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Boating Articles by Tom

Starting with the little two-person inflatable raft I had as my very first boat, I have always loved the freedom and the feeling of being out on the water. With my father's help, I added a hard plywood floor to that little inflatable, and that was the beginning of a long chain of boats I have owned, loved, maintained, modified, fixed, enjoyed, and scared myself to death on over the past few decades.
A lot of boating time is spent fixing boats, maintaining boats, and upgrading boats with new boating equipment to suit our specific tastes and needs. Lots of salespeople at stores that sell marine boating supplies and boating accessories have learned to recognize me over the years. I have spent my share of time and money working on just about anything you could name on a boat, and made plenty of mistakes. I'm here to share the lessons learned.

Wingsail Laser World Championships

February 13, 2014 By Tom Leave a Comment

Mark Rounding

Development of new wingsail designs continues at Solid Wing Sails here in Punta Gorda, with the latest versions designed to work on Laser sailboats. Inventor Chuck Taylor decided that the 2014 Charlotte Harbor Regatta would be a good event to test … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Sailing, Races & Regattas Tagged With: regatta, wingsail, wing, laser

Cowmaran Trip Up The Myakka River

March 28, 2013 By Tom 1 Comment

Shallow Spot

Ever since he created the Cowmaran, Don has talked about wanting to take it as far as possible up the Myakka River, just to see what is up there and see how far the boat can get. He and his wife took an experimental journey up the river, but only got … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Boating Fun, Powerboating Tagged With: cowmaran, myakka

Wing Sail on a Hobie Bravo

March 27, 2013 By Tom 3 Comments

Wingsail Powered Bravo

Early in March 2013, I got a call from Chuck Taylor of X Wing Sails asking whether I would help him test out a wing sail on a Hobie Bravo. He had been helping us remove the boats from the former site of the Charlotte Harbor Community Sailing Center … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Sailing Tagged With: bravo, Hobie, Sunfish, wingsail

Watertribe 2013 Everglades Challenge Start and Checkpoint One Pictures

March 26, 2013 By Tom 1 Comment

Kayak Pack

At 7:00 am on March 2, 2013, conch horns and bagpipes sounded and race organizers gave the signal for participants in the Everglades Challenge and Ultra Marathon to launch their boats and start down the course.   Getting under way is … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Sailing, Kayaking Tagged With: watertribe everglades challenge

Speck Tater’s View of the Watertribe 2013 Everglades Challenge

March 14, 2013 By Tom 4 Comments

Female Watertribe Challengers

This is my third year going to the start of the Watertribe Everglades Challenge, and I decided this time around to see more than just the start of the race. The past two years, I have witnessed the start from the beach at Fort Desoto Park in Tampa … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Kayaking, Races & Regattas, Sailing Tagged With: watertribe everglades challenge

Replacing RC Sailboat Electronics

January 23, 2013 By Tom Leave a Comment

Kyosho Fairwind Sailboat

About 15 years ago, I decided to buy a remote controlled sailboat to get a quick sailing fix in the pond. Not being interested in building a model, I bought a ready-to-sail Kyosho Fairwind from a local hobby shop, took it home, and started playing … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Boating Fun Tagged With: rc sailboat

Better Use of Punta Gorda Bayfront Center is Possible

December 27, 2012 By Tom 1 Comment

Happy Sailing Student

The city-owned Punta Gorda Bayfront Center, located on Charlotte Harbor adjacent to Gilchrist Park, is currently leased to the YMCA, but a competing lease proposal by the Charlotte Harbor Community Sailing Center would provide better utilization of … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Sailing, Kayaking, Powerboating, Boating Safety Tagged With: sailing, kayaking, safety, Sunfish

Rebuilding Whale Watching Tenders Part 16

November 18, 2012 By Tom Leave a Comment

Primer Spraying Started

December 5, 2011 First Gelcoat on Pec, Small Repairs and Fairing   Richard the welder was an early riser and he delivered the second hard top frame just after sunrise, reminding us that we had yet to fabricate tops for these … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Boat Repairs & Upgrades Tagged With: Conscious Breath Adventures, whale tenders, gelcoat

Saw My First Wingsail In Person Today

October 31, 2012 By Tom 1 Comment

WTF Post-Race

Today I dropped by the Charlotte Harbor Community Sailing Center to borrow some race marks and anchors for the upcoming Sun Cat National Championship Regatta this weekend, and as I drove up I noticed that the truck in front of me had a couple of wing … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Sailing Tagged With: Sunfish, Sun Cat, wingsail

Rebuilding Whale Watching Tenders Part 15

October 16, 2012 By Tom Leave a Comment

Bubble Rolling From Scaffold

November 27, 2011 Minor Fiberglass Repairs   All the grinding in recent days finally came to fruition today as we went around and applied fiberglass to several minor repairs. To reinforce and smooth the gunwale edge where swimmers will … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Boat Repairs & Upgrades Tagged With: whale watching, Conscious Breath Adventures, whale tenders

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About Tom

Starting with the little two-person inflatable raft I had as my very first boat, I have always loved the freedom and the feeling of being out on the water. With my father's help, I added a hard plywood floor to that little inflatable, and that was the beginning of a long chain of boats I have owned, loved, maintained, modified, fixed, enjoyed, and scared myself to death on over the past few decades. [Read More …]

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