Happy boating this 4th of July

MIKE WHITEHEAD

Ahoy.

Happy birthday, America, on this Fourth of July weekend, and you

can start your nautical festivities with the 60th annual American

Legion Fourth of July Old Glory Boat Parade in Newport Harbor.

The boaters will be trying to win one of the parade awards,

including the spirit of competition for the loudest ovations from

shore, and best decorated, outstanding music, finest costumes, most

creative animation, greatest spirit and the coveted sweepstakes and

commodores trophy.

The Legion will open at 7 a.m. with a pancake breakfast for $10 a

ticket until 11 a.m., after which lunch will be available.

The boat parade begins at 1 p.m. The lead boat will be a Newport

Harbor Patrol fireboat that will start the parade by shooting a huge

stream of water into the sky.

The brightly decorated boats will then follow the fireboat

throughout the harbor, as spectators onshore and aboard boats cheer

the procession.

There is no charge to enter the parade with your boat, but you

must fill out a registration form at the legion or call (949)

673-5070.

After dark, boaters can watch the Newport Dunes annual fireworks

show, which starts at 9 p.m. and usually lasts for just under a half

an hour. My favorite spot to watch from a boat is in the large

turning by the anchorage area, though some boaters want to venture

closer to the action.

I will caution all boaters entering the Back Bay at night that you

must follow the unlit channel markers or risk grounding.

Also, boaters must know the tide levels for clearance under the

bridge.

However, I do find it uncanny that the only area in the harbor

where a boater must stay in between the channel markers is the one

where the channel markers do not have lights.

My tip of the week comes from Boat U.S., which offers tips for

getting the most from a tank of fuel, especially with the cost of

marine fuel.

* Leave the extra junk home. Don’t load the boat up with weight

you don’t need.

* Watch water weight. At 8.33 pounds per gallon, why keep the

water in the tank topped off if you’re only going out for the

afternoon?

* Tune her up. A tuneup is an excellent investment and should

easily pay for itself over the summer.

* Tune your prop. You can lose up to 5 mph of boat speed with a

poorly tuned prop.

If your boat goes 50 mph with a like-new prop and only 45 mph with

a prop that’s dinged and out of pitch, you’ve lost 10% of your speed

but are still using the same amount of fuel. That converts to a 10%

loss in fuel economy.

* Clean the boat’s bottom.

A fouled bottom is like a dull knife; it takes a lot more effort

-- and fuel -- to push it through the water.

Barnacles and slime slow the boat dramatically and increase fuel

consumption.

* Keep the boat in trim, either by using trim tabs or with weight

distribution.

A boat that is trimmed correctly will move through the water with

less effort -- and less fuel.

* Go with the flow. Consult tide tables and, whenever possible,

try to travel with the tide.

* Install a fuel-flow meter. A fuel-flow meter is like a heart

monitor; when consumption starts to rise, it’s an early warning that

something is amiss. A fuel-flow meter also allows you to select a

comfortable cruising speed that optimizes the amount of fuel being

consumed.

If you don’t want to spring for a fuel-flow meter (about $300),

you can calculate your fuel mileage by dividing distance traveled by

gallons at fill-up.

Using your logbook, you can then approximate fuel flow using

average speeds and time underway.

* For sailboats only: If you own a sailboat, all of the above

apply, but the real savings begin when the engine is shut off and the

sails are raised.

Tune in to the No. 1 boating talk radio show in the nation, “Capt.

Mike Whitehead’s Boathouse Radio Show.”

It airs every Saturday from noon to 1 p.m. on KCBQ-AM (1170). You

can join me, Chandler Bell and Eric Hovland by calling the listener

line at (888) 344-1170.

Safe voyages.

* MIKE WHITEHEAD is the Pilot’s boating and harbor columnist. Send

him your harbor and marine-related thoughts and story suggestions by

e-mail to mike@boathousetv.com or visit https://www.boat housetv.com.