Recent content by therevdr

"The Coast Guard says that you cannot store outdated flares with your current ones that are carried to meet compliance." I am ready to stand corrected about this . . . but I find no regulation or USCG statement that states that expired and non-expired flares must be stored separately. In a...

However, you can make them available to your local United States Power Squadron or Coast Guard Auxiliary for boater training practices. USCGAUX and the US POWER SQUADRON do NOT tend to utilize expired flares . . . to set the safeguards and secure permission from USCG and other authorities...

What sounds like a similar problem happened on my 2002 22' Cruiser . . . the anchor locker drain simply let water in from the outside into the area between the two layers. The reason for this reply, however, is that the "fix" was not as simple as first attempted. The first repair of the...

For several years I have intermittently had the top three circuits on my main (factory installed) switch-and-fuse array go out . . . you might be able to tell by my precise description that I don't know much about this stuff!!!. WHAT I DO KNOW IS . . . the those switches are set-up in in...

Driftwood Drei is a USCG Auxiliary facility....and so, while the water is soft, that what I do sometimes! JOBBIE NOONER (the Lake St. Clair equivalent of the wild-and-crazy times when alcohol-might-be-a-factor event) was cool and squall-y...so we didn't get that busy on patrol (every other crew...

Back when I put electric wipers on my 2002 22' C-dory Cruiser, there was some discussion about wipers that I tapped into . . . the best advice for me, back then and it still works now, was KEEP THE MANUAL WIPERS!! I very occasionally use the electric (and at those times it is fantastic!), but...

DRIFTWOOD DREI (22' - 2002 Cruiser) has been a facility since its "birth". I don't think I can add anything else to the e-string of responses and advice. Having been trained as an instructor for the AUX-SC&E (search coordination and execution) course, the National SAR School instructor pointed...

With the "gatherings" being posted for C-Brats across the country . . . (and looking on the website at some of the "groups") . . . I'll once again suggest that we (the few...the brave...the "brats") check in on one another through a group listing -or- an occasional "I'll be at..." shout-out to...

I would be willing to bet that the C-Batical (Rollie out of Pickney, MI) has made that Beaver Island trip, too. THEREVDR

MINNESOTA BOATING REGULATIONS state that the only place where flares would be needed in the state is on Lake Superior; the other lakes in Minnesota would be inland waters where federal regulations would not require flares. I quote the MINNESOTA BOATING GUIDE FOR 2009 describing Visual Distress...

I know that "we" have discussed this before.....and some have even managed to make contact.....but I thought I'd begin a new thread to get some 2009 discussion, possibilities, proposals, and plans in the works!!! therevdr on Driftwood Drei (waiting to get into Lake St. Clair, again!!)

U.S. COAST GUARD AUXILIARY - VESSEL SAFETY CHECK STICKERS . . . I've got mine! We, on Lake St. Clair in Michigan, are ready for vessel examinations and helping boaters be as safe as they can be!!! The Anna Leigh skipper shared where someone might go to arrange a vessel exam...so I won't repeat...

Rollie.... I thought you were just smelling that springtime "fire and brimestone" - "hell-ofactory"!?! Hopefully we'll see you out on the "big" waters of Lake St. Clair this season. Bruce THEREVDR on DRIFTWOOD DREI

therevdr on DRIFTWOOD DREI . . . member of flotilla 091-12-11 (St. Clair Shores, MI); presently serving as the division 091-12 Vice Captain; qualified as coxswain, Qualified Examiner, instructor, vessel examiner, and AUX-OP; eight+ years in rewarding volunteer work in recreational boating...

I haven't seen the "GAR" model mentioned in the posts about "seaworthiness" and "prudence". But as an USCGAUX facility...we (and all USCG patrols in our district) are required to determine the "appropriateness" of any patrol based on six factors; the description of the model is below (one of the...