Q: boat pox (blisters on the bottom); spongy deck; leaking chain plates; water running down the inside from the hull-deck joint; severe cracks around deck fittings and mast step; fittings pulling out of the deck; large gel coat gouges below the waterline; cracks along the top of keel; wobbly rudder; wobbly drive shaft. These are all potentially expensive fixes.  Steel is generally unbreakable but watch out for serious rust. Concrete? Walk away unless you built it yourself.
A: Stick with fiberglass construction if you're a beginner --  most wooden boats require a good deal more maintenance and care, and damage and rot in wooden boats can be hard to find without a massive tear down and/or lots of professional experience. Check for: If the gel coat looks dull or faded, make sure it just needs a polish and not a new paint job. Don't like fiberglass?

Q: Start with a sentence that will hook the reader in right away. Use a strange image of the main character as the opening. Show the main character in action. The opening should set the tone for the rest of the story and let the reader know what to expect.  For example, the first line of “The Beginning of Smoke” by Brunei Darussalam is: “At the beginning of the world, smoke was a man. At that time, there was a boy named Si Lasap, an orphan, who was constantly harassed by the village youths…” This opening establishes character, tone, and a fantastical element to “smoke.” Make your characters come alive by focusing on what they see, smell, taste, touch, feel, and hear. Include language that describes the senses so your audience stays engaged in your story..  For example, you may describe a setting as “loud and bold” or “hot and sticky.” You can also use sounds like “crash,” “bam,” “bang,” or “whoosh” to make the story entertaining for your readers. Grab your young reader’s attention by integrating rhyming words into your story. Try writing in rhyming couplets, where the end of every two lines rhyme. Or use rhyming in the same sentence, such as “he was hurly burly” or “she was rough and gruff.”  You may use perfect rhyme, where the vowel and consonant sounds match. For example, “eat” and “sweet” would be a perfect rhyme. You can also use imperfect rhyme, where only the vowel or the consonant sound match. For example, “eat” and “leaf” would be an imperfect rhyme, as only the “ee” vowels match. Help the language in your story pop by repeating key words or phrases throughout the book. Repetition can help keep your reader engaged and make the story stick in their minds. For example, you may repeat a question, such as, “Where did Dorothy the turtle go?” throughout the story. Or you may repeat a phrase like, “Oh no!” or “Today is the day!” to keep the pace and energy of the story moving. Alliteration is where each word begins with the same consonant sound, such as “Anna an angry ant” or “Tutu the turtle tumbled.” It is a fun way to add rhythm to your writing and keep your story entertaining for kids.  Metaphor is when you compare two things together. For example, you may include metaphors like, “The turtle is a green shell floating on the lake.” Simile is when you compare two things together using “like” or “as.” For example, you may include similes like, “The turtle is as wide as my hand.” The key element of a good story is conflict, where the main character must overcome an obstacle, a problem, or an issue to succeed. Limit your story to one conflict that is concrete and clear to readers. You may have a main character struggling with acceptance by others, with family issues, or with their physical growth.  Another common conflict in children’s stories is fear of the unknown, such as learning a new skill, going to a new place, or getting lost. For example, you may have a main character who struggles to fit in at school, so she decides to make a turtle her best friend. Or you may have a main character who is afraid of the cellar in her house and has to learn to conquer her fears. Most children’s stories will have a happy, uplifting ending with a moral. Avoid making the moral feel too heavy handed.  A subtle moral will be more effective and less obvious to your readers. Try showing the moral through the actions of your characters. For example, you show the young girl and her mother hugging by the lake as the turtle swims away. This could explore the moral of finding support through family without telling the reader the moral. Most children’s books come with illustrations that bring the story to life visually. Try illustrating it yourself or hire an illustrator.  In many children’s books, the illustrations do half the work of getting the story across to the reader. You can include character details like clothing, hairstyle, facial expression, and color in the illustrations. In most cases, the illustrations for children’s books are created after the story is written. This allow the illustrator to draw based on the content in each scene or line of the story.
A: Create an engaging opening. Use sensory language and detail. Include rhyme in the story. Use repetition. Include alliteration, metaphor, and simile. Have your main character deal with a conflict. Make the moral of the story uplifting, but not preachy. Get the story illustrated.

Q: Seal your lips tightly immediately after taking a bite of food or sip of a drink. Don’t open them up again until you’ve swallowed all of the food or liquid. This will keep you from swallowing extra air by accident.  Similarly, avoid talking while you are chewing. Talking with an empty mouth is not only polite, it can lessen the possibility of air gulping. You can also ask a close friend or family member to watch you eating a few times and to alert you if you are opening your mouth while chewing. Eating or drinking quickly can result in more air slipping into your digestive system. This excess air can then cause burping. Choose to eat more slowly by pausing and counting after each bite. This will result in a more relaxing meal and lessen your possibility of gas. As you suck up the liquid with a straw, you are more likely to push excess air into your digestive system as well. Sipping lets you more closely control how much you are drinking at one time. This can be a hard habit to break, but it might be worth it. As you break down candy in your mouth, you may slightly open your lips and suck in extra air by accident. This extra air can then cause burping or hiccupping soon afterwards. If you really enjoy chewing gum, it can be hard to break this habit. When you feel like gum or candy, drink a glass of water instead. This will help to lessen your craving. If your nose or throat is clogged or congested, you run the risk of pushing extra air into your digestive system when you try to breathe. If you feel unwell, take a nasal decongestant to reduce your symptoms and open your airways. Breathing more freely will often reduce belching, too. Applying nasal strips to the exterior of your nose can also make breathing easier when you are congested. If you have to correct or adjust your dentures while eating or during the day, then you are likely letting extra air into your system. Go ahead and see if your dentist can adjust your dentures so that they don’t move during regular activities. If the fit is only slightly off, then your dentist may be able to make the corrections in-office. If the fit is very wrong, you might require a completely new set of dentures. When you suck on a cigarette you are pulling air down into your lungs, but some of it can slip into your stomach and intestines as well. Smoking multiple cigarettes just magnifies this effect. Smoking as a habit can irritate your digestive system enough so that burping can become a regular problem. Vaping can also result in excess gas getting trapped in your system.
A:
Chew with your mouth closed. Count down from 5 after every bite or sip. Sip from a glass instead of using a straw. Avoid chewing gum or sucking on hard candy. Treat any cold or allergy symptoms quickly. Get your dentist to adjust your dentures if they are loose or ill-fitting. Quit smoking.