wrote:
NEWS From BoatU.S.
BOATU.S. ONLINE CONSUMER DATABASE DEBUTS
... (snipped for brevity) ...

Thanks, Chuck. I'm a Boats US member and didn't know about this.

BTW if the Boats US magazine is included in the $14 membership, I'd
recommend it highly as a good deal.

DSK

On Thu, 16 Jun 2005 07:38:38 -0400, DSK wrote:

wrote:
NEWS From BoatU.S.
BOATU.S. ONLINE CONSUMER DATABASE DEBUTS
... (snipped for brevity) ...

Thanks, Chuck. I'm a Boats US member and didn't know about this.

BTW if the Boats US magazine is included in the $14 membership, I'd
recommend it highly as a good deal.

Give me a good reason to join BoatUS for $14 per year - seriously, as
a member, what do you gain for the $14?

Shortwave Sportfishing wrote:
Give me a good reason to join BoatUS for $14 per year

Why, am I a salesman all of a sudden?

... - seriously, as
a member, what do you gain for the $14?

I don't know. Check out their website. *IF* the magazine is included in
that $14 then it's a good deal right there, as it's a nice magazine with
very helpful boating articles... especially safety related ones.

Personally, I pay a lot more for my membership because I get insurance
and free towing, which I also consider a good deal. We've considered
shifting to a true maritime insurance policy which covers a lot of
boat-related casualties that Boats US (along with any other mainstream
insurance co) won't touch. But such policies are a lot more expensive,
and we like the idea of free towing even if we haven't ever used it.

Fair Skies
Doug King

On Thu, 16 Jun 2005 08:00:06 -0400, DSK wrote:

Shortwave Sportfishing wrote:
Give me a good reason to join BoatUS for $14 per year

Why, am I a salesman all of a sudden?

Your not - you said it was a good deal and I wanted to know why.

... - seriously, as
a member, what do you gain for the $14?

I don't know. Check out their website. *IF* the magazine is included in
that $14 then it's a good deal right there, as it's a nice magazine with
very helpful boating articles... especially safety related ones.

Personally, I pay a lot more for my membership because I get insurance
and free towing, which I also consider a good deal. We've considered
shifting to a true maritime insurance policy which covers a lot of
boat-related casualties that Boats US (along with any other mainstream
insurance co) won't touch. But such policies are a lot more expensive,
and we like the idea of free towing even if we haven't ever used it.

I've been with Sea//Tow since the CG started with private services
and have never had to use them.

Thanks for the info.

... we like the idea of free towing even if we haven't ever used it.



Shortwave Sportfishing wrote:
I've been with Sea//Tow since the CG started with private services
and have never had to use them.

Clearly, we're doing it wrong. We're shelling out hard earned money for
a service that we never use. We both should start boating more dangerously!

DSK

On Thu, 16 Jun 2005 11:40:40 -0400, DSK wrote:

... we like the idea of free towing even if we haven't ever used it.



Shortwave Sportfishing wrote:
I've been with Sea//Tow since the CG started with private services
and have never had to use them.

Clearly, we're doing it wrong. We're shelling out hard earned money for
a service that we never use. We both should start boating more dangerously!

Never quite thought of it that way before.

"Shortwave Sportfishing" wrote in message
...
On Thu, 16 Jun 2005 11:40:40 -0400, DSK wrote:

... we like the idea of free towing even if we haven't ever used it.



Shortwave Sportfishing wrote:
I've been with Sea//Tow since the CG started with private services
and have never had to use them.

Clearly, we're doing it wrong. We're shelling out hard earned money for
a service that we never use. We both should start boating more
dangerously!

Never quite thought of it that way before.

I have Vessel Assist, is the towing service in the San Francisco area. Only
tow I need was on the Sacramento river, and a fellow boater towed me in.
Broke a U-joint while running about 35 up the river. The coupling banging
around dinged up the inout shaft, making for major headache during repairs.
(Kodiak jet drive). But at $150 / hour for a tow, Is cheap to pay the $80 a
year.

"DSK" wrote in message
.. .

We've considered shifting to a true maritime insurance policy which covers
a lot of boat-related casualties that Boats US (along with any other
mainstream insurance co) won't touch.

What sorts of casualties?

We've considered shifting to a true maritime insurance policy which covers
a lot of boat-related casualties that Boats US (along with any other
mainstream insurance co) won't touch.


Doug Kanter wrote:
What sorts of casualties?


The only one I can think of off the top of my head is disposal... which
can get very expensive, and was a big issue for many people along the
Gulf after last year's hurricanes. Much less of an issue for smaller
boats, or trailerables kept at home.

Fair Skies-
Doug King

"Shortwave Sportfishing" wrote in message
news
On Thu, 16 Jun 2005 07:38:38 -0400, DSK wrote:

wrote:
NEWS From BoatU.S.
BOATU.S. ONLINE CONSUMER DATABASE DEBUTS
... (snipped for brevity) ...

Thanks, Chuck. I'm a Boats US member and didn't know about this.

BTW if the Boats US magazine is included in the $14 membership, I'd
recommend it highly as a good deal.

Give me a good reason to join BoatUS for $14 per year - seriously, as
a member, what do you gain for the $14?

Without being a member, I can walk into their Rochester NY store any time I
want and be "helped" by some of the worst retail staff I've ever met. :-)

Went in last week to buy a boat ladder. The ones they had wouldn't fit, but
the merchandise label showed the model numbers for OTHER sizes, one of which
I wanted. Went to the vegetable at the counter and asked if she could give
me the phone # of the West Marine 15 minutes away so I could call & see if
they had the ladder. She said she could check their inventory from her
computer. She punched in the model number and came up with two results:

Model 385788 - 3 Step Ladder 7" Hook - $34.95
Model 385788 - *** 3 Step Ladder 7" Hook 6 Pack - $38.95

She asked "Which one is it?" I said "They both show the right model number,
and the first one matches the right price on your shelf. I don't know what a
6 Pack of ladders is all about, so it has to be the first one". She says
"Well, it shows both in stock, but I can't call them to be sure unless
you're sure of which one it is". I said "It's YOUR computer system. Aren't
you supposed to know more about it than I am? How about just giving me their
phone number?" She walks away and gets the manager, who goes through the
same routine with the computer. I finally convinced them to just give me the
damned phone number. It took about 30 seconds for the human at the other
store to find out that he had the ladder, and set it aside for me.

The store's like this ALL the time, and has been for years. West Marine, on
the other hand, is a dream to shop at. I don't understand how the two
companies can be related.