Ever want to ask a Marine Mechanic a technical question??
Patrick McCrary
Captains' Corner, ( http://www.usamarine.net/cc/ ), and we are blessed with
one of the most experienced marine mechanics in South Florida, acting as our
Mechanical Editor.
Bruce also moderates our mechanical section BB and checks in at least twice
a day to answer all questions from air conditioning to zinc bonding. He is
a full systems mechanic, (A/C, hydraulic, Gen set, gas-diesel, electrical,
etc.)
I'd like to invite anyone needing advise or help to stop by and check us
out.
Regards,
Capt Patrick McCrary,
Admin/Webmaster
------------------------------------------
http://www.usamarine.net/ Your internet
Boating and Fishing Resource connection!
Who is USA Marine Group? Find out at:
http://www.usamarine.net/USA_Marine_Group.htm
Visit the Captains' Corner at:
http://www.usamarine.net/cc/lead-in.htm
Also visit our NEW Barnes & Noble Book Section!
http://www.usamarine.net/cc/bn-books.htm
mailto:webm...@usamarine.net
ICQ Pager: http://wwp.mirabilis.com/952128
member:
The Billfish Foundation
http://www.billfishfoundation.org
Internet Marine Resources Association
http://www.imra.net/
Patrick McCrary
Patrick McCrary
Dave Brown
At USA Marine Group, ( http://www.usaarine.net ), our anchor site is Captains' Corner, ( http://www.usamaine.net/cc/ ), and we are blessed with one of the most experienced marine mechanics in South Florida, acting as our Mechanical Editor.You got Bill Grannis to help out?
--
Regards,
Dave Brown
Brown's Marina
http://www.brownsmarina.on.ca/
Skipper
>
> Patrick McCrary wrote:
>
> > At USA Marine Group, ( http://www.usaarine.net ), our anchor site is
> > Captains' Corner, ( http://www.usamaine.net/cc/ ), and we are
> > blessed with one of the most experienced marine mechanics in South
> > Florida, acting as our Mechanical Editor.
>
> You got Bill Grannis to help out?
Thank you for expressing what many of us felt. The commercial
advertising DOES seem to be getting worse. Suspect a few of us will have
to go into challenge and ISP notification mode. ...Or just give up!
--
Skipper
Michael Stern
Skipper wrote:
Which is worse, commercial advertising or Bayliner threads and their related
flames that clog up the news groups?
Michael
Patrick McCrary
Dave Brown wrote in message <3661619F...@brownsmarina.on.ca>...
Patrick McCrary wrote:At USA Marine Group, ( http://www.usaarine.net ), our anchor site is Captains' Corner, ( http://www.usamaine.net/cc/ ), and we are blessed with one of the most experienced marine mechanics in South Florida, acting as our Mechanical Editor.You got Bill Grannis to help out?
--
Patrick McCrary
Corner, the resources offered to the public are free access, and our help
forum, including our Mechanical Editor, is free.
One must be selling a product or service to be commercial, and other than my
personal mention of the 941XD that I have for sale, (prompted by the fellow
looking for a DGPS), I don't recall grubbing for anyone's money.
One problem that I perceive here, is that there seems to be a feeling by
some that this is a secret and hallowed place and that the sharing of
outside resources might dwindle the traffic, or entice others away, never to
be seen again. The web is a wonderous place to gain knowledge, and
knowledge should be freely given. If private discussions are in order, ICQ
and other "closed" chat areas are the place for that.
If one person benifits from our free help with mechanical systems or other
related boating questions, then we feel proud.
I do not intend to begin a flame war here and this will be my only public
post on the subject. If anyone feels compelled to thrash this subject
further, please contact me directly at <mailto:ca...@usamarine.net>
Regards,
Patrick
Mark75H
I tend to be a harsh critic, and I agree with the site's promoter, Mr McCrary,
its not commercial in nature.
Sam
PS: Mr Creamer's latest article is more editorial than techincal, and echos the
feelings and complaints of many, if not most, legitimate service/repair/sales
facilities out there.
Patrick McCrary
Sma4264
>some that this is a secret and hallowed place
Yes it is and to allow you to leave......well we just can't do that
because.....Let's just say it wouldn't be nice :-)
SA
http://www.twow.com/bluefin/mothership.html
Updated 11/18/98
bill...@orbiter.com
da...@brownsmarina.on.ca wrote:
>
> --------------C2D00CA3209D33DFF13551E5
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
> Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
>
> Patrick McCrary wrote:
>
> > At USA Marine Group, ( http://www.usaarine.net ), our anchor site is
Captains'
> > Corner, ( http://www.usamaine.net/cc/ ), and we are blessed with one of the
> > most experienced marine mechanics in South Florida, acting as our Mechanical
> > Editor.
>
> You got Bill Grannis to help out?
>
> --
> Regards,
>
> Dave Brown
No, not me. I went to the site to check it out and, though the graphics are
pretty, the site is under construction in a lot of places and awkward to move
around. The email for the "marine mechanic" comes back as undeliverable. There
is a good post about killing the golden goose written by the mechanic.
--
Bill Grannis
service manager
-----------== Posted via Deja News, The Discussion Network ==----------
http://www.dejanews.com/ Search, Read, Discuss, or Start Your Own
Joseph M Tyson
Patrick McCrary wrote:
> At USA Marine Group, ( http://www.usamarine.net ), our anchor site is
> Captains' Corner, ( http://www.usamarine.net/cc/ ), and we are blessed with
> one of the most experienced marine mechanics in South Florida, acting as our
<snip> <shrug?>
Patrick McCrary
Thanks for catching the email address error! Bruce just left AOL after being
with them since the Tandy computer days and got a real ISP. The address has
been corrected to Bcw...@southeastmarine.com .
Like most interactive websites, we are almost always have a fair degree of
"under construction". New updates, sections, and the constant search for
better ways to present content cause a degree of flux. We appreciate any,
and all, comments and problems encountered by our visitors, and will always
try our best to accommodate them.
With so many different OS platforms, monitor capabilities and settings,
browser types and versions, and varying levels of user expertise, it's a
real challenge to keep 40+ megs of website running at full throttle.
Thanks for your critique, Bill!
Patrick
bill...@orbiter.com wrote in message <73tpdu$qhc$1...@nnrp1.dejanews.com>...
Patrick McCrary
it once. When I hit the refresh option, there they were...
Go figure??
Patrick
Joseph M Tyson wrote in message <36629DE3...@banet.net>...
Skipper
> Hmmmm..... Commercial? There's very little "commercial" about
> Captains' Corner, the resources offered to the public are free access,
> and our help forum, including our Mechanical Editor, is free.
> One must be selling a product or service to be commercial, and other
> than my personal mention of the 941XD that I have for sale, (prompted
> by the fellow looking for a DGPS), I don't recall grubbing for
> anyone's money.
Yes, your website is quite commercial. Captains' Corner appears to be a
work in process and an afterthought 'hook' to attract readers to your
commercial site. A cursory review of your site found the following:
>> The mission of IMRA is to bring commercial marine related web sites
>> into an organized presence on the web. Such a presence will enhance
>> the ability of all of the member sites to achieve a greater exposure
>> to their own sites and aid the interested web visitor in locating the
>> marine information that he or she is seeking, from a devoted data
>> base.
>> Web hosting services: If you have a marine related business and
>> would like to have an internet presence, USAMARINE.NET offers several
>> services that should be of interest to you.
> From anchors to zincs, boating courses to boat yards, fishing line to
>> hawsers, charts to charters, over the next few months it'll all be
>> available here!
>> Larry Smith Electronics is recognized internationally as Florida's
>> leading dealer of marine electronics and parts. Marine Radar,
>> Navigational Aids, Communications Equipment, Vessel Monitoring
>> Systems, Autopilots and gyros, Satellite Television, 400 Years
>> combined experience since 1955, Computer Aided Design consultation
>> Used Equipment List:
>> 1) SEA-330 SSB, no coupler, great condition. $4,500.00
>> 1) Furuno FR-240II Radar. $ 400.00
>> 1) Trimble Navgraphic II Loran/Plotter. $1,500.00
>> 1) Furuno GP-80 GPS. $ 600.00
>> 1) SEA222 SSB with tuner. $1,200.00
>> 1) Furuno FCV-292 Sounder. $1,700.00
>> 1) Furuno FCV-1000 Sounder. $1,700.00
>> Internet Marine Resources Assoc. is the ONLY Searchable Data Base on
>> the Internet that is devoted EXCLUSIVELY Marine related websites.
The "ONLY Searchable Data Base", huh? Now that is interesting!
--
Skipper
Mart Green
and research distracts me. This gentleman is just plain not being
straight with us, and hypocrisy and 'Who, little ole ME? is always a
trigger. Far be it from me to agree with Skipper lately, because his
Deja Newsing seems so silly, but he is absolutely right on this one.
I'm very puzzled about why Mark75H/Sam would give his approval when
even the Captain's Corner part is highly commercial.
Patrick McCrary wrote:
>
> Hmmmm..... Commercial? There's very little "commercial" about Captains'
> Corner, the resources offered to the public are free access, and our help
> forum, including our Mechanical Editor, is free.
There's a great deal that's commercial about this whole site, even
in the Captain's Corner section (see below)
>
> One must be selling a product or service to be commercial, and other than my
> personal mention of the 941XD that I have for sale, (prompted by the fellow
> looking for a DGPS), I don't recall grubbing for anyone's money.
Please look and think again Captain? You aren't selling products or
services to us, except (and very much so) indirectly, you're selling
US to your customers--your commercial clients to whom you offer web
hosting, and the commercial businesses to which you provide links.
You're providing an all-in-one advertising place to appeal to
boaters that gives your clients/links a centralized place to
maximize their advertising opportunities, and hoping to lure us in
with your supposedly non-commercial content. You say this so many
times on your site (in the parts aimed at potential commercial
clients) that I can't see how it could have slipped your mind.
>
> One problem that I perceive here, is that there seems to be a feeling by
> some that this is a secret and hallowed place and that the sharing of
> outside resources might dwindle the traffic, or entice others away, never to
> be seen again.
This is particularly amusing. The only complaint I ever see on this
subject from the long time rec.boats folks here (which I am not) is
a somewhat sad protest about how crowded it's gotten. There is tons
of sharing of outside resources here, even of a commercial nature,
but what is not acceptable is 'sharing' that is disguised as
non-commercial when in fact the poster is a blatant commercial
business. As I said, and so do you on your site, you are selling US
to your clients. THAT is commercial. That IS grubbing for money, to
use your phrase. You're a commercial web site hoping to entice
boaters in for the benefit of your clients, as you say, an
enterprise that is completely legitimate. What ISN'T legitimate is
to pretend you're anything but that, or to try to disguise your site
as a 'service' for our benefit.
> The web is a wonderous place to gain knowledge, and
> knowledge should be freely given. If private discussions are in order, ICQ
> and other "closed" chat areas are the place for that.
Not sure what this means--this is the internet USENET part of
things, not the web part. A different set of rules is in effect here
than the ones on the web where you have your commercial web site.
USENET newsgroups are NON-COMMERCIAL in nature unless otherwise
stated in their charter. This is a NON-COMMERCIAL newsgroup. If you,
or your expert mechanic, wants to participate in this newsgroup
WITHIN this newsgroup, that's just fine--have him come on over and
answer questions in a non-commercial place where everyone can
question and comment as all the other 'experts' do. When he answers
questions on YOUR site, he becomes part of your commercial site. I,
for one, am perfectly happy to see your very genial self in this
group. I am not happy to see you present your site as a 'service' to
us, when in fact it is a for profit 'service' to your clients. As
you repeatedly state on your site. I am not objecting to your
offering alternate resources, only to your presentation of them as
other than commercially motivated.
> If one person benifits from our free help with mechanical
> systems or other related boating questions, then we feel proud.
Me too. Proud and pleased as punch. And I hope you make a profit
from having a lot of us visit your site, it seems very well done and
possibly useful as a link place to boating related businesses, but
that's what it is--commercial.
>
> I do not intend to begin a flame war here and this will be my only public
> post on the subject. If anyone feels compelled to thrash this subject
> further, please contact me directly at <mailto:ca...@usamarine.net>
>
> Regards,
> Patrick
Well, Patrick, just my personal opinion, but I think that's just an
attempt to channel objections to your very elegant spamming into a
private place where you can ignore us each individually. This is an
unnmoderated group, so if you're not prepared to fight it our IN
PUBLIC, perhaps you won't feel comfortable here. If your expert
mechanic wants to come HERE to answer questions where other experts
and consumers can question him and compare answers, I'd say welcome.
He can put a discreet, brief, signature line pointing to his Palm
Beach business, or your web site, making it clear who and what he
is, and be equal to everybody else here.
I went to this site and I could find little that WASN'T commercial.
It's like any commercial site that offers some 'objective' content,
or a product related bulletin board, or a little free download, or
something they hope will bring you in so you can be advertised to,
or offered products, or cookied, or whatever, but the main function
of the site is commercial in nature, and the vast majority of the
content is commercial, despite any pretense of 'service' to the
public or a very few non-commercial pages.
This is a site whose primary function is to provide commercial
marine related firms with a web presence and an advertising avenue
to consumers. USA MARINE.NET has on its homepage 4 major links, and
all 4 are either completely (3), or in large part (1) commercial,
and there are also many other lesser commercial links on that and
all sub-pages (literally hundreds).
Link 1: Web Services http://www.usamarine.net/pbmedit/host.htm
This is a 'service' (a service they are selling to marine related
businesses) that offers customers the advertising benefit of joining
with other businesses to allow them to have a larger presence and
bigger impact commercially. This is what the Captain says:
> This means that a basic web presence, on a fast T-1 server,
> and grouped under a domain specializing in marine related
> interests, and drawing far greater notice than a stand
> alone site, could be had for as little as a $7 initial
> investment, and $108 per year! Not Bad advertising for
> under $200!!
and:
> Think of your company brochure or sales kit, consider
> the Home Page to be the cover of the brochure.
Potential customers are asked if they will need such services as
these listed in their questionnaire:
> 7.
> If you are selling products/services, what
> market are you selling to?
> 19.
> Are you interested in a Shopping Cart with
> secure transaction processing for your products
> and/or services?
Link 2: Palm Beach Marine Edition®
http://www.usamarine.net/pbmedit/PalmBeachEdition.htm
This is a Palm Beach specific page:
> usamarine.net will endeavor to bring all of the marine industry
> web sites in the Palm Beach County area to your finger tips...
> In summary, for what ever your marine needs,
> make usamarine.net and Palm Beach Marine Edition
> your starting point on the internet!
> From anchors to zincs, boating courses to boat yards,
> fishing line to hawsers, charts to charters, over the
> next few months it'll all be available here!
> The Palm Beach Marine Edition is proud to have
> as a sponsor, Larry Smith Electronics.
> Recognized internationally as Florida's leading dealer
> of marine electronics and parts.
Link 3: Internet Marine Resources Association http://www.imra.net/
> The Internet's Only Search Engine devoted EXCLUSIVELY
> to Marine Related Businesses.
and:
>
> The mission of IMRA is to bring commercial marine related
> web sites into an organized presence on the web.
and:
> Welcome to the IMRA website. Our membership includes
> professionals, merchants, charter services, boat brokers,
> and others exclusively related to the marine industry.
> Basic membership in the IMRA is free and is open to any
> Marine Related Web Site with a desire to improve their
> Internet Presence.
and, of particular relevance to WHY they want us to visit the site:
> The IMRA logo on each member's home page is a link to
> the IMRA site, so every visitor to one of our member
> sites is a potential visitor to the rest of our membership.
and:
> You might also take a peak at the Internet Marine
> Resources Assoc., (IMRA), and consider joining.
> IMRA has it's own domain now, (it was being hosted
> by usa-marine.com). IMRA is a new organization with
> the sole purpose of bringing commercial marine related
> web sites into an organized presence on the web.
> There are a couple of distinct advantages of joining now,
> while the organization is in it's primary growth state:
> First, it's Free!
> Down the road, (once we become more of a major internet
> attraction), IMRA will collect an annual dues for membership.
> We still haven't figured out what the number will be,
> but the first thousand or so members will never be charged
> for their membership so long as the keep their Membership
> Requirements current.
> Second, We've just cranked up our new search engine,
> (some bugs still to be squashed, but they're little
> and soft), and we project on having thousands of access
> points around the "Marine Web". Every member is required
> to carry either the IMRA Logo and/or the Search Engine form
> on their site. Every link to the IMRA Search Engine is a
> potential link to you.... ....errrrrr.......If you join!
Link 4: Captain's Corner http://www.usamarine.net/cc/lead-in.htm
This is the supposedly non-commercial part of the site, but it too
is filled with commercial links.
The Captain's Corner, this 'non'commercial' part, also offers
articles for our "reading pleasure". Currently they offer:
Trolling Tactics - Courtesy of Bob Schneider Lures
One of their commercial subscribers with a 'system' of fishing and
lures. You can link directly to his store from this article.
History of the Rigged Mullet - Courtesy of Willies Custom Trolling
Baits and Offshore Tackle
Pretty much the same as above, also with a link to a business.
Hot Shop - Courtesy of Consolidated Yacht Corp
This is an article exclusively about Consolidated, with a link.
Protecting the GOLDEN GOOSE Bruce Creamer
This is a general article by their mechanic on what needs to be done
by everyone to make boats and repair shops better, sort of. We all
have to wise up and work together. I particularly liked this
sentence:
> Who do I blame? Well there's blame enough for everybody.
> All the way from the manufacturers to the installers,
> everybody has being killing the GOLDEN GOOSE
> aka the boating public.
That's who the Golden Goose is in what, by its title, might sound
like a message about maintaining a boat--the Golden Goose is us.
Packless Seal System by Spurs® Bruce Creamer
This is an article by the mechanic recommending this particular
(commercial) brand of packless seals:
> I've tried them all and the best I've used is the
> Packless Seal System. It is heavy duty and made
> to take the environment it is exposed to.
Teak Maintenance Capt Patrick McCrary
This is an article by the Captain on teak maintainence--includes
direct links to some specific products he mentions, not to others.
Seemed pretty standard for one school of teak maintenance.
There are also these articles linked to Mr. Creamer, about
whom the Captain says:
> "Bruce is one of the most 'In Demand' Systems Technicians
> we have in our area. His expertise is exceptional!" (Capt
> Patrick McCrary, webmaster)(Capt. McCrary is in other ways admiring of his own staff and efforts--in at least one instance he gives an award of excellence to a web site he designed himself for one of his site's clients. See below.) You tech types might be better able to judge the quality and completeness of his advice.
Preventative Maintenance
http://www.usamarine.net/cc/mechanical/articles398.htm
Generators-The Silent Heroes
http://www.usamarine.net/cc/mechanical/articles798.htm
The Mysteries of Electrical Systems
http://www.usamarine.net/cc/mechanical/articles92798.htm
FloScan-TwinScan Instruments
http://www.usamarine.net/cc/mechanical/twinscan.htm
This last link didn't work for me, though the title struck me as
possibly a brand name, as one of the articles below is an
endorsement of a commercial product. Whether justified or not, I
don't know, which is, of course, one of the problems with disguised
commercialism--you don't know exactly what to trust.
This is a list of some of their current "clients', again as listed
on the USA MARINE.NET site:
> BOB SCHNEIDER LURES
> FLORIDA BIG GAME FISHING CHARTERS, INC
> EGRET BOAT COMPANY, INC
> FISHERMAN'S CENTER
> CONSOLIDATED YACHT CORP.
> JUST FISHING CONSIGNMENT
> SEA WOLFF SPORTFISHING CHARTERS
> SOUTHEAST MARINE SALES & SERVICES
> STAGEPOINT BOATS
> STOCK MARINE
> WELLMAN ENTERPRISES
and:
> In the works: WILLIE'S TROLLING BAITS and OFFSHORE TACKLE
In several places on the site this banner is displayed: "USA Marine
is proud to have as a sponsor, Larry Smith Electronics. Recognized
internationally as Florida's leading dealer of marine electronics
and parts."
Some other Captain's Corner links:
Kapt Kool Breeze Whats Kool?!
> Kapt Kool Breeze points you to the Top Links within the
>USA Marine Group Pages...
At least 2 of these are links to his commercial subscribers.
One link is to USA MARINE.NET's boating and fishing awards:
> These awards are presented to boating sites
> that the captain thinks are the best on the web
Each person can judge for her/himself whether any of these sites are
commercial and/or 'the best on the web'. I'd say some are, some
aren't. I didn't check them all, but the Captain has given at least
one of the fishing site "Excellence" awards to a site he designed
himself. http://www.bobschneiderlures.com/
Again, some are very commercial, some are not. He says:
> As of September 15th 1998, I have added one basic requirement
> of the sites listed as Award Winners: No Captains' Corner
> Award Winning Site will be acknowledged or linked on our
> Awards pages unless that site posts, and appropriately
> links their award.
In other words, all new 'award' sites must link back to his site to
get the 'award'.
One may request that one's commercial site be linked to
USA MARINE.NET:
> If your site is basically a commercial site,
> (ie: primarily selling a product or service),
> please use this links page. http://www.usamarine.net/pbmedit/listing.htm
And a link titled:
> Need a higher profile for your marine related business?
> List your company with usamarine.net
which contains the following:
> USA Marine Groups Challenges you to find a better value
> for your Web advertising dollar! If you can find any Marine
> Related Server that offers more for your money, works
> harder for you than we do, and knows our industry better,
> we'll pay $50 toward your service with them!!
> Capt Patrick McCrary,
> Admin/Webmaster
The boat projects section has only 2 projects--about doing teak
marquetry inlays, the first of which is:
> A teak marquetry inlaid into a custom rocket launcher.
> From layout to final finish, you'll be carried through
> this delicate but functional piece of sportfishing art.
It also contains a commercial link to Barnes and Noble and a B&N
search engine, and says:
> Welcome to the Captains' Corner Book Center,
> in Affiliation with BarnesandNoble.com!
> This Barnes and Noble book center is brought to you by
> usamarine.net and captains' corner
That's about it, except for the links to hundreds of other
commercial sites for everything from trailer hitches to cruises to
bait and lures--lots of baits and lures...
Welcome to the NG to you (and your expert mechanic) personally, but
please leave your commercial stuff back on your commercial site,
please. This is a non-commercial NG.
It's true my jaw is swollen and throbs like crazy, but quite aside
from that this guy miffed my muffins just a bit. I'd like to think
he could get off on a better foot here, but this makes me feel quite
dubious.
Mart
Skipper
> Sorry this is so long, but I had a wisdom tooth pulled this morning,
> and research distracts me. This gentleman is just plain not being
> straight with us, and hypocrisy and 'Who, little ole ME? is always a
> trigger. Far be it from me to agree with Skipper lately, because his
> Deja Newsing seems so silly, but he is absolutely right on this one.
> I'm very puzzled about why Mark75H/Sam would give his approval when
> even the Captain's Corner part is highly commercial.
[Big snip of commercial ads critique]
> Welcome to the NG to you (and your expert mechanic) personally, but
> please leave your commercial stuff back on your commercial site,
> please. This is a non-commercial NG.
> It's true my jaw is swollen and throbs like crazy, but quite aside
> from that this guy miffed my muffins just a bit. I'd like to think
> he could get off on a better foot here, but this makes me feel quite
> dubious.
Excellent critique! Remind me not to miff your muffins.
--
Skipper
Sma4264
>or your expert mechanic, wants to participate in this newsgroup
>WITHIN this newsgroup, that's just fine--have him come on over and
>answer questions in a non-commercial place where everyone can
>question and comment as all the other 'experts' do. When he answers
>questions on YOUR site, he becomes part of your commercial site. I,
>for one, am perfectly happy to see your very genial self in this
>group. I am not happy to see you present your site as a 'service' to
>us, when in fact it is a for profit 'service' to your clients. As
>you repeatedly state on your site. I am not objecting to your
SA
http://www.twow.com/bluefin/mothership.html
Updated 11/18/98
Sma4264
>or your expert mechanic, wants to participate in this newsgroup
>WITHIN this newsgroup, that's just fine--have him come on over and
>answer questions in a non-commercial place where everyone can
>question and comment as all the other 'experts' do.
Just as Dave Brown and others do. They participate in this group and if we
decide to visit their web site which is listed in their sig, then that is our
decision. I would far prefer to do business with someone in that manner than
someone who attempts trickery such as Tom McCrary.