Great Boating Activities in Greece

Greece is a certainly one of the most beautiful countries in the world to visit, and while you’re there, you need to get out on the water and experience the country from off the coast. Here are a few of the best boating trips you can take while visiting Greece.

Yacht Charters

Yacht charters are a great way to see a great amount of the Greek coast by boat, and provide a much more relaxing atmosphere than any ferry or high speed power boat will offer. Take one out in the midafternoon, and spend your time out on the water for a sunset that you’ll never forget. There are quite a few yacht charters available throughout Greece, but Bareboat Yacht Charter in Greece is one of the best available. They have sailing boats and sailing yachts for Greece and the Greek Islands.

Scuba Diving

Restrictions on scuba diving in Greece have always been a bit tight, as tremendous amounts of artifacts are buried on the seafloor off the coast of many cities. However, many of these restrictions have eased up as of just a few years ago, and if you plan a trip out far enough in advanced then you shouldn’t have much of a problem. The water around the more than 1400 Greek islands is incredibly clear and shallow enough in most locations, which gives you plenty of options of places to go.

Paragliding by Boat

There are plenty of services that allow you to attach yourself to the back of a motor boat and send you loose on a high flying paragliding experience that gives you an aerial view of the beautiful surround areas. It’s a great activity to do with a friend or significant other, as you can typically go up in two’s.

Boat Purchase Researching Tips

Buying a boat ranks in one of the top purchases you’ll likely make in your entire life. Doing the proper research beforehand is critical to ensure you’ll buy a boat that will suit your needs the most and last you as long as you so desire. Buying a boat like buying any expensive item in the 21^st century is much different than it used to be, and there are a few places you need to look into while doing your initial research.

Boating Forums

When researching the specific type of boat you want to buy, it’s great to get an unbiased opinion of similar boat models from current or previous owners. There are plenty of forums to look into, and to speed up the time it takes to find the information you want, we have a bit of a shortcut. Let’s say you’re interested in learning more about the Alumacraft Trophy 175, and you want to find any info on it on the thehulltruth.com forums. In Google, use this search: “Alumacraft Trophy 175” site:thehulltruth.com to only get results related to that boat.

At the same time, don't be fooled by one or two amazing or completely negative reviews in forums. Reviews can be posted by anyone including people associated with the company or a competitor. Doing a search in Google again of “Alumacraft Trophy 175” review will yield results from online boating magazines and other credible resources that provide an honest opinion and description of the boat.

Online Sites

Once you've narrowed down the type or types of boats you are interested in, it’s time to find the right places to buy them. There are plenty of sites to find new or used boats that have been posted by either site administrators or by site users who sign up with a free or paid account. The most difficult part of speeding up the process is finding current and accurate information, and not postings from several years ago that were never taken down or modified. Additionally, you probably don’t want to find a listing on the other side of the country, as transportation costs become a significant part of the purchase decision. Boats Around Town is a great site that updates their listings on a frequent basis and geographically maps where you can find a new or used boat, or sell post and sell your boat.

Boat Safety Improvement Ideas

With May right around the corner, you’re either eager to put your boat in the water or you’re already enjoying the nice warm weather if you live a bit further south. Before you get too excited, you may want to consider these three renovations for safety purposes that will make your summer boating experience more enjoyable by not having to worry about lurking dangers.

Man Overboard Pole

Hopefully you’ll never need to use it, but if you plan on taking your boat out in potentially rough weather, then it’s a great idea to have one on board. You can find them online at a fairly decent price or stop by your nearby marina store.

New Handrails

Handrails help give your boat a nice accented look, while at the same time keeping you safe while you’re navigating your way around your boat. Old and deteriorating handrails can be a danger for anyone who is using them to stay on the boat when out on rough seas. Buck Woodcraft makes an excellent selection of teak handrails as well as other matching teak products that keep you safe and make your boat look great!

Bilge Pump Light

If your boat has an automatic bilge pump, it’s important to know when it’s running. Because your boat is usually quite noisy when it’s underway, it’s good to have a light that comes on when the bilge pump is running. Make sure the light is working, and make sure it’s in a location that will easily get your attention.

The Awesome EZ-Xtend Boat Zipper

An all too common and painful problem that all boaters can identify with is dealing with a bad boat cover. Boat covers rip and shrink, which leads to a whole lot of problems, including water damage, mold issues, and many sore and painful fingers and thumbs from trying to snap an undersized boat cover in place. We've all tried leaving our boat covers out in the sun for a few hours to make it more stretchable, but eventually you’ll have to put your cover back on when it’s cloudy out, and a boat cover that’s damaged has to be repaired or replaced in order to preserve your boat.

Luckily there’s a great product out there that keeps you from buying a brand new expensive boat cover and helps solve these common problems called the EZ-Xtend Boat Zipper. Their patent pending product solves many of the common boat cover problems by extending the length of a boat cover, and providing a backup option when zippers blow out or a part of your boat cover rips. Even if your boat cover is in perfect shape right now, it’s always a good idea to keep one of these stowed away in case you’re in a bad situation and you need to repair your boat cover as soon as possible.

Moving Your Yacht – What you Need to Know

Transporting a boat from A to B is not an easy task by any means. Without proper planning and preparation, you may be putting yourself at risk for damages and serious financial responsibilities. Knowing your options prior to transportation, and what you need to do to prepare is an important part of safely transporting your vessel.

Size

The size of your boat is everything when it comes to transporting it from one location to another. It’s typically faster and easier to transport smaller boats, or boats under 20 feet, on a trailer. Things get a bit tricky with boats over 25 feet. You need the proper vehicle to transport them, and things become a bit more tricky and dangerous when moving such a large boat on the road. You may require specific permits to be able to transport your boat, and may even require a police escort to legally transport it. At that point, it’s much safer and cost effective to hire a yacht delivery service.

Choosing a Service

Recommendations are everything when it comes to finding a reliable yacht service provider for your boat. Talks with any buddies of yours that have used yacht deliver services in the past, and ask them for services to look into or avoid. Smooth Passage Yacht Delivery is a trusted yacht delivery service that works on both the Pacific and Atlantic coasts. Pick out a service well in advance, and communicate with them to let them know about specific requests you have, and to learn about what you need to do on your end.

Preparation

Fully wash down your vessel’s hull, and record any existing damages to your boat with photographs. Show these photos to the yacht transportation service prior to handing your boat over to them. It may be a good idea to hire a licensed marine surveyor to audit your boat for issues that you may be responsible for, in the event something goes wrong in the yacht transportation service’s hands.

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