America's Boating Club Waukegan

09/15/2026

Launching and retrieving your boat should be a smooth, stress-free routine. Whether you are heading to a local lake or trailering to a new coastal destination, having confidence in your equipment and driving technique makes all the difference.

America's Boating Club | United States Power Squadrons, Trailering Your Boat course gives you practical knowledge to haul and launch safely:
- Choose the correct tow vehicle, hitch, and trailer capacity
- Follow essential safety inspection checklists before hitting the road
- Master towing dynamics and efficient boat ramp etiquette
- Protect your investment with proper equipment maintenance tips

Ready to expand your boating horizons with hassle-free trailering? Visit https://uspsonline.enrolmart.com/courses/trailering to sign up today, or leave a comment below with your favorite trailering tip!

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09/10/2026

Wearing a comfortable life jacket and keeping a sharp lookout are fundamental habits that protect everyone on board.

America’s Boating Club | United States Power Squadrons help boaters of all experience levels build real confidence on the water through hands-on practice and practical courses:

- Master nautical charts, GPS navigation, and route planning 🗺️
- Understand the navigation rules of the road to avoid collisions ⚓
- Learn essential safety protocols and equipment maintenance 🦺
- Connect with a local community of friendly, experienced boaters 🌊

What is your favorite destination to navigate? Drop your favorite spot in the comments below! 👇

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09/08/2026

Navigating open waters with confidence starts with mastering traditional and digital seamanship skills. While modern electronic chart plotters are convenient, relying solely on screens can leave you unprepared if equipment fails.

Our Marine Navigation course teaches fundamental skills every captain should know:

- Reading nautical charts and symbols accurately 🗺️
- Plotting precise courses and dead reckoning 📐
- Calculating speed, time, and distance on the water ⏱️
- Accounting for compass variation and deviation 🧭

Whether you are a new boater or an experienced skipper looking to refresh your knowledge, building safe navigation habits ensures peace of mind for you and your crew.

https://uspsonline.enrolmart.com/courses/marine-navigation

09/01/2026

HURRICANE WARNING SIGNS - From America's Boating Compass

In addition to monitoring NOAA NOAA radio, the National Hurricane Center’s website and other sources of public weather forecasts, mariners should also watch for other hurricane warning signs.

Swells
Abnormally large and far apart swells with a period of 10 to 15 seconds may indicate the approach of a tropical storm or hurricane.

Clouds and barometer
A series of cloud and barometer changes can also indicate a storm’s approach:
• As a hurricane approaches, cirrus clouds appear, much as they would in a middle-latitude warm front.
• The barometer starts a long, slow fall.
• Cirrus formations thicken, forming a veil of cirrostratus clouds; altostratus clouds form beneath the cirrostratus clouds; and light rain begins.
• The barometer plunges, and wind gusts increase.
• Dark cumulonimbus clouds appear, and rainsqualls become more frequent.

Taking action
Inshore boaters should check moorings, line and gear. If you intend to move the boat to a safer location, plan ahead and act well before the storm arrives. If you’re staying put, be aware of your marina’s storm or hurricane procedures. Never stay on board.
Offshore boaters need to do some quick analysis:
• Locate the storm’s center by applying Buys Ballot’s Law, adjusting for higher winds.

According to Buys Ballot’s Law, if you are in the Northern Hemisphere standing with your back to the wind, atmospheric pressure is high to your right and low to your left.
• Based on the boat’s speed and capabilities, you must decide whether a safe mooring or harbor can be reached, using the Mariner’s 1-2-3 Rule to calculate the storm’s closest point of approach.
• When planning a course, you should never pick a course that will take the vessel across the projected storm track.
• If forced to remain offshore, you should try to get to the storm’s navigable semicircle and avoid the storm’s eye, which would mean crossing the eye wall where winds are strongest. Seas in the eye are confused, and mountainous 50-footers are common.

08/18/2026

08/05/2026

MID-SEASON MAINTENANCE - From America's Boating Compass
With boating season in full swing, you should regularly inspect your boat’s systems. These mid-season maintenance checks will help ensure summertime outings remain smooth and trouble-free.

● Engine venting
Let the engine exhaust blowers run for 20 to 45 minutes as you pack up to leave the boat after a weekend on the water. Removing excess heat from the engine compartment will help prevent equipment damage.

● Hose inspection
Squeeze your hoses, feeling for soft, bulging or cracked spots. Check the clamps for corrosion as many stainless steel clamps have screws made of inferior grade stainless steel that will corrode. Using only 316 stainless steel hose clamps is recommended.

● Pad placement
Place oil absorption pads under your engine and transmission. Leaks will be easier to see, giving you an early warning of trouble. Absorbent pads also make keeping the engine room clean much easier.

● AC tune-up
Clean or replace air conditioner filters monthly and clean drain pans and remove debris that could clog the drain line. Watch for changes in water flow. Check sea strainers biweekly and clean as needed. Backflush raw water lines yearly according to manufacturer specifications.

● Electrical look-see
Depending on your battery type, check fluid weekly and replenish as needed. Also check battery chargers each week. Once a month, examine battery terminals for corrosion and tighten loose connections.

● Bilge inspection
Check the bilge for excess water on a daily basis. Remove oil using an oil absorber or sock. Each week, make sure bilge pump and float switches work as expected. Wash the bilge annually.

07/10/2026

Very successful Flare Burning event at Waukegan Harbor. We all had the opportunity to deploy various type of flares, including hand-held, aerial, and smoke. The event was sponsored by Waukegan Port District, with the Waukegan Fire Department. Jesse Bowen from Americas Boating Club of Waukegan provided introductory advice about basic safety when deploying flares.

06/08/2026

SHORE POWER DANGERS - - From America's Boating Compass…

A standard 30-amp yellow rubber shore power plug has a black retaining ring and three prongs on its face.

To ensure that the plug is inserted correctly, the ground prong has an appendage that will lock in place when the plug is turned. The other two prongs are the hot and the common (or neutral) leads respectively.

If these prongs are loose, discolored or show heat damage, the plug should be replaced. The damage most likely resulted from a loose or poor-fitting marina shore power connection.

Poor-fitting connections create resistance, which causes heat. The current is forced to jump across the contacts, burning both your plug and the dock receptacle contacts.

To prevent the problem, always check the connection and don’t use loose receptacles. If the receptacle has a threaded fitting for your plug’s retaining ring, use it to secure your plug to the connection.

Make one or two wraps around the dock pedestal base with any extra cord to isolate the electrical connection should the cord be moved. Support the connection and keep it tight.

When you disconnect from shore power, always turn off your vessel’s primary breaker or shore power selector switch because an open circuit will cause arcing, which could damage your equipment, cause a power failure or even start a fire. If your vessel doesn’t have a single switch, turn off all AC breakers to prevent current flow. As a last resort, turn off or trip the breaker on the dockside power pedestal as well. Remember, arcing affects both the marina receptacle and your shore power cord.