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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.

Rebuilding Whale Watching Tenders Part 14

October 13, 2012 By Tom Leave a Comment

Loading Sandblaster

November 16, 2011 Fiberglassing Decks on Both Boats   We got an early start and were out on the boats doing final preparations for fiberglassing the decks over the new fuel tanks before our young helpers were really alert. After doing a … [Read more...]

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

Rebuilding Whale Watching Tenders Part 13

October 4, 2012 By Tom Leave a Comment

Adam and Lane Goofing Off

November 11, 2011 The day started like many others: with someone running a grinder. This time it was Adam preparing the pieces of marine plywood deck for installation. The undersides were previously coated with resin but drips and areas that would … [Read more...]

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

Outboard Lower Unit Crack

September 29, 2012 By Tom 2 Comments

Yamaha Lower Unit Crack

We have an old 3 cylinder Yamaha two-stroke on the 15' Boston Whaler and the normally reliable beast recently stranded us for the very first time before magically fixing itself. It has been running perfectly ever since. I think it has an intermittent … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Boat Repairs & Upgrades, Powerboating Tagged With: Boston Whaler, outboard

Rebuilding Whale Watching Tenders Part 12

September 26, 2012 By Tom Leave a Comment

Micah Grabs Tank

November 7, 2011 Another leap forward in time has occurred and I am returning to writing about this project on September 22, 2012, almost a year after the events unfolded. The pictures will have to tell the parts of the story I have … [Read more...]

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

Welcome to the WordPress Tropical Boating!

September 20, 2012 By Tom Leave a Comment

Sun Cats Sailing

After a great deal of work by Tropical Web Works and some editorial skimming by me, we are happy to announce the transition of Tropical Boating to the WordPress platform. The change will make it easier to find related content on the site, will enable … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Boating Fun Tagged With: Sun Cat

Powering Up the Cowmaran

April 17, 2012 By Tom 8 Comments

Repowering The ELB - Extremely Light Boat AKA The Cowmaran Twin Engine Cowmaran Toward the end of March 2012, the Cowmaran reappeared in my yard, this time with a second engine hanging on the transom. The original design concept called for twin … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Powerboating, Boat Building Tagged With: small boats, ELB, light boat, catamaran, cowmaran

Creating The Extremely Light Boat

April 16, 2012 By Tom 3 Comments

Expensive Little Boat Expletive Little Boat (You get the idea...) Multihull Dreams The ELB (Extremely Light Boat) project began as many great ideas do: with a couple of guys messing about with a boat. In this case, my friend Don and his buddy … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Boat Building, Powerboating Tagged With: small boats, ELB, light boat, catamaran, cowmaran

Rebuilding Whale Watching Tenders Part 11

March 27, 2012 By Tom Leave a Comment

Ready to Repair October 16, 2011 Repairing Port Side of Pec We started the day disassembling the repair that we dry fit the night before, then Gene went to work vacuuming the pieces of wood and solvent wiping the repair area while I gathered … [Read more...]

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

West Coast Trailer Sailing Squadron Pelican Bay Gathering March 2012

March 15, 2012 By Tom Leave a Comment

Peep Hen Satori

The West Coast Trailer Sailing Squadron is a group of Florida sailors who like to gather in different locations to camp out on small boats. I have been aware of the group for several years, but have never made it to one of their cruises. At the … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Sailing, Kayaking, Sailboat Cruising

WaterTribe Everglades Challenge 2012 Start

March 7, 2012 By Tom Leave a Comment

Kayak and sailing fleets depart from Fort Desoto Park beach Beach at Daybreak Daybreak at Fort Desoto Park looked rather ominous for adventurous racers setting off on the 2012 WaterTribe Everglades Challenge and concurrent events. Low … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Races & Regattas Tagged With: Everglades, Watertribe, Singlehanding, trimaran, small boats, Adventure Island, multihull, racing, catamaran

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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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        • Okuma Spinning Reels
        • Penn Spinning Reels
        • Pflueger Spinning Reels
        • Quantum Spinning Reels
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    • Rod & Reel Combos
      • Abu Garcia Rod & Reel Combos
      • Baitcast Rod & Reel Combos
      • Okuma Rod & Reel Combos
      • Quantum Rod & Reel Combos
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      • Spinning Rod & Reel Combos
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    • Autopilots
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    • Fishfinders
    • Fixed-Mount VHF Radios
    • Handheld GPS Units
    • Handheld VHF Radios
  • Pelican Waterproof Marine Boxes
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    • Survival PFDs
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    • Throwable (Type IV) PFDs
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