Protecting Pontoon Boat DecksWritten by Thomas Holley
The deck of your pontoon boat is often susceptible to elements when your boat is left outside for storage and otherwise is subject to some exposure and wear and tear while you have boat out on water. In order to make sure your pontoon boat deck stays just as lovely as day you purchased it, you will want to purchase some sort of device to allow you to protect your pontoon deck.The most common choice for pontoon deck protection is purchasing a deck cover to cover deck of pontoon boat when boat is not in use. You can purchase pontoon boat deck covers that will only partially cover boat, or covers that will cover entire boat, protecting every inch against elements. When your pontoon boat is continuously exposed to elements it can become damaged easily, and wear out much more quickly than it would if you continuously use a pontoon boat cover over duration of your ownership of boat. Pontoon boat deck covers can be purchased in a variety of different sizes, designed to fit each individual pontoon boat perfectly. When purchasing a pontoon boat cover make sure you are purchasing a cover that is designed for particular brand, model, and size of pontoon boat that you have. It is important for a pontoon boat cover to fit your pontoon boat well in order to ensure that it is as protected as possible by cover.
| | Rafters Rapture - Chiriqui Panama River RunningWritten by Jim Hollister
Rafters Rapture: Chiriqui Panama River Running Read Jetsetters Magazine at www.jetsettersmagazine.com To read this entire feature FREE with photos cut and paste this link: http://www.jetsettersmagazine.com/archive/jetezine/sports02/raft/panama/chirqui/chirqui.htmlHector Sanchez has style and good looks of a man who has spent a lifetime outdoors. Held together by a wiry, near six-foot physique he appears every bit “best river guide in Panama ” as touted by Lonely Planet and other travel guides. Before starting Chiriqui River Rafting in 1994 Sanchez spent two decades as civilian Director of Outdoor Recreation for U.S. Army South in Panama. As a young man he received Carnegie Medal for courage and outstanding bravery when he saved a drowning swimmer in Rockaway Beach , California. Today, he is standing in front of four new clients beginning his talk on safety with a company video featuring rafts and kayaks careening down Chiriqui River waterfalls. Three minutes into video he switches it off and informs us that “you won’t need most of this instruction.” The four novices, here for a day’s outing with Sanchez’ company, breathe a sigh of relief and take this as a sign they didn’t make wrong decision after all. Sanchez moves through a demonstration of paddling technique and a review of commands his guide will use during trip. “All forward” he says firmly. “All back” he calls out. “Left forward, right back, right forward,” he commands. He tells us about “high side” which is order for all rafters to move to one side of raft if it is forced up by rapids and in danger of going over. Because we are rafting Esti River with mostly Class II rapids, we don’t expect to hear that instruction. We learn, however, why whitewater rafting in Chiriqui is biggest in Central America . The majestic Baru Volcano peaks out at 11,490 feet on a ridge of mountains that run from Costa Rica through center of Chiriqui province. Panama is a very narrow country and from atop volcano is a breathtaking view of both Pacific and Atlantic on either side of isthmus. When rains come and waters rush down mountainside, they have a very short distance to travel before reaching sea. The steep descent becomes fast moving Chiriqui, Chiriqui Viejo, Esti, and Gariche rivers. Finally, Sanchez goes through procedure one uses if a rafter goes overboard. He explains how not to get tangled up in lifeline and be sucked under and how to scramble back to safety if you’re tossed into rushing current. Hector Sanchez is known for his safe approach to rafting and his students are paying very close attention. It’s as if their lives depended on it, which, in fact, they do. He has never “lost anybody on his trips” he says by way of reassurance, and neophytes begin to wonder who might be first. We have signed our liability releases and indicated beneficiaries for our life insurance policies and we are, well, sort of ready to go.
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