...And sometimes, that's a GOOD THING!

The 23-foot Combo-Cruiser Amphibian, from 1970, was a unique design. At I guess, I'm thinking the product vision had the words "maximize cabin volume" somewhere near the top. Well above, say, "attractive, nautical appearance" or "seakindly hull form".

Thanks to my friends at Shine Micro, I was able to visit the exhibition booths at the big eNavigation conference today.

People don't always appreciate what I mean when I tell them the C-Dory has a flat bottom. Maybe this will help.

See, it's actually flat, starting only about a third of the way aft from the bow. That's why Two Lucky Fish planes so easily at 12 knots or so, but it's also why she pounds so hard in a 2-foot chop.

Here it comes again. Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, November 20, 21, and 22, at the Quest Field Event Center in Seattle, Washington. It's the 2008 Pacific Marine Expo!

She's up on blocks at Seaview East Boatyard in Ballard. See, it's time for new antifouling bottom paint. Four years is really longer than you can expect antifouling to last! She's getting scrubbed and prepped, and will get a shiny new coat of Pettit Vivid.

Our neighbors at the FJM Security up in Lynnwood, WA, have a clever product designed for vehicle with typical 2" trailer hitch receivers.

Busbars are a vital part of any electrical system, but traditional units can be difficult to mount.  Revolutionizing busbar design, VTE Inc. introduces the state-of-the-art Tab-Type Busbar.  Employing push-on type connections, this innovative busbar installs on average 255% faster than fork-type and 340% faster than ring-terminal-type connections.

I wrote last winter about how impressed I had been with the Airis inflatable kayak I saw at the Seattle Boat Show last winter. I got a chance to put one through its paces this summer during my cruise, and it was a BIG hit, especially with my girls.

It's not too early to start planning for the winter gift-giving holidays. Lots of outfits publish "gift guides", but oftentimes they just look like collections of new gadgets and gizmos about which the editors happened to receive press releases.