MAY 2016 BEACON

Rear Commodores Comments…

It is hard to believe that May is here and all of us are thinking of spending time at NCYC. We have had good turnouts at the Elite Brigade weekends so far, but there is a still lot of work to be done getting the Club ready for Fitting Out weekend. Please continue to show up on Saturdays to help with this work. You will be pleasantly surprised with the amount of enhancements that have been done to the building and grounds. I want to continue to list some educational pieces of information that is useful for all of our boating members. This month I want to discuss fueling your boat. This is an excerpt from Boat US Seaworthy magazine’s April issue. When fueling, the electrical system must be shut down. (Turn off battery switches). All engines, including generator, must be off. Close all hatches to prevent fumes from coming below. Remove all passengers. Make sure that the fuel nozzle is in the fuel fill and not a rod holder or freshwater fill. (Yes, this has happened many times). Before starting the engines, open hatches, and turn on the blowers. After running them for 4-5 minutes, use your nose and smell the bilge. If you smell gasoline, get off the boat and alert the dockmaster. If you find spilled gas in the bilge, call 911 and let the professionals deal with it. One last thing, know where your fuel shutoffs are and verify they work properly. Label them if necessary and enjoy safe boating. Look forward to seeing you at our Elite Brigade and work weekends, now thru Fitting Out weekend. R/C Randy Pagel