I love it when readers send along a photo of something they see on a boat that catches their eye. Recently a reader sent a little gem my way that is perhaps the ultimate in what we used to call a "Mickey Mouse" installation. No offense meant to the Disney folks, or Mickey for that matter, but truly, would you want Mickey working on your boat?

 So, I've decided to create the Mickey Mouse award here for outstanding efforts to do things wrong on boats. The winner will be documented in photographic memory only, and really we only want to document their efforts, so keep those photos coming! People learn from this stuff. Of course the recipient of the award, although not publicly named here for legal reasons, must agree to wear a hat or head band as shown here everytime they work on their boat......

So now, to get a feel for how you might go about winning this coveted award, here's this week's winner:

Yes folks that is a Tupperware container screwed into a bulkhead on someone's boat, and yes that is electrical wiring going into and out of the container.

Please people, all electrical junctions if enclosed need to be in a UL or NEMA type approved box designed and rated for electrical installations. The box shown is useful for storing the left-over macaroni and cheese, not electical junction points......Credit goes for creativity, but big negative points on this install. Sorry, but it's just too Mickey Mouse for me to handle. 

Well its Memorial Day weekend and at least for me the boating season has begun. On my power boating side that means striper fishing here in the northeast.

Every now and then the fish get smarter than fishermen and one of the ways they do that is to get our fishing line caught up in the propeller on the boat. This almost always means that the fish will break off and miss the chance to get hauled into the boat. Bummer on the lost fish! But don't turn an event like this into something worse like a blown up lower unit on your outboard engine! The photo below shows what happens:

If this fishing line is left on the shaft behind your propeller it will eventually destroy the seal behind it that keeps water out of your gearcase and oil in the gearcase. The bottom line is that if this goes unattended, the lost fish is going to be the least of your worries.

So, the tip here is to pay attention! If you or somebody on your boat gets a line caught up in your propeller, don't ignore the issue. Just because the engine still runs and the propeller still turns does not mean that trouble isn't just around the corner. When you get back to shore, remove the propeller for inspection to see if fishing line, as shown above has wrapped itself around the shaft. If it has, get it rid of it! While your at it, if you didn't already grease the shaft as part of your spring maintenance routine, do it now. Reinstall the propeller and give that striper another go tomorrow. Have a great holiday everybody!

Most people that own boats spend little or no time thinking about the exhaust system for either their main propulsion engines or their generator if they have one. In going through my photo archives today I ran across a photo in my "stupid designs" file. Its worth sharing so you can check your boat and see if the same design team worked on your boat. The photo below shows quite clearly what I'm talking about here.

 The little nub you see down near the waterline is the exhuast outlet for this boat's generator. It's about 2 ft. below an opening port that serves a berthing area on this particular boat. I just love sniffing engine exhaust gasses while I'm trying to get to sleep.............What were these guys thinking?

Now granted this particular boat is diesel equipped, but please people, remember that even though diesels emit a far lower percentage of carbon monoxide, they do emit some carbon monoxide. This is a potentially lethal design that slipped through the cracks. Why? Well the boat was not built here in the US, and I'll bet for sure the builder / designer had never even heard of ABYC Standard P-1, which addresses issues like this. Check your boat over for stupid designs like this. Photos are welcome!

OK, so I'm among those low tech types that does not have an iPhone. I use a Blackberry because my service provider is not a part of the iPhone network, and I like my service provider, Sprint.

Today it was announced that a new weather service application is available for my Blackberry, so I won't have to feel like a lightweight when I'm out with my iPhone friends.. Here's the release:

MOBILE MARINER^™ APPROVED BY BLACKBERRY^® APP WORLD

 Mystic, Conn. – May 25, 2010 – (Marine NewsWire) Mobile Mariner, LLC announces that the Mobile Mariner™ app has been approved and is now available for purchase through BlackBerry^® App World.

Mobile Mariner is a specialized app which provides essential information to anyone who lives, works or plays on the water, including boaters, fishermen, sailors, kayakers, surfers, etc.

The app includes the marine weather forecast, tide information and live weather conditions for the coastal United States including the Great Lakes.

Mobile Mariner displays a five-day weather forecast for all coastal NOAA weather zones throughout the United States, and allows subscribers to continuously monitor up to 10 different weather zones.

The app also provides predicted and observed tide information, in text and graph format, for all NOAA primary tide stations. Tide information is provided based on current location and also allows for continuous monitoring of up to 10 different tide stations.

 In addition, Mobile Mariner includes current weather conditions such as wind speed, wind heading, wind gusts, air and water temperature, and barometric pressure from the tide stations, where available. The data is updated every six minutes and the last 24 hours of data is available in graph format.

More information about Mobile Mariner can be found at www.mobilemariner.com. Mobile Mariner is available for purchase at http://appworld.blackberry.com/webstore/content/8082. A seven-day free trial is available.

If your boat is equipped with a propane system (LPG) you should be performing periodic leak tests for the system. The test is really easy to perform, but in my experience few boater's ever perform the test. No special equipment is needed and if the system has been installed in accordance with ABYC Standard A-1, Liquified Petroleum Gas Systems, there should be a label inside the lid for your LPG bottle locker that tells you how to perform the test. An example of the pertinent paragraph found on the label is shown here:

Paragraph 4 describes the three minute leak down test. Leaks can be traced by using a soapy water solution at all fittings and joints in the system. Just make sure the soap you use does not contain any ammonia. The ammonia will actually attack brass fittings commonly used in LP plumbing systems and may cause them to leak. It won't happen immediately, but several months down the line you could be in trouble.