Lifestyle
Weather Woes
Not even one year after a near-historic drought baked the area, a cold and rainy spring caused the boating season to start late in many places around the Heartland. The impact has seriously curtailed boating plans and slashed profits for marine businesses, bringing comments from “it’s been a lousy year so far” to “ […] Read More
The Complete Listing of Marinas and Locks on the Inland and Gulf Intracoastal Waterways
Summer Sports
Bowriders are the crossover athletes of the boating world. Need convincing? Just take a look at what their owners ask of them. Wakeboarding, skiing, tubing, fishing, joyriding, beaching. It’s all in a day’s work for these prolific runabouts. At the same time, they’re expected to carry a heavy load of people and gear — […] Read More
Message in a Bottle
The idea of sending or receiving a “message in a bottle” has had a nautical élan for centuries. Theoprahastus, a Greek philosopher, is credited with throwing the first sealed bottles into the water around 310 BC into the Mediterranean. It was reported that he had no responses. In more modern times, the rock band […] Read More
Paddle On!
The old images of “paddling” were of fur-trading voyageurs or diehard canoeists grinding it out with the rain and bugs. Things have changed, as paddle-sport participation has exploded. According to the American Canoe Association, there was a 50-percent percent increase in recreational kayaking participants from 2006 to 2011, with fishing kayak sales […] Read More
Living Large
It’s no secret the houseboat industry has had a tough time over the last few years. Economic turbulence here and abroad even caused several prominent manufacturers to close their doors. But houseboaters are a passionate bunch, and if last year’s sales numbers are any indication, these folks are starting to open their wallets and […] Read More
Look Before You Leap
When buyers see a home on the water for sale in their price range, there is often an overpowering urge to leap before they look. This can be a recipe for disaster, particularly with regard to the unique characteristics of property. While lakes and rivers in the same region can appear fairly similar and […] Read More
Life is But a Swing
You can’t accuse this couple of sitting on the fence when it comes to making big decisions. In fact, Mike and Rosie made one life-changing decision just a few years ago, and as a result, they are now living the dream of countless boat owners around the world. The course of their […] Read More
The Complete Listing of Marinas and Locks on the Inland and Gulf Intracoastal Waterways
Teach a Kid to Fish
According to studies conducted by the American Sportfishing Association, 70 percent of those of us who fish were introduced to the sport by the time we were 12 years old. Most of us actually started fishing even earlier than that, thanks to an adult who took the time to teach and take us fishing. […] Read More