) ago.  They collect Art LaMay waterfowl art, asked his permission to use the image of one of his prints for the boat.  Permission was granted and they found a company on the Internet that does graphic decals for trucks, buses, etc.  "We took the print, Blue Flair, out of it’s frame, took high resolution digital photos, and put one of the image files on the graphics company’s server." Sue continues, "In January, the order arrived.  Blue Flair is 22”x35” and will reside on the left aft panel.  I guess you might wonder what the connection is between blue herons and Arcadia.  When we’re anchored out in a quiet cove on the Chesapeake Bay, all alone with the herons, I think you’d agree it’s paradise."  Here's the link to the graphics web site and an email address: http://www.onlinesignshop.com/decals.asp
debbiedennis@CreativeOutdoor.com

New Volvo Drives - Volvo introduced a new inboard type drive called IPS that several boat manufacturers, including Carver, are testing and introducing into the marketplace.  Someone described the new drives, also called pods, as looking like an outdrive facing backwards.  That is, the props pull, rather than push.  The result is significant improvements in performance and fuel economy.  There is also less vibration and maintenance costs.  One disadvantage is that the entire underwater mechanism shears off to protect the rest of the propulsion assembly.  This figures out to be a $5000 repair.  One dealer I spoke to said that the $5000 replacement cost was comparable to the cost of replacing props, shaft, and transmission with a more conventional inboard drive.

Composite Props - I've also received some information about composite props for larger yachts.  Older composite props offered nice benefits, such as being able to replace a single blade and improved performance.  Unfortunately, they were also hard to get and had flex problems leading to cavitation and premature failure.  I hope to have more on this later.

Space Age Foam Mattress - You can now get a mattress for your boat that is similar to the mattresses on the space shuttle.  It's a custom made, layered foam mattress.  The Foam Outlet at 610-521-6555 offers these mattresses for about half the retail price.  Some examples are full sized for $755 and kings for $950.

Boat Name Domains - You can now have your boat name as your email address.  For example, your new email address could be yourname@boatname.com or US or NET.  My email address might be dave@cygnet.com.  The cost is $20 per year for one email address or $30 per year for up to five email addresses.

Boat Apparel - We are in the process of moving to a new embroidery shop for our Club clothing.  Hopefully, we'll have better quality and service.  If you are interested in apparel personalized to your boat, such as caps, shirts, jackets, etc. let me know.  There is a minimum order of 12 pieces and a minimal set up charge.

Insurance Update - Please Note

BOAT/US announced rate increases of between 50 - 60% in boat insurance this year for some boaters because of losses caused by hurricane damage.  They also recommend that boat owners shop early in 2005 for the best rates.  I've spoken to several other boat insurance writers who also talk about rate increases across the board.  Several mentioned rate increases of $1000 or more in the Florida market.

Hurricane prone areas are considered to be all of Florida and the Atlantic coast.  While the Florida residents will suffer the greatest increases in rates and decreases in coverage, everyone should expect increases of 3 - 5 %.

Kinda Sad

Saturday Night Out - mid Chesapeake Bay

New York is next month.

Upcoming Events

Saturday Night Out - New York City Area - Joe and Diane Lipowski are hosting the Club's Saturday Night Out on February 12, starting at 6:30 pm, at Lightship Barge and Grill in Liberty Landing State Park in New Jersey.  Reservations are required, although there is no penalty if you have reservations and cannot attend.  Again, you do not have to be member to attend the Saturday Night Out.  Please email webdude@carverownersclub.com to make reservations.  

Fifth Annual Chesapeake Bay Rendezvous - June 10, 11, & 12 at Inner Harbor East Marina, Baltimore.  We have 40 slips reserved and are trying to find more.  We do not have cost for individuals yet, but are working on it.

Chesapeake Bay Cruise - If you are interested in cruising south of Baltimore to the Tidewater Virginia area after the Baltimore Rendezvous, let me know.  Here's where we plan to stop, which is subject to change:

• June 12 - South River
• June 13 - St. Mary's City
• June 14 - Tides Inn
• June 15 - Norfolk, Williamsburg, or Portsmouth.
• June 17 - Onancock VA
• June 18 - Crisfield, MD
• June 19 - Solomons MD
• June 20 - Oxford MD
• June 21 - St. Michaels
• June 22 - Home

We have a couple of suggestions for Tidewater marinas.  You are welcomed to join us for part or all of the time.

Web Site Changes

I'll be making further changes to the web site over the next several months that, hopefully, won't be too disruptive.  One of the changes, Events Registration, is already in place.

One of the basic changes is that we are asking you to provide some basic information on your boat, separate from the different parts of the web site.  For example, it used to be that, if you listed your boat for sale and had an Owners Album page, you had to enter that information twice.  Now that the Maintenance Log is going live this month, you would have to enter information another time.  So, you will now be asked to enter information about your boat when registering for events or starting out on the maintenance log.

We also ask that you Build your Boat.  Here you choose different features your boat has.  For example, to track fuel purchases, you would need to choose the fuel tanks your boat has.  This is key to providing a maintenance history for your boat.

You will see a new set of options when you sign on, now, called Maintenance Place.  The first part of this, entering in standard maintenance items, like fuel purchases, is available now.  Additional features will be added, like tracking warranty information and recommended service intervals.

I'd appreciate any feedback you may have on these new features.

Featured Boat - Featured Article

One of our members (at least) is a boat broker in the mid-Atlantic area.  I asked Chuck Meyers to give the membership some ideas about how to sell their boat better, whether they use a broker or not.  His article is featured this month.  Chuck also says that you can contact him if you have any further questions.  You can reach him at Jarrett Bay Yacht Sales  410-342-6600 cell 703-999-7696.  Chuck's points about maintenance are some of the reasons we are offering that feature to club members.  We understand that having documented maintenance significantly increases the value of the boat.

My thanks to both for good features.

Computer Tip of the Month

Ever wonder how spammers get email addresses?  Two common ways are to look for dictionary like names in a particular domain.  Whatever doesn't come back is considered a good name.  A second method is to harvest email addresses from bulk mailings.  If you have a friend sending jokes around to you and thirty or so of his/her closest friends, a spammer is collecting your email address and is likely targeting you for a virus.

You can control both of these to some extent.  The first thing you can do is to have an email address that does not use dictionary words or names.  I used to us a Spanish name - now I get spam in Spanish.  Simply adding a number in the middle of a user name (not at the beginning or end) can also throw things off.  

Always send bulk emails using the blind copy feature of your email program.  If you use AOL, simply enclose the copy to email addresses in parentheses, like, (webdude@carverownersclub.com)   In Outlook or Outlook Express, click on View and then click on Bcc field.  Enter the email addresses on the bcc line.