Boating – June 2019

BOAT DOCTOR ///

40 | BOATINGMAG.COM | JUNE 2019

WE

TEST

STUFF

DAVIS INSTRUMENTS

AIR-DRYR 500

The climate turned wet in Southern

California this year, and so I looked for

ways to prevent mold, mildew and cor-

rosion in the cabin of my 22-footer. The

Davis Instruments Air-Dryr 500 did

the trick. Placed on the cabin f loor

and plugged into a 110/220-volt

AC outlet, it heats the air to

the point that any moisture

is held in suspension, then

releases the air through the

top vents. Cooler damp air

is drawn in, where it too is

heated. It runs silently and

uses no fan, and it keeps my

cabin warm and dry. You can

also use it in bilges and engine

rooms. A thermal cutoff shuts

down the device if airf low is im-

peded. $65.99; davisinstruments

.com —Jim Hendricks

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Q:

Dear Doc, why are drain

plugs installed from outside

the boat instead of inside?

Dan Littlejohn

Wessington Springs,

South Dakota

A:

Hi, Dan. Aboard most boats, access to the transom in

the rear is very diffi cult to get to from the inside. Some

boaters do install them from the inside, though, and some

drain plugs are actually cast with an extended T-handle.

(continued from page 39) PLUGGED

If the fuel is bad and the

engines won’t run, dispos-

al is expensive. For small

amounts of gasoline, one

common solution is to try

using it in a noncritical

application, such as a lawn

mower. Disposing of gasoline

properly requires calling in

an environmental services

company. It is costly. Proba-

bly a four-fi gure job for your

120 gallons of fuel.

Some municipalities

may take old gas as part of

hazardous waste days, etc.,

but this is a hit-and-miss

proposition.

Note that gasoline is

highly explosive—even a

small amount of gasoline

vapor. Plus, its fumes and

contact with the skin and

membranes can cause real

damage, so the utmost care

must be taken when dealing

with it. Please be careful.

FLARE UP

Q: Hi Mick. I have a ques-

tion about the disposal of

handheld f lares that have

reached their expiration

date. Every 18 months we’re

supposed to replace the

f lares we carry on our boats.

I’ve asked a Wisconsin DNR

official at a boat show, and

he mentioned putting them

in a bucket of water (they

f loat) or to carry them with

new ones and use the older

ones first. If this is an option,

why replace with new ones?

Sounds like a manufacturing

scam to sell more f lares. I

asked my local firefighters,

since they would have to

fight a fire at my house with

a lot of old f lares stored

there. They had no answer

either. I was thinking of their

safety because they would

not be expecting exploding

f lares going off. When I

purchase new marine f lares

this summer, I’ll have about

15 to 20 older f lares inside my

garage, with more to be added

every 18 months. Do you have

any ideas for removal of these

older ones, or do I just let them

stockpile and hope for no

fires? If everybody is replacing

their f lares, there could be a

lot of garages with this safety

problem. I thank you for any

help with this issue.

Dave Hengel

Kimberly, Wisconsin

A: First off, the U.S. Coast

Guard requires that flares are

replaced every 42 months,

not every 18 months as you

state. Also, I hate to contra-

dict your DNR, but you may

only get one chance to raise

the attention of a rescue

team. Don’t risk wasting it by

placing your trust in expired

flares. Testing shows that

there is a 50 percent chance

they won’t work.

Coast Guard tests that we

have observed have shown

the percentage of expired

f lares that work is very low.

Read this article detailing

a demonstration of expired

f lare use that we attended:

boatingmag.com/

problems-pyrotechnics.

As for disposal, there are

some answers. For handheld

f lares, you can ignite them in

your yard or other place where

they will not be perceived as

a distress signal or cause a

fire hazard. Once burned out,

dispose of them properly.

Aerial flares are another

matter. One cannot shoot

these off without risk of fire

or making someone believe

there is a distress call. Dispos-

al is a patchwork of local, state

and federal agencies, and

requires you to call around.

Some cities offer fireworks

disposal or ammunition

disposal. Boaters need to be

creative, unfortunately.

As an alternative, elec-

tronic f lares are now

approved for use aboard

many boats. These do not

require replacement every

42 months. You may want

to consider these electronic

SOS lights. Here is a recom-

mended article with some

examples: boatingmag.com/

electronic-flares-personal-

locator-beacons-and-life-

jackets.