May 27, 2021
By John Connell, Vice President of SLI Products Group, Crown Battery Manufacturing
Step 1: Make maintenance easy
All marine batteries require regular maintenance, even AGM and lithium-based models.
Put maintenance on your calendar so it’s automatic. Consider storing safety and maintenance equipment near your charging station to save time.
Always wear personal protective equipment, including safety glasses and gloves. Remove jewelry, watches, and other metallic objects or electronics.
Next, visually inspect and clean batteries. Battery covers, ports, and terminals should be clean, dry, and corrosion-free. If you see corrosion (it looks greenish), clean using a wire brush and biodegradable cleaner/neutralizer. Ports, terminals, and cables should be tightly connected and intact with no exposed or frayed wires.
For flooded lead-acid batteries:
- Measure specific gravity (concentration of acid) as advised in your manual.
- Equalize according to your battery manufacturer’s recommendations. (Never equalize sealed batteries such as AGM; it’s unsafe, unnecessary, and damaging.)
- Check fluid levels regularly. After charging, top off with deionized or distilled water to just above the plates -- about 2 cm. (3/4 in.) from the top of the cell.
Step 2: Store batteries in a cool, dry place
Since batteries are temperature-sensitive, avoid storing in extreme heat and cold. Charge batteries fully and disconnect the negative cable before storing. Avoid storing flooded lead-acid batteries below freezing, and top off with distilled water before and after storing. Check your manufacturer’s storage recommendations.
When you select the right batteries -- and properly care for them -- you’ll enjoy more time on the water and more money in your wallet. That’s something we can all appreciate.
Crown Battery | http://www.crownbattery.com

By Andy Adams
Regal Boats’ new LS36 is what we call a day boat. Regal says the LS36 merges their luxury yacht series with their bowrider series and the result is the LS36. This comfortable bowrider is perfect for cruising the lake or hosting friends and family for the day on the weekend.
We feel the styling deserves mention right off the top. This is a big boat at over 37-feet on an 11’7” beam but the clean and almost traditional lines give the LS36 a timeless sporty look that we think, really sets it apart. It’s a Yacht-certified vessel. I counted approximately 21 places for people to sit! You would probably never take a crowd that big but it can certainly handle a gang.
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By Zuzana Prochazka
Every few years, boat builders update their lines with refreshed designs and new features that eventually proliferate throughout their entire offering. Dufour Yachts is in mid-process of such an evolution as the builder changes up their line of sleek sailing cruisers.
One sign of this transformation is the naming convention that is morphing from triple-digit numbers ending with a zero, to simple double-digits that one would guess designates the LOA – more on this later. The latest model in the refresh is the Dufour 37 which replaces the previous Dufour 360.
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I start every article, story or TV segment about boating out of the biggest city in Canada the same way. Citing the multiple people who told me I would “quickly get bored of Toronto harbour” or that “there’s nothing to do in Lake Ontario” and that it was only a matter of time before I moved marinas to a much more appropriate setting just north of the city.
With all due respect to my pals who boat in Georgian Bay, I don’t foresee that happening anytime soon. Next year will be my tenth in Toronto Harbour and I love it more each year.
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Introducing the next graduate in our CYOB marine career path series, Nathanial Stabenow from the East Coast of Canada.
An individual of many hats, Nathanial has had a diverse career in the marine industry taking part in commercial diving, marine navigation, rigging and boat building. He now works as a marine engineer on the LaHave ferry in Nova Scotia. Here is Nathanial’s unique career path.
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The Samana 59 Smart Electric is a new sailing catamaran equipped with alternative energy solutions and EODev’s electro-hydrogen REXH2.
To reduce its carbon impact, the Samana 59 Smart Electric has a virtuous energy architecture composed of a REXH2 that can provide up to 70 kW of continuous power, a battery composed of LiFePO4-EVEPOWER (Lithium Iron Phosphate) cells of 63kWh integrated by EVE SYSTEM and Alternatives Energies and 42 m2 of “slim” type solar panels that can provide up to 6145 W. This energy mix allows to take advantage of all the embarked renewable energies (solar, wind).
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