THE HARBOR COLUMN:

Next week the Southern California Marine Assn. hosts the 16th Annual Orange County Boat Show at the Anaheim Convention Center. I am making plans to cruise to the show, which will have more than 500 new boats on display.

The Orange County Boat Show is packed with more than five acres of family runabouts, ski boats, fishing boats, pontoons, high-performance sportboats, cruisers and personal watercrafts that are all under one roof.

In addition, SCMA will be hosting a special “Discover Boating” area where experienced boaters and novices alike can visit to receive valuable information on how to get more out of the recreational boating experience.

The show will start Thursday. You can view the days, times and show information by going to their website, at www.orangecountyboatshow.com.

Beginning after the O.C. Boat Show is the 35th Annual Newport Boat Show where we will be broadcasting a live radio show April 12. You can surf to www.newportinwaterboatshow.com to check it out.

Tip of the week: A clarification to the answer for last week’s question, “Why do some boats have a sticker with what looks like license plate numbers on each side of the bow, and other boats do not have any type of licensing showing on the boat?”

I mentioned that ships’ tenders do not need to be registered, and then I made the closing statement that “the dinghy carried onboard that yacht will be registered with the DMV.”

This might seem a little confusing when I mentioned that tenders do not need registration and then I mention that your dinghy will be registered with the DMV.

Well, the Code of Federal Regulations does contain a provision about documented commercial vessels using non-registered tenders.

The vessel’s tender must be marked with “T/T & documented vessel’s name” (Tender To), and the tender is allowed only to shuttle people between the vessel and shore.

Also, there is a maximum mileage distance the tender can travel from the ship, so most people would not want this T/T classification.

T/T boats can not be used for any other purpose like cruising around the harbor, water skiing or joy riding.

I hope this helps, and I know of only a couple of T/T boats in Newport that are on commercial boats.

MIKE WHITEHEAD is the Pilot’s boating columnist. Send marine-related thoughts and story suggestions to mike@boathousetv.com or go to www.boathousetv.com.