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Not only is SPOT good for safety, but it also lets your family and friends know where you are if you're on a wilderness trip. In addition to the SOS button, it also has an OK button, which sends emails to and address list you specify beforehand, giving an "I'm OK" message, along with a link to...

I made removable davits to hang a sea kayak from the edge of the roof. They worked quite well on a cruise from Key Largo north to Marco Island, where I put my C-Dory in storage and kayaked back south through Everglades National Park. Photos are here: http://smittypaddler.com/cds/cei/ec2013 ...

Before you buy a Wallas, look at all the threads on the C-Brats website about stoves. When the Wallas works it's great, but when it doesn't, it seems to do it at the worst times; like when it's 45 degrees in the cabin, and you have half-cooked bacon in the skillet. I replaced my Wallas with an...

Someone suggested the solenoid on the starter, and that turned out to be the problem...probably. I got the motor to the point where it was failing, and took it immediately to the dealer. Instead of getting his testing equipment in place beforehand, he tried it twice, and it failed twice, but...

Someone in this post mentioned Bacardi 151 proof, which is what I mostly use. I've used Trangia alcohol stoves for 30 years on canoe/camping trips. They're unpressurized, and therefore relatively safe, though the Trangia Mini doesn't protect the flame very well, and I once had it on an unstable...

I used to have a Corinthian Sailstar (which I miss). I kept an automobile jumper cable in the boat, and when anchored, clipped one end to a metal shroud, and tossed the other end in the water. I never got struck by lightning, but I'll never know whether it was the jumper cable that saved me...

I replaced my Wallace Stove, which, when it worked, was great, but always broke at the worst of times, like when it was 45 degrees out, damp and raining, and with half a pound of raw bacon in the skillet. Each time I had to ship it back to the manufacturer for repairs. I wonder who dreamed up...

I have twin Honda 40s on my CD-22 Cruiser. The starboard engine always starts, no problem, but intermittently the port engine won't. The engine doesn't even grind, and if I wiggle the key or shift lever (I'm never sure which does the trick) it'll start. I took it to a dealer, who, because...

I build removable davits to carry a sea kayak on my C-Dory 22 Cruiser, and they worked well for me. You can see photos here: http://smittypaddler.com/cds/ceh/ec2013 ... 30122p.htm

Take a look at Piranha propellers. Each blade is individually replaceable. I haven't bought any recently, but the last time I did, each blade cost about $17. Blades are easily replaced, and it only takes a few minutes. I think they give me more thrust because they're hydrodynamically shaped...

I've added in bold text, "Click on any thumbnail image to enlarge," to the page at - http://smittypaddler.com/cds/cek/Florid ... 50316p.htm I should've done this a long time ago. Sorry about that.

I'm anchored tonight in Blue Peter Lake, 10 miles or so north of Hontoon Island, and off the St Johns River via a channel known as the Norris Dead River. I have a light Fortress anchor mounted at the bow, but when I'm in such a remote spot and want to be sure my anchor will hold, I drag a heavy...

Loud music of any kind, live or otherwise, is antithesis to what I enjoy when I go to places such as Hontoon Island, where I'm interested in hearing an osprey or bald eagle or alligator. If they're having live music at Hontoon Island, I won't be back there.

On my great loop, I crossed the Great Lakes in spring, when there's lots of fog. I was nearing the end of 6 months away from home, anxious to get home, and travelled a lot of days I probably shouldn't have. I had three GPS units on board, so I always knew where I was, but without radar I had...

I'm at Acosta Creek Harbor on the St Johns, having arrived Tuesday after the long 1380-mile trip from Wisconsin. As I was walking down the pier to my slip the other day I saw with delight two C-Dorys coming upriver from the north. I wondered if they were stopping here, but they both kept up on...

The main mouth of the Ocklawaha is at 29 28 13 n 81 41 27 w, and the mouth of Bear Creek is 29 28 3 n 81 41 29 w, just 1000 feet or so south of the main Ocklawaha. Bear Creek is actually part of the Ocklawaha, and if you're in a kayak, when you get a few miles up you can cross over into the...

There is an Arington River that feeds into the St Johns in Jacksonville just south of the Mathews Bridge (Hwy 115), lat/lon 30 19 5 n 81 36 47 w. Maybe that's the label you're seeing in Google Maps?

I've only used this a couple of times when I had the boat in storage in Florida; mothballs (Naphthalene and Paradichlorobenzene). You can buy disks of the stuff at Wallgreens, or used to anyway. It seems to work.

I love the Ocklawaha, in a kayak, canoe, or my C-Dory. I'd love to see the dam removed, and I think the extra current further upstream from the reservoir might deepen the channel, and let cruisers like the C-Dory go upstream perhaps even as far as Lake Apopka. I tried and failed to go that far...

Almost 10 years ago when I did the Great Loop, I averaged 3.75 mpg over 7154 statute miles. But I have twin Honda 40s on my CD 22 cruiser, and one day I averaged 5.43 mpg by shutting down one engine and cruising at about 6 to 7 mph. Too boring for me, though, and I never did that again. A...