Destination: Hilton Head Island.............



Nestled on the south side of Hilton Head Island, you will find the spot of our St. Patricks Day Getaway!  Harbourtown Marina is a premier boating destination of South Carolina.  For 40 years the red and white striped Harbour Town Lighthouse has watched over the shores of The Sea Pines Resort.  With plenty of activities, dining, and entertainment, Harbourtown Marina is sure to provide us with a spectacular experience.  For more information on our Getaway scheduled for March 17th - 20th please email Ryan Cottrell at ryan.cottrell@marinemax.com.

Check out the website: Harbourtown Marina

Santa Cruz lawyer donates boat................

Santa Cruz lawyer donates boat to CSUMB: Paul Meltzer honors great-grandfather, a Stanford marine researcher......... Great story about family heritage....!

http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_16886097?nclick_check=1

Marinemax's YouTube Channel..........

Ever wondered about a boat when you saw it on the water?  Is it a headache to find specs and performance of a certain model of boat by just using Google?  Marinemax has created its own channel on youtube.com to try and help solve both of these problems.  Just log on to www.youtube.com/user/marinemaxonline and you can see about 100 videos of boats ranging from small sport boats to large motor yachts.  Brands include Sea Ray, Hatteras, Meridian, Boston Whaler, and Nautique.  You will remember why you got into boating in the first place!!!  Check Out This Video From Nautique!!!

Sea Ray 270 SLX

Great reviews on the new Sea Ray 270 SLX..... Check it out!!

http://www.bymnews.com/news/newsDetails.php?id=79154

Changes within the Brunswick Boat Group......

Tim Schiek will take over the responsibilities of President of Boston Whaler and Brunswick Commercial Government Products.  Schiek is a 15 year veteran of Brunswick and started in the Mercury Marine division.  Schiek will replace John Ward who has taken the position of Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Hatteras and Cabo divisions based in New Bern, NC.  To check out the full article, click the link below.

http://pr-usa.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=562855&Itemid=32

Volvo Penta Joysticks Coming to Yamaha Outboards......

Check out the article below.... looks like joystick technology is coming to outboard motors!!  For those of you not familiar with the Zeus (diesel) and Axius (gasoline) Systems it is revolutionary in the marine industry.  It has really made captaining a larger boat easy and efficient for even the most novice boater. 

Volvo Penta Joysticks

River City Brewery......

Located on the South bank of the St. John's river in downtown Jacksonville, Fl featuring a beautiful 325 seat main dining room overlooking the river and the skyline of downtown Jacksonville.  This 5 star restaurant features fresh seafood, tender meats, and creative pastas that everyone can enjoy.  Adjacent to the restaurant is the brew house lounge, with live music for your entertainment, and a glass encased brewery serving 4 of its hand crafted micro brews.  Focusing on old European style brewpub techniques, the River City Brewery has brought back the old world style beer for the new world to enjoy.  The River City Brewery can also house your corporate events, parties, and weddings in there second story banquet room.



Most importantly to us boaters, you can access the River City Brewery by water!  The marina has 62 slips that can house 20' boats to 120' yachts.  Gasoline and diesel are available on the premises.  Additional docking is available to restaurants patrons as well.  Contact Lee Logan, Dockmaster, @ 904 398 7918 to make your reservation at the docks!!

Fuel Stablizer......

Winter is right around the corner and its time to start preparing our boats for the upcoming freezes.  To avoid costly damage you need to winterize you boat.  While there is several steps to the winterizing of your boat, which I touch on earlier in the blog, a very simple step would be to add a fuel stabilizer to your engines fuel tank.  Make sure that you are adding the correct stabilizer for fuel with or without ethanol.  If you have any questions about the correct stabilizer, feel free to call our service department and Nancy can answer all of your questions...... 904 338 9970 !

Outback Crab Shack.....

Located in Six Mile Creek, deep in Palmo Cove you will find one of St. Augustine's best kept secrets!!  Outback Crab Shack has been serving up Four Star Cuisine for quite some time.    With its rustic atmosphere the Outback Crab Shack can be accessed by boat, car, or plane, with a massive 1500 ft. floating dock with over 15 ft. of dockside draft it can accommodate just about any boat.

Check out the website for directions, reservations, and to take a look at the menu.  

http://www.outbackcrabshack.com/   

Ask Us How You Can Win $300 in Boating Gear Bucks Before Christmas.....

Marinemax Jacksonville will be out at the St. Johns Town Center with 3 different ways for people to win $300 in boating gear bucks!!! 

1)  Enter to win through the drawing at the Town Center Christmas Tree Lighting!!

2)  Purchase an extended warranty on your current boat!!

3)  Re Finance your current boat loan with us!!!

We look forward to bringing in the Holiday Season with all of Jacksonville's Boaters!!!

Check out this months issue of prop talk!!

2010 Jacksonville Light Parade......

On Saturday night, November 27th, the city of Jacksonville will be hosting the Jacksonville Light Parade!!

"For more than 20 years, the award winning Jacksonville Light Parade has cast a magical glow over the St. Johns River.  This glittering nightime procession ushers in the holiday season as the largest lighted boat parade on the First Coast.  We invite you to take part in what has become a tradition for thousands of local families and out-of-town visitors.  Add some magic of your own to the evening and bring the whole family.  At the conclusion of the parade, excitement rises as fireworks choreographed to joyous music provide the perfect finishing touch on the evening."  -City Of Jacksonville

Individual Awards:

• Grand Overall
• Best New Entry
• Private Individual 30' and Over (1st and 2nd Places)
• Private Individual Under 30' (1st and 2nd Places)
• Sailboat (1st and 2nd Place)
• Corporate/Commercial
• Organized Club
• Holiday Spirit

Visit makeascenedowntown.com to see pictures and view more events hosted by the city of Jacksonville!

Destination: Ft. George Inlet

Fort George Inlet is situated just above Atlantic Beach in Jacksonville, Florida.  Fort George can be accessed through the Inter Coastal Waterway or through the Fort George Inlet.  The Inlet is a beautiful area with shallow water and accessible sandbars.  This is a popular spot for boaters throughout the season.  From sport boats to yachts, you can almost guarantee a group of boaters out there every weekend.  Once the home of Zephaniah Kingsley the Fort George Inlet and Fort George Island was home to the Kingsley Plantation. If you are looking for a fun area for the family or just your friends, Fort George Inlet is a short run from Jacksonville and always promises a good time!

Clarks Fish Camp

Serving you for 30 years and located in Julington Creek and the Mandarin area, Clarks Fish Camp is known thoughout Jacksonville for is extensive collection of animals!  "Rumored to be one of the largest privately owned collections of taxidermy in the country, Clark's menagerie of preserved animals includes lions, tigers, monkeys, bears, giraffes, deer, bobcats, and a flock of birds that gaze eerily at guests in the bar area and dining rooms." (clarksfishcamp.com).  The menu is quite eclectic from southern style sea food to ostrich to gator, Clark's has it all!  Check out http://www.clarksfishcamp.com/ or call 268-FISH to make a reservation

Sea Ray 185 Sport

Click to view video - Sea Ray 185 Sport

One of Sea Ray's most popular models the 185 Sport boasts sleek design with an over all length of 19'8", 7'3" beam and fuel capacity of 26 gallons.  This boat comes standard with a 3.0L Mercruiser with gas stern drive and turn key ignition.  A fully complemented dash instrument panel with room for upgrades with low profile windshield.  One of the best features of this boat is the gull wing sun pad, allowing for easy access to the engine from either the cockpit or swim platform.  The Sea Ray 185 Sport has an innovated bow seating with maximum comfort in a variety of different seating arrangements.  With a variety of upgrades the 185 Sport is a boat for all boaters.  Check out the video above!!

Silver Glen Springs......

Silver Glen Springs is located in Ocala National Forest about 11 miles south of the town Salt Springs.  Silver Glen Springs is a 1st magnitude spring with a large, semicircular pool that measures 200 feet north to south and 175 feet east to west. Most of the strong flow emerges from two cavern openings in the rock at the bottom of the pool, with large boils at the water's surface over the vents. The vertical cave opening called the Natural Well in the southwestern edge of the pool is about 12 to 15 feet in diameter and 40 feet deep. The vent in the east part of the pool is a conical depression about 18 feet deep. Most of the spring pool has sand and limestone on the pool bottom, with areas of aquatic grasses. Large fresh and salt water fish are common in the pool and around the vents. Additional flow is from sand boils in the bottom of the spring run downstream from the head of the springs. Water from the springs flows eastward down a run about 200 feet wide for 0.75 mile to Lake George. 

Silver Glen is a favorite for Jacksonville Boaters and be on the look out for it on our event calendar for 2011!!!

Whitey's Fish Camp

http://whiteysfishcamp.com/index.htm

Nestled in Doctor's Lake (Orange Park) since 1963, Whitey's Fish Camp has been serving up beer and sandwiches for 47 years.  Although Whitey's has expanded from its original tackle shop and 9 bar stools it now houses a full kitchen, restaurant, bar, outside patio, and campground for 44 RV's.  While Whitey's is best know for its Catfish the menu has something for everyone!  The bar has daily specials and on Monday nights they hold my favorite, the beer pong tournament!  Whitey's is a fun restaurant for all and is accessible by water, so check out the website and scoot on over to check em out!  A map is included on the website!

Maintanence Tip of the Week, Winterization!

Winterizing is the most important part of your boat maintenance.  Follow these steps to help you along the way or talk to our service department about properly winterizing your boat to prevent any damage during the off season.

1.  Pull boat out of water and thoroughly wash and clean.  Flush pumps, toilet, and leave areas open to air dry.  Pull plugs and make list of repairs for next season.

2.  Fill fuel tank with fuel stabilizer and then with marine gas.  Run engines long enough to so that mixtures fills fuel lines.

3.  Flush out cooling system.  Remove plug and drain engine with flushing kit.  Pump back in Anti-freeze to prevent serious damage to motor.

4.  Spray engine with fogging oil.  Change lubricant in gear casing.  change oil and oil filter.

5.  Take a look at the prop.  If there is damage it can cause other damage to the motor.

6.  Refer to instruction manual and identify lubricant to spray down electrical terminals and fuse panels.  Check out steering system and make necessary adjustments.

7.  Cover boat with proper molded cover if storing outside.

If you are unfamiliar with these process speak to a professional at Marinemax 904-338-9970 to have your boat properly winterized.  Proper winterizing can prevent costly maintenance at the beginning of your boating season next year!!

8th Annual Halloween Getaway in St. Augustine Florida!!

So it is the Monday after our 8th Annual Halloween Getaway in St. Augustine, Florida!  What a fantastic time we had with all the boaters from Cocoa Beach, Jacksonville and surrounding areas!  Here is a brief recap of the events!  Costume contest winners, Capt. Elena Puig and crew on "Cruisen with E's", Boat Decorating contest winners were Capt. Mike Dickens and and crew on "Firestorm."  Capt. Elena and crew came dressed to impress with their rendition of Gilligan's Island!  Capt. Mike had his 330 Express Cruiser decorated as a haunted house and it had some serious scare appeal.  A fantastic catered meal was followed by a cocktail hour.  The bloody mary crawl was cranked up that Saturday around 10 a.m. in preparation for the Ga vs. Fl game!  And what a game it was, after a thrilling overtime win for the Gators everyone explored the city for dinner on their own and met back on the docks to enjoy a beautiful night on the water. 

A total of 18 boats were in attendance with around 75 people!  Stay tuned for pictures!!  A special thanks to Kim Burch for all of her hard work coordinating the event!

8th Annual Halloween Getaway

Marinemax Jacksonville in conjunction with Marinemax Cocoa Beach has been hosting one of our favorite events for Marinemax customers, "The Halloween Getaway!"  This years getaway will be hosted at the St. Augustine Municipal Marina, located in the heart of St.Augustine, just south of the historic Lions Bridge in the city's historic district.  The marina has all the amenities one could ask for and the convenience of being located in the heart of "The Nation's Oldest City."  Historic sights, art galleries, fine dining, shopping, and one-of-a- kind sights are located just a short walk from the marina. 

What makes this trip so fun for our customers is the line-up of events that Marinmax will be hosting!  Boaters arrive on Thursday afternoon to get settled and to decorate their individual boats for Friday's festivities!  Friday everyone enjoys the sights of St. Augustine until 7 p.m. when the costume party begins!  Individual prizes are awarded to "Best Costume" and "Best Decorated Boat" during the cocktail hour and dinner.

On Saturday the "Bloody Mary Crawl" starts at 10 a.m. to seek out the best Mary in town in preparation for the GA vs. FL college football game!  A tent with big screen TVs and tailgating food for all starts at 1 p.m. for College Gameday with the game starting at 3:30 p.m. 

This is a fantastic event and one of the favorites for our clients!  The 8th Annual Halloween Getaway!

Thank you for following....

Here at Marinemax our goal is to "maximize your enjoyment on the water."  We know that boating is different to each and every individual so we have created this blog to give people new ideas of things to do in the area, new technology on boats, events in the area, and simple maintenance you can do at home.  Please help us spread the word about this site and let us know what you are thinking by giving us feedback!  We look forward to hearing what Jacksonville has to say!!