Our Planet Earth

So I came across this amazing video and I thought it would be fun to share.   While it really has little to do with boats or boating, it IS pretty awesome to see.  I suppose you could make the case that over 70% of the earth is covered in water and if there is that much water, then you certainly need a boat.  Yeah, that's it.... Earth is covered in water, you live on Earth, therefore you need a boat!  Just do it, buy a boat.  Stop trying to use logic and reason to figure this out.  Anyhow, here is an awesome video...Enjoy!



Earth | Time Lapse View from Space, Fly Over | NASA, ISS from Michael König on Vimeo.

Colbert Report: The Boating Industry Cares

Happy Wednesday everyone!  Saw this last night on the Colber Report program.  Maybe this will help everyone get through their hump day a little easier.  Only a few more days until the weekend! Just remember,  "The Boating Industry Cares!"

The Colbert Report
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How Boats are Made...

Generally speaking, people are not all that familiar with how those shiny boats you see out on the lake and in showrooms are built. There aren't many other items that we purchase constructed using fiberglass.  The whole process is much different than building a car, for example.  No two boats are exactly the same.  Boat building truly is an art-form and using fiberglass allows boats to be crafted with the beautiful lines you see on the water today.  This video, from the Discovery Channel, is a great overview of how the process works.

 

 

Don't Mess With Texas

While wandering the aisles of the convention center at the Fort Lauderdale show, we stumbled upon this beast!  This is a Yellowfin 36'  center console law enforcement boat built for the Texas Highway Patrol.  This bad boy featured machine gun turrets on the port and starboard side, as well as one in the bow.  It also had ballistic panels to protect the drivers console, shock absorbing seats, and triple Mercury Verados!  Take a look at the pics bellow....should be sufficient to keep everyone at party cove in line.

You Don't Need to Winterize in Texas....True or False?

False... 

We hear it all the time, "I didn't think it got cold enough in Texas to need to winterize."  I'm not sure what temperature water freezes in other parts of the country, but in Texas it is still 32 degrees.  Service shops love customers that don't understand the concept of water turning to ice inside a boat engine.  That expanding ice will pop a engine block like a tick!  With an average repair bill of $6500 for an engine block replacement, it's easy to see why the guy that doesn't winterize is a service manager's best friend....that's an expensive way to make friends.  This video is a cool demonstration of what happens to the inside of and engine when you have an internal water leak.  Unless you enjoy spending money, you should probabaly get your boat in to your service shop for winterization to prevent this.

Fort Lauderdale Intl. Boat Show Part II

There are boat shows and then there is the Fort Lauderdale boat show.  The shear amount of boats is only outdone by the size of the boats on display.  Every mega-yacht in the world that is for sale, lease or charter is in attendance.  Most of the time it was difficult to even get a good look at the boats because they were packed in so tightly.  The only way to get a good perspective on the larger boats was from the water.  However, if you stayed on the docks, you could look at some pretty impressive transoms.  Unfortunately, boarding the mega yachts wasn't possible as you had to have an invitation from a broker.  I suppose ours was lost in the mail...

All the yachts lined up in the marina

Check out more pics after the jump!

Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show

We took a trip down to the Sunshine State to find out the latest in boating trends for the upcoming season.  Unfortunately the weather didn't live up to the state nickname.....  

Thanks to AA and their cool retro paint scheme for getting us there and back!

After arriving and settling in Saturday night, we hit up the show early Sunday morning.   The folks over at Four Winns were gracious enough to get us some passes to check out the show.  We headed over to the Four Winns booth to see the new H230, which debuted at the show, and the new V435 cruiser.  We were thoroughly impressed by both..... 

The New H230 making its world debut!

H230 Cockpit

H210SS, H210, S210 and H230 lined up on the docks

V435 Cruiser with Twin Volvo IPS drives

After checking out the brand we sell every day, we decided to go see what was out else was on display at this massive show.  Stay tuned for more from Fort Lauderdale......


 

And We're Off to Fort Lauderdale

Seems odd to start a blog about boating in Texas with posts about a boat show in Florida, but here we go!