Category: Weekend Workbook
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How to Install a Jack Plate
How to Install a Jack Plate Jack plates for outboard motors improve performance and enable shallow-water operation. Jim Hatch Jack plates that adjust on the fly offer a unique set of benefits on a variety of outboard-powered boat types, from bass and bay boats to performance craft. Installed between the transom and the outboard motor,…
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How to Replace SeaDek
How to Replace SeaDek The hardest part of installing new SeaDek is removing old SeaDek. Jim Hatch When SeaDek began offering custom-cut EVA closed-cell foam padding in 2004, I added a pair of long, narrow deck pads on either side of the center console and a third deck pad at the helm of my trusty…
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How to Install a Fixed-Mount Marine VHF Radio
How to Install a Fixed-Mount Marine VHF Radio A fixed-mount VHF radio offers a number of sophisticated features and options. Jim Hatch Installing one of today’s advanced fixed-mount marine VHF radios can prove more involved than you might imagine. Naturally, every radio model requires a 12-volt DC power source and a VHF antenna, but models…
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How to Install an Automatic Bilge Pump
How to Install an Automatic Bilge Pump Select a pump with the same output or greater than the original pump. Jim Hatch A dewatering device is strongly recommended by the US Coast Guard aboard boats, and electric bilge pumps fulfill this role. However, bilge pumps can wear out. Replacing the old pump with one that…
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Installing a Watersports Mirror on a Center-Console
Installing a Watersports Mirror on a Center-Console Once installation is complete, remove the protective film from the mirror’s reflective surface and, if necessary, clean the mirror with the supplied microfiber cloth. Jim Hatch Today’s new center-consoles have evolved into much more than just fishing boats. These popular models increasingly come with all kinds of family-oriented…
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Installing LED Spreader Lights
Installing LED Spreader Lights Once the installation is complete, turn on the power and switch on the light to make sure it works. Then adjust the angle to provide the best possible illumination of the deck area. Jim Hatch The first spreaders—aka marine floodlights—that I installed on my boat 30 years ago were ITT Jabsco…
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Installing a Lighted VHF Antenna
Installing a Lighted VHF Antenna Shakespeare’s new CommLight antenna adds illuminated flair to nighttime boating. Jim Hatch Marine VHF antennas have not changed much since VHF radios were adopted by recreational boaters in the 1960s. We have seen improved durability and materials, optimized transmission and reception range, and enhanced mounting systems. Yet, the function of…
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How to Create Custom Boat Trim
How to Create Custom Boat Trim Fashioning pieces of fitted trim can enhance the good looks of your boat. Jim Hatch After 30 years of saltwater use, the intricately curved anodized-aluminum trim along the cap of the open transom of my outboard-powered 21-foot center-console fishing boat was falling apart. Corrosion had eaten away at the…
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Installing a Skyhawk Oversea System to Protect Your Boat
Installing a Skyhawk Oversea System to Protect Your Boat The Skyhawk Oversea system won an Innovation Award from the National Marine Manufacturers Association at the 2024 Miami International Boat Show. Jim Hatch There are a number of app-based boat security and monitoring products today from well-known brands such as Garmin, Gost, Siren Marine, and one…
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Installing Dometic’s Xtreme Power Assist
Installing Dometic’s Xtreme Power Assist Dometic’s XPA system makes cable steering nearly effortless. Jim Hatch Dometic’s new Xtreme Power Assist offers innovative benefits to boaters on a number of levels. For one, it’s the only power-assist system for outboard-powered boats with cable steering. Secondly, it’s easy to install for DIYers. Thirdly, it makes steering an…