Discover Better Boating is back for the 2014, marking it's fourth season. Each month, you'll find great boating tips to help you have a more enjoyable - and safer - time on the waterways in Central New York.

Contact:

Dave White, New York Sea Grant, Recreation/Tourism Specialist, P: 315.312.3042, E: dgw9@cornell.edu

Oswego, NY, May 17, 2014 - In this edition of Discover Better Boating, which marks the first in the series' fourth season, we focus on preparing your boat trailer for the summer.

New York Sea Grant's Coastal Recreation and Tourism Specialist Dave White is at Aero Marina on Oneida Lake and discusses the topic with Jerry Lougnot.

"What are the most critical components a boater should check when prepping their trailer?" asks White. Lougnot says tires, lights and connections are key.

As for what the New York State rules are for inspecting and registering and inspecting a trailer, Lougnot says, "Trailers need to be registered yearly and for inspections you can go to any registered DMV center and they will inspect the trailer for lights and tires."

"What about trailer brakes?" asks White. "You'll need them if your trailer exceeds 1,000 pounds, or if the boat plus the trailer exceeds 3,000 pounds," says Lougnot.

For more on this topic, as well as a helpful clean boating tip, check out the video clip.

And there's more "NYSG Great Lakes Boating & Marine Trades" News available via the "News/Topics" link in the left-hand sidebar at www.nyseagrant.org/marina.




More Info: Discover Better Boating

In 2011, the Clean and Safe Boating campaign gained a little more acclaim when it became a May-October monthly "Discover Better Boating" segment that aired, and is still on a New York cable television system (Time Warner Cable) reaching 25 counties with approximately 550,000 viewers.

The series of monthly tips is driven by NYSG and sponsored by the BIA of Upstate New York. The content, streamed directly through BIA's Web site, is responsible for an increase in off-season (November-April) vs. on-season (May-October) visitors, which have grown from an average of, respectively, 1,200 to more than 60,000 a month.

Series host Dave White, a coastal recreation and tourism specialist with New York Sea Grant, interviews marine industry professionals about how to enjoy New York’s waters cleanly, safely, cost-effectively, legally, and in environmentally-friendly ways.

The seasonal series began as a result of Discover Clean & Safe Boating campaign created by New York Sea Grant and BIA in 2008.

Shows air the third Saturday of the month from May through October. An archive of previous transcripts for individual "Discover Better Boating" segments, as well as video streaming, can be found via NYSG's "Great Lakes Boating & Marine Trades" resource site, www.nyseagrant.org/marina - click the "New/Topics" link in the left-hand sidebar and check out the "Discover Better Boating" sections on this page.

More Info: NYSG, BIA of Upstate New York, Time Warner Cable News

New York Sea Grant (NYSG), a cooperative program of Cornell University and the State University of New York, is one of 33 university-based programs under the National Sea Grant College Program (NSGCP) of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The NSGCP engages this network of the nation’s top universities in conducting scientific research, education, training and extension projects designed to foster science-based decisions about the use and conservation of our aquatic resources. Through its statewide network of integrated services, NYSG has been promoting coastal vitality, environmental sustainability, and citizen awareness about the State’s marine and Great Lakes resources since 1971.

For updates on Sea Grant activities: www.nyseagrant.org has RSS, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube links. NYSG also offers a free e-list sign up via www.nyseagrant.org/coastlines for NY Coastlines/Currents, its flagship publication, which is distributed several times a year.
 
The Boating Industries Association of Upstate NY is an association of independent marine dealers, retailers and marine-related businesses located throughout Central NY. The February Central NY Boat Show and Fall Boat Sale are annual BIA events at the NYS Fairgrounds in Syracuse. Learn more: www.cnyboating.com.

Time Warner Cable News (TWCN) - part of a network of twelve 24-hour local news channels owned and operated by Time Warner Cable nationwide - began cablecasting as News 10 Now on November 7, 2003. Operating from its headquarters building in downtown Syracuse, TWCN has a huge coverage area, a 15,000+ square mile stretch of Upstate New York. To cover this large area, TWCN provides two separate program feeds - one to Central/Northern NY and another to the Southern Tier - and reaches some 600,000 subscribers across 25 counties. Learn more: http://centralny.twcnews.com.