When the ice melts from the waters of the Great Lakes, boaters begin to plan for the upcoming season.

This spring I had (among my long list) two items I wanted to add to my boat project list.

These two items turned out to be prety neat so I thought I would share them with my fellow sailors.

The first item I take no credit for, I saw it on the dock of a neighbors at my marina. I took a picture of them resolving to "check this thing out" during the winter, for possible addition to my list in the spring.

They are dock fenders but of a type and shape I had never seen before.

My dock has square 6"x6" wolmanized posts attached to floating docks and finger piers. These fenders are formed for a square post using Velcro straps to attach the fender. The manufacturer suggests that small screws be added to the straps for a permanent installation. If this sounds like something you might be interested in follow this link. [url]http://www.thepiercushion.com/[/url]
Ed Patton handled my order and they arrived in just a couple days. I think they are going to work out great. BTW I have no connection to this product, just passing along a neat idea.

My second item is a replacement (or maybe a better term is remodel) to the standard Aqua Signal model 25 mast head anchor light. I have been undertaking a complete refitting of electrical system over the past 3 seasons and it just so happened that my anchor light bulb burned out. I took the fixture home with me for the winter and went looking for a better light.

I settled on a new LED anchor light from Dr.LED. [url]http://www.doctorled.com/f16.htm[/url]

Today I installed the bulb in the old fixture choosing to solder it to the connectors provided. With a power draw of less than 1 watt, and a life span of thousands of hours, I am really happy with how this light bulb replacement came out.

I have a picture of the bulb in the fixture, ready to take to the boat in late May.