If a fellow boater noticed damage or suspicious activity on or around your vessel, would you find out?

Many boaters will make good will gesture of reporting suspicious activity or criminal damage to local law enforcement; however, this leaves you back at square one when it comes to getting that information to you in a timely fashion. If a fellow boater notices damage or activity they do not perceive as criminal, there is virtually no chance that information will be passed on to you. People will call police to report criminal activity but seldom report an incident otherwise.

What can be done about these issues?

There is an organization offering a service that addresses these issues for boat owners across America. Boat Watch USA has developed a National Boat Registry where boat owners provide (1) information about their vessel; (2) contact address and phone number, and (3) how and when to contact them. Boat Watch USA is a private, third-party intermediary for boat owners, and personal information they keep for owner’s is not publicly accessible. When law agencies and concerned citizens want to report damage and criminal activity; they (1) call a toll-free hotline and, (2) report incident using unique vessel ID number. Both hotline and vessel ID # are located on Boat Watch USA decal vessel owner affixes to their boat. Then, when an incident is reported, Boat Watch USA matches vessel ID number to contact person and reports incident according to owners preset directions.

Boat Watch USA has also developed neighborhood watch style program called "Boat Watch." This is a public awareness campaign to educate vessel owners on crime awareness and Boat Watch USA reporting methods. Boat Watch USA is also working to certify "Boat Watch USA Authorized" marinas and storage facilities that comply with "Boat Watch" program.

Be sure you have ability to get reprints should you damage one of your photos. Accidents do happen. Scan your original to a digital file if you don’t have a negative or digital camera file. Have any valuable old photos professionally copied. There are two reasons for this: newer papers and newer inks both add durability.

Plan your journaling: what title and other words can you use to tie photos together? Take your time with this step. Let your concept evolve and take shape. Think about your audience and especially person or people in photos. What will evoke a smile or wonderful memory for them?

Diagram a few scrapbooking layouts with your photos to settle on a balanced composition and to give you an idea of how much other “real estate” you have to play with. Your diagram will include some or all of following: background paper; slashes or splotches of other papers; text box(es); a title box; and your photos.

Next consider what additional elements and techniques you will use to decorate: stamping; embossing; buttons; brads; ribbons; rub-ons; tags in paper or even glass or metal; twill tape; envelopes; and tiny embellishments.

“Tiny embellishments” is a whole industry that was practically launched by scrapbook art. If you remember being enthralled by doll house furniture and accessories as a child, you will be both enchanted and taken back to one of childhood’s joys by scrapbooking embellishments.

Your shopping list is almost complete and should look something like this.

1. Background paper(s): size and color(s). Be sure any paper that will touch your photos is acid-free (archival quality). 2. Accent paper(s). Album, D-ring binder or frame and perhaps page protectors or glass. Ditto on “acid-free”. 3. Letters: your choice of rub-ons, stamps, metal glue-on letters, stickers, die-cut letters, old fashioned “typewriter key” letters. [You can also create some text using computer graphic or word processing programs.] 4. Ideas for embellishments.

Just brainstorm and jot down some items, but allow yourself to be inspired by what you find.

Last, but not least, don’t forget basics (some of which you may already have on hand). 5. Adhesives – from glue sticks and dots to tape and two-sided tape. Be sure those that will touch your photos are acid-free. 6. Cutting tool(s): good quality scissors and perhaps a paper trimmer. 7. Black journaling pen if you plan to write or draw in your own hand.

The rest is easy. So enjoy!

By: Eileen Bergen The Artful Crafter http://www.theartfulcrafter.com/scrapbooking-two.html