Fun Boating Quiz.

[Mee-n-Mac]

I don't have a Bizer (or even his chart ) in front of me right now but in addition to what GWC posted I recall 2 circles, an outer one for "true" bearings and an inner one for magnetic bearings. It'll have marking for North, East, Sout and West and usually some intermediate markings. I seem to recall a date when the magnetic declination/variation was last measured, how much per year it changes (it changes with time !) and perhaps what co-ordinate system the chart uses.

Yes your GPS should have a choice of using true bearings or magnetic bearings. All GPS info comes from measuring distance and doppler shift to a variety of orbiting satellites, so to get your GPS to read some bearing (be it true or magnetic) you need to be moving (or have moved).

Like Sunset Bob I remember that BEN is my "buoy" friend I also wish that some differing caps would be put on top of the markers so as to make them readily distinguishable when lighting is bad, or when the paint is faded (like the old wood one off Patrician Shores). Like Orion I keep a chart handy because there are some places where the buoy color just doesn't work 100 %. The one off Treasure I comes to mind.

Lastly as to blowers I say the reason to keep them off during fueling and on after, is to give you a chance to sniff out a problem. If you've had a refueling mishap and have have gotten fuel into the bilge it may not be noticable if you've had the blowers running all the time. If however you turn them on only after refueling is done and then immediately sniff you should be able to detect a problem. All blowers (indeed all engine compartment devices) are supposed to be ignition protected and shouldn't be able to cause a spark and subsequent fire but I'd rather find a problem at the dock and not out on the lake.