Great gadgets

I attended the Big Lake boat and sports show last weekend and, while the show was relatively small in size, it was big on stuff that caught my attention. I wasn’t looking for anything in particular, just window-shopping ATVs, but I think I found the ATV of my dreams!

I am somewhat brand-loyal, but not if another manufacturer built a better model for my intended uses. However, it takes dollars to upgrade the boy toys. Therein lays my dilemma — being retired on a fixed income means I will do a lot of dreaming while riding my now 25 year-old ATV. But at least my new dream machine is the same brand as my old ATV.

Before I continue about my dream machine, please understand I’m not plugging any particular manufacturer’s product. ATVs are a lot like trucks. Ford, Dodge and Chevy/GMC all make good competitive products. People buy the particular model that has the features that appeal most to them. Since we all have different tastes in these features, several different brands exist to cater to these differences.

OK, now to the good stuff. My dream machine is a Polaris Ranger 800 6x6 EFI ATV in sage with a winch on the front end, an enclosed cab with windshield, windshield wipers and a heater. I’m sure there are other accessories that could be added to make this one great hunting machine, like tracks on the two rear axel wheels or maybe on the front, but with a payload of 1,250 pounds in the cargo bed and the capacity to tow up to 2,000 pounds in a trailer, I think the machine is already well on its way toward being a first-class hunting machine.

I’m sure the other big-name ATV manufacturers make comparable machines, maybe even for less money, too. I never asked prices since this is just my most current pipedream. Besides, without dreams of owning stuff like this, life would become boring indeed.

I stopped by the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation (ADEC) table and picked up quite a bit of information about the Alaska Clean Harbors Initiative program (ACHI). The ACHI is intended to help boaters minimize or eliminate contaminating the waters where they fuel, clean and maintain, or change oil in their boats. Many folks moor their boats all summer long at various marinas and harbors in both fresh and salt water around Alaska and do all of their routine maintenance while the boat is in the water. Most of us with riverboats tend to do our maintenance work on land with the boat on a trailer, but I have done some refueling with the boat still in the river.

I was given a gadget that is supposed to reduce or eliminate spilled fuel while refueling. I never knew these things even existed. It’s a container that mounts over the fuel tank vent on the side of the boat. As the tank nears full, fuel often splashes out of the vent if the boat is hit with a wake or someone on board walks over to see how the fueling is coming. This device catches the spilled fuel, eliminating contaminating the water and allows the spilled fuel to be poured back into the tank for use. What a good idea.

Most of the potential contamination a boater might generate can easily be eliminated with a little education on techniques to accomplish the task at hand. I collected several of the information sheets available explaining the how-to’s to achieve a cleaner environment. Most of the tips are just plain common sense approaches.

For instance, inspect the hoses, fuel fittings and bilge for fuel leaks and repair any problems found. Know the capacity of your fuel tanks and about how much fuel you will be adding. This will help eliminate overflowing the tank. Keep an oil-absorbent pad handy to wipe up any small fuel spills on the side or in the boat. Keep those pads handy during oil changes as well.

Other maintenance tasks like changing batteries or zincs on your boat require some special attention because of the toxicity of the heavy metals found in these items. One information sheet provides several biodegradable, natural products to use as cleaners instead of the commercial, chemical products; things like vinegar, lemon juice, Borax or liquid castile soap.

If you’d like more information on ACHI or some of these information sheets, contact Rachel Lord at (907) 35-4068 or email rachel@inletkeeper.org.

Howard Delo is a retired fisheries biologist with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. You can leave him a message by emailing sports@frontiersman.com.