THE HARBOR COLUMN:L.A. boat show should be big

Ahoy.

The first boat show of the new year starts Saturday, and the Southern California Marine Assn. is organizing the largest show west of the Mississippi. I am guaranteed that the 51st annual Los Angeles Boat Show will have lots of boats for you to explore that will range from an 8-foot Sabot to a new 55-foot Marquis. Plus, this is an all-indoor show so weather won’t be a factor, which is especially important this time of the year for any outdoor events.

As a bonus, I will broadcast my radio show live from the boat show Saturday from noon to 1 p.m. on KLAA-AM (830) with special co-hosts H.G. “Rags” Laragione, president and chief executive of the Maritime Institute, and Ray Tsuneyoshi, the state’s Boating and Waterways director. Additionally on Sunday, the Motorman will broadcast his radio show live from the boat show from 8 to 11 a.m. on KABC-AM (790). Leon Kaplan, known as the Motorman, is an expert on internal combustion engines, and he is the one you can ask about any problems and maintenance of your boat’s engines.

This is going to be a great show at the Los Angeles Convention Center. For show dates and times, go to www.losangelesboatshow.com.

I have a very important warning for all trailer boaters: Don’t offer rides to uninvited guests. I am not referring to your human guests, but ones that you cannot see easily. The quagga mussels are hitchhiking rides on an almost 2,000-mile journey from the Great Lakes to the Colorado River. The invasive mussels are hiding on your boat’s trailer or the intakes of your boat, and you need to take every precaution to avoid affecting the aquatic environment by unintentionally delivering the species to a lake.

The quagga mussels are very quick at reproducing, like the well-publicized zebra mussels, and both species will dramatically take over a waterway by choking off the other inhabitants, which mostly are indigenous species. Unfortunately, the quagga mussels were first spotted in Lake Mead just north of Davis Dam, and now the mussels have spread to Lake Havasu and to one of California’s water reservoirs.

Everyone, who is trailering a boat from any of the infested areas, and especially from the Great Lakes, must take extra precaution to thoroughly scrub the trailer, boat hull, and anywhere the little critter can hide. The mussels are the size of your fingernail and smaller when first developing, but as I mentioned, they are very aggressive when clogging pipelines and destroying the natural aquatic environment.

You have to help stop the spread of the mussel by preventing any hitchhikers, and you should ask the marina operators or ramp personnel at the launch if any mussels have been spotted in their body of water. Already, I can foresee stopping the invasion costing millions of dollars.

The tip of the week can help save you money on your taxes now that it is tax time. Mortgage interest deductions did not get eliminated and might apply to your boat if you have a boat loan. Your boat can qualify as a second home if the vessel is equipped to live aboard with a head, a galley and bunk for sleeping. This is not a frivolous tax loop in the law but levels the playing field. Many people are buying boats as their vacation home or second home in lieu of a house or condo. I know many snow birds who fly south to their vessels for the winter and then they are able to cruise to the harbors and secret coves. I recommend that you talk with your tax preparer about your deduction and remember that your loan company might not send Form 1098 to you.

Tune in to the No. 1 boating radio talk show in the nation, “Capt. Mike Whitehead’s Boathouse Radio Show” on our new station, KLAA-AM (830), from noon to 1 p.m. Saturdays. Join me with my motley crew, Chandler Bell and Eric Hovland, as we talk about all things boating.

Safe voyages.