This Month's Featured Articles

- Featured Article - Marine Products Corp. Sales Make Big Increase in 4th QTR
- Product Review - Garmin GHS20 remote VHF
- Boat Safety - Fogged In?
- Joke of the Month - Boat Painter on Nautical Time!

Featured Article - Marine Products Corp. Sales Make Big Increase in 4th QTR

ATLANTA - Net sales for Marine Products Corporation increased 34.2 percent in the fourth quarter compared to the previous year and net income excluding other income increased by $1,143,000.

The company said in a release that the increase in net sales for the fourth quarter, from $20,814,000 in Q4 2010 to $27,937,000 in the same period of 2011, was due to a 37.4 percent increase in the number of boats sold.

MPC said unit sales increased for most of its products lines, helped by improved sales due to Chaparral's H2O Sport and Fish & Ski Boats as well as the introduction of the entry-level Robalo 180 and 200.

"During the fourth quarter of 2011, Marine Products Corporation generated increased sales compared to the prior quarter and prior year for the first time in several quarters," Richard A. Hubbell, CEO of Marine Products Corp., said in a release. "A significant percentage of our net sales increase was due to sales of our new Chaparral H2O. Our dealers were enthusiastic about this entry-level model at our annual dealer conference, and during the fourth quarter we experienced strong consumer interest for this model as well."

Net sales for the twelve months ending on Dec. 31, 2011, were up 5.4 percent to $106,437,000, compared to $101,011,000 over the same period of 2010.

Product Review - Garmin GHS20 remote VHF

The GHS 20 is a wireless remote handset allowing full control of your Garmin VHF radios from a remote location. The GHS 20 provides full VHF radio control throughout the boat using the GWH 20 wireless hub which attaches to the back of the Garmin VHF. This is a handy remote as you can move around and not be tethered to a fixed VHF radio. There is a wrist lanyard so you can keep track of it.

The GWH 20 Wireless Hub is required and allows you to add up to 3 GHS 20 Wireless Remotes. You can buy the GHS20 and the hub as a bundle and then add additional remotes as required.

Garmin's new GHS 20 Remote Handset has a large rechargeable lithium-ion battery. Garmin claim a pretty good Battery life: up to 18 hours and a charge time: up to 4 hours. The GHS 20 can live on the charging unit while you monitor ch16. The charger and remote are waterproof so can live somewhere on deck.

I like the rotary knob and you have full DSC functions. For this you would need to integrate the VHF with a GPS.

Suggested retail price for this product is $299.99

Boat Safety - Fogged In?

This is the time of year in Florida there can be many days of sea fog.

The onset of fog can be a sudden, scary and dangerous event. Radar can help you identify the presence of other vessels, help you locate navigational aids and guide you into harbors. However, radar is only as good as its operator.

Your radar must be aligned correctly with your boat's heading to obtain accurate readings from the screen; if not, the target on the screen will not be positioned properly. And using radar to locate navigational aids in the fog takes practice.

To avoid dangerous situations in fog, practice using your radar while someone else is at the helm so you can concentrate on the radar screen. Try navigating from marker to marker using just the bearings and distances that your radar provides. By practicing using this technique, your will learn to see what your radar "sees" and you will be alerted to any calibration variances.

Global Positioning Systems are another way of reducing the guesswork and fear that one faces when getting caught in a fog. A good chart plotter GPS can help you navigate in thick fog regardless of whether you have radar. However, used in conjunction with radar, you can be more confident both of your position and other boats and hazards surrounding you.

Remember, when in fog to give the proper sound signals at the appropriate minimum intervals. Slow down to where you can stop your vessel within one half the distance you can see. If you are uncertain of other boats in the area or your position, you may want to simply anchor, sound your appropriate signal and wait until the fog lifts.

Joke of the Month - Boat Painter on Nautical Time!

A boat painter was awarded the job of painting a boat and when he was asked by the owner, how long it would take him to finish the job, he replied, "Two weeks".

Three weeks went by and the owner, a little concerned of the delay, confronted the painter. "Hey Paul", said the owner, "You told me that it would take you two weeks to paint my boat and it's been three weeks....What's up with that?" The painter put his paintbrush down, looked the owner square in the eye and said, "That was two NAUTICAL weeks, like a nautical mile, they're a little longer"!