Efficient storage in a sailboat is crucial for maintaining a clutter-free interior. To maximize space and keep belongings secure, consider using custom shelves and storage compartments. Utilize vertical space by installing shelves, hooks, and hanging organizers in various areas of the boat.
To create additional usable spaces, consider using ropes, durable storage baskets, and other storage ideas. These baskets fit easily inside cupboards, maximizing strange shapes and curves.
To limit the guest list, ditch single-use plastic bags, free up counter and cabinet space with hammocks, and save space by storing boxed foods. Mount plates, cups, paper towels, and spices to the wall for a cozy, not cramped look. Hide your counter and use cargo nets as storage buddies.
When designing and building storage compartments in a boat, start from the location to the type of storage (shelves, drawers, open compartments, etc.). Keep in mind that distributing stowage weight evenly throughout the yacht is essential for a comfortable and organized space.
In summary, organizing and tidiness are key to making good use of space in a sailboat. By utilizing various storage solutions, such as ropes, bins, and hanging organizers, you can create a clutter-free and organized interior. Remember to distribute stowage weight evenly throughout the yacht for optimal storage.
📹 Eight Tips for Maximizing Storage on a Small Boat | Episode 42 Sailing Ecola
We are always trying to improve how we organize here on Ecola, and we want to share eight tips to help you fit as much as …
What is a good size sailboat to live on?
The size of a liveaboard sailboat depends on factors such as comfort, equipment, and number of people on board. Solo sailors may prefer a 30-foot yacht, while families may prefer larger boats (32-35-40 feet). RM Yachts offers liveaboard sailboats from 30 to 45 feet, all made from plywood monohulls, which are lighter than other similar-sized yachts made with other materials. Their range includes plywood monohull sailboats.
Should I store my boat with the motor up or down?
To ensure the longevity of your engine, it’s crucial to store it in an upright position, not tilted, or in an upright, self-draining position. If this isn’t possible, ensure the cooling system is completely drained. Store the motor with the gearbox higher than the powerhead to prevent water from entering the cylinders. Check all mounting hardware and replace any wear or impairment. Protect the motor from insects like mud daubers that may hinder cooling. By following these basic recommendations, your engine should provide years of trouble-free service. Take the time to store your engine before storing it for a smoother operation.
How do you wrap a boat for storage?
The season strapping will be secured from the bow to the stern, thereby creating a slope that ensures the shrink-wrap’s integrity. This process will commence with the bow and stern.
Can you have a fridge on a sailboat?
Modern Sailing boats often have iceboxes, refrigerators, or both. These units can be separate units or combined in a single unit. To determine the type of refrigeration, visit the Boats and Rates page on the website or use the MSC Boat Features and Specifications spreadsheet in the Choosing the Right Boat for Your Charter article. Iceboxes have an advantage over marine refrigerators as they don’t consume electricity for food colding, but they have limited temperature control.
Additionally, ice needs to be replaced periodically, depending on the amount of ice, insulation, and opening frequency. Both types of refrigeration are essential for maintaining a safe and comfortable sailing experience.
Is it safe to sleep on a sailboat?
Sleeping at anchor is generally safer and more comfortable than at sea. To avoid hazards, sailors should secure their anchor, anchor at a safe distance, and turn on their lights. Sleeping in two blocks, checking position every four hours, and keeping cabin lights on can help avoid collisions. If possible, tie up to a permanent buoy instead of anchoring. Planning and preparation are essential for a good night’s sleep on a sailboat, allowing for a restful experience while exploring the open waters.
How do you store a small sailboat for the winter?
Boats stored outside are susceptible to winter conditions, dirt, pests, and vandalism. To protect them, many owners opt for shrink-wrapped plastic, which should be adequately vented to repel moisture and keep snow and ice off. Covering upholstery and keeping drains open are also important. Outside storage can leave boats vulnerable to pests and rodents, so well-managed inside storage or professional yacht yard shrink wrap can help eliminate this risk. In temperate climates, water storage is an option, but owners should be aware that saltwater can degrade paint and require additional maintenance in the spring.
How do you tie a boat line for storage?
To wrap a rope, run it over the forearm, allowing for a slight degree of slack in the tag to facilitate the coil formation of the rope. Subsequently, the loop end should be passed through one of the loops.
Should you cover sailboat in winter?
A well-supported boat cover is crucial for preventing flooding, snow accumulation, and damage to the boat’s deck and coach roof. Custom made covers from canvas should be used with a frame to circulate air and prevent pooling. Vents should be built into the cover to encourage ventilation and reduce mildew. The winter cover should not be secured to jack stands or support blocks, as they can be yanked out during a strong blow. Shrink-wrapping is effective in keeping rain and snow out but can trap moisture inside, creating mildew problems.
Cabins and decks painted with two-part polyurethane paint may peel or bubble where the shrink-wrap touches it. To escape condensation, insert foam pads between the hull and cover. Avoid shrink-wrapping the boat yourself, as it can ignite and be invisible. This job is best left to professionals.
Can you live on a sailboat?
The trend of suburban living is gaining popularity, with many considering long-term or permanent residence on a sailboat deck. While there are numerous benefits to living on a sailboat, it can significantly alter one’s lifestyle, including furniture ownership and shopping habits. This article provides an overview of living on a boat and its potential impact on one’s lifestyle and whether it is the right choice for them.
📹 Safety & Comfort Hacks for Life Aboard a Cruising Boat
Sometimes it’s the little things that make a BIG difference for life on board a cruising boat like Clarity. This week give you nineteen …
My Alberg 30 is 1967 (#223), and I have to say you have an incredible interior paint job and teak varnish! Probably one of the top few A30 interiors afloat. I have a few dozen spots in my boat where I get “brown bleed” from the underside of the cabin top and deck. Not sure if it moisture oozing out of the laminate (getting its color from the pegboard masonite core), of if it is diluted uncured resin (after 55 years). It used to gross me out, but now I just wipe it off with a damp paper towel when it appears. Not sure I want to sacrifice a season to try and redo the underside of the deck (or pay what it would cost to have someone else to do it). James Baldwin does some amazing interior refinishing on A30s and similar boats, but I have no idea what it costs.
Best hack i’ve seen for the through hole plugs (per sailing lady K) is to keep them tethered at every through hole so it is always right there in an emergency. Also, when I was in the Navy, we ate off of plastic cafeteria trays. In heavy seas, place an unfolded napkin on the table, add a few drops of whatever you are drinking to it, and set your tray on top of it. No more sliding around.
Good tips. I just learned that the WD in WD-40 means Water Displacement. It was made for this purpose for rockets. It’s also the best cleaner/prep for ‘dry erase marker board’ coating (I’ve tried them all including products made specifically for this – nothing works as well as WD-40.) I use it on my whiteboards at home and for the formica backs to the head doors on my boat which I use for To Do lists. Those floor fans: wire a furnace filter any way you can to the back of the floor fan; turns it into an air filter and keeps the blades clean. ‘wire any way you can’ ? yep. A couple of years ago I made some temporary hack to the one still sitting on the floor of my office – it worked, I never bothered to ‘upgrade’ it. The bike lock for the dinghy is a good idea. I never knew they came 12′ long. My best security is at work when someone says, “You don’t need to do that – here.” This is a ‘No one can out run a bear” situation. No bike lock or cable can hold up to good bolt cutters. I just need to be a bit faster than someone else, or have slightly more security than other dinghies.
Johnson’s Baby Shampoo for your masks. “No more tears” It will never irritate your eyes like some dish soaps can. When we have guests on our boat and several are snorkeling, we have a 5 gallon bucket half filled with fresh water with a squeeze of Johnson’s Baby Shampoo. When people come back on board the masks and snorkels go in the bucket. Minimizes clutter, or lost masks, and they are ready to go at the next stop.
Keeping track of the power on board can be confusing. Guests and children have a natural curiosity and may disturb the panel. Use dots from and office supplies store to mark circuit breakers for status. A dot next to a breaker indicating that is should be on when underway. I did my panels (220/110/24&12 volt) and reviewed them with Diane so she can know in a glance what needs to be on to run the boat in an emergency. 👌
I enjoyed your article. It made me think about some of the things my family have done on our boats. You think forgetting to tie your tender to your boat was scary try forgetting to tie the entire boat to the dock. When we first started out we had a smaller boat and we did not have any real system in place at that time. When we were getting to our dock we would scramble around getting fenders and lines out and at that time I helped doing this. Once we were at the dock I was putting fenders out thinking my wife was tying us off to the dock. At that time we did not leave food in the refrigerator. Normally my wife would go get the cart from the main gate and I would pack the cooler and since it was so heavy I would put it on the dock myself. This time things did not go the way they normally did. As I’m putting the cooler up I gave it a push and then the boat moved and I fell into the water. Lucky enough the one routine that at that point I did the only thing that got wet was me. And lucky enough it was myself this fell in the water my wife would not have tried to bring the boat back by herself. So I swam after our boat and now everybody’s perusal us. Once I got back to the dock everyone’s laughing and clapping. I would love to say that was the only time that happened but then I would be lying. When you started showing your bum I started laughing about that. Once we were getting up and bigger size boats I would buy different things for safety and to help us out if something went wrong or someone else around us.
Some things I have done with cable ties over the years: Buy black cable ties when possible. They are generally more sunlight resistant. And, don’t be afraid to use a tie that is too long, and feel you have to cut it off. Go around whatever you are securing more than once. When it has to come off, cut it where it goes into the slot, shove out the little piece, and you can use the cable tie again. If you do want to remove the tail, twist it off with a pair of vicegrips. Leaves no sharp end.
I was going to say wd40, its great, rp7 or lanolin is as well, but what you can actually do is spray stuff with clear plastidip. Its a peel off paint, but it forms a sealed layer protecting whatever its coated on. Its essentially a rubberised spray on coating. (I use the opaque stuff on clear windows to make them privacy windows too)
Dyneema great for standing rigging. Anyone can rig it off shore,, no swedging. 4x stronger than steel but can saw right through clutch teeth, had to replace all ours, and cuts through just about anything else. Prone to chaffing. I would check that tramp often. Bouncing on the tramp accelerates chafe. Favorite lubricant T9 learned that from a super yacht swabbie. At home too. And yes lost our dink in carib and someone brought it back many islands and days away!!!! Always have a inflatable and a small torquedo for backup. Speaking of lost dinghys, beware in st Martin there is a gang there who rounds them up and loads them on a ship to s america!! They even drop them from your shrouds everyone has a die grinder these days. Could go on about outboard protection, disable it. Electric charged tape solar powered across stern steps is very entertaining prevents boarding. Lots of destitute islanders out there after the hurricanes, all our boats are a gold mine. very tempting. (Never use weapons give them everything will live to tell the tale). Thanks for your website very useful. Pam USCG 100ton Master.
Hack, As a white water kayaker, adopting a paddleboard stroke. its called a J stroke, as you stroke down the side of your paddleboard and when you come to the end of your stroke, turn the blade outwards to form a rudder, hold it there a little longer, this realigns your board as the beginning stroke slowly turns the boat, so you do not need to constantly swop from side to side with the paddle, also use your hips and back muscles to follow thus saving your arm as you can semi-lock your arm if hips and back rotate 🙂
Excellent article (as always) A cleaning tip I got from a boat hostess who also works in a five star hotel and has 5 minutes per room to clean is: one cleaner for all surfaces, and that is dish washing liquid. On everything. It is especially good for cleaning stainless steel (makes sense as it cleans cutlery).
I bag my prop when staying more than a few weeks at an anchorage or dock to stop growth on it. Sew from cheap plastic tarp (dark colors better to stop algae growth) with hole for shaft and slit at end and down to shaft hole. Sew on magnetic strips to close it along these slits. Put grommet in end opposite the magnetically closed slits with line that goes up to the engine shift lever. This reminds you that you only need to pull the line to remove the bag before using the engine. Dive on the prop and place the bag over it with magnetic strips facing aft to close the bag and bring the line up to the throttle. Simple, effective, and safely removed it needed. Let me know if you want a photo.
I know it can sound too much but let’s take the risk and speak out. You guys are waaaay the best and I’m so amazed, impressed, blast anytime I watch the O’Kelly’s. Have been browsing a month roughly across websites, catamaran reviews, sailing couples ready to spread the “Live on a boat” message around, sometimes naive sometimes pretentious or just born-to-be-expert of this and that. Run into cool stuff too must admit, agree with @Daio btw. Overall I have watched and learned a lot around stepping into undistinguished material too btw. For the most part I watch the first 3 minutes till editing – subject – content – miscellaneous kill the vibes, interest sunk in deep water and you back to day-to.day. For weeks now haven’t checked the O’Kelly’s hence wanted to come back and it flashed again the real thing. Don’t want to be misunderstood I’m not a friend or relative to the O’Kelly’s just strive to be frank and honest hundred percent. I am not a sailor (dream of) I am not an expert of any and I know don’t have the command of English too. Ultimately just want to say the O’Kelly’s make the whole thing out there. The way they choose the subject, discuss, present, interact, edit, that’s how-it-should-be. I know I know… there’s a pro background that’s make the difference. Anyway, I’m sorry it went wordy just might be adding I feel one day I’ll be coming across the O’Kelly’s whilst sailing around the world… “Big thank” in advance guys. Yours faithfully, Max
Here’s a couple more ideas. 1) To avoid losing ALL your electronics from a lightning strike we put a handheld GPS and VHF inside the microwave. It’s a perfect faraday cage. The regular oven is a possible second choice but the microwave is a better bet. 2) I can’t count the number of times I use my pocket flashlight everyday. It’s not something you think about but once you start carrying one you’ll be amazed how often you use the thing everyday. 3) When coming into a marina for the first time I always tie up at the fuel dock first if they have one. Even if I only take on a few gallons. First it’s usually the easiest dock to get in and out of. Second while you’re there you can walk over and inspect the slip they want to put you in. This practice has saved us $$$$ in damage twice when we turned down slips that weren’t safe for a mono sailboat to get into. Great article guys. Your advice on WD 40 is spot on. But you might want to mention the stuff will displace water which is handy.
Along with your great hacks add this to the thru hull bungs. Either drill a hole or install a brass screw eye to the bung, add twine to the hole or eye and then tie the bung to each individual thru hull depending upon size with about 12″ – 16″ tail for working room. When the vessel is hauled out make sure you have on hand a can of “Pam” kitchen spray . Making sure the thru hulls are clean off any dabree. With someone inside opening and closing the seacock spray Pam up inside the thru hull to lubricant it. This will lengthen the life of a plastic seacock. One way to lengthen the life of a roller furling head stay is to spray fresh water up inside the barrel to clean out the bearings once a month depending upon use. The most over looked service item on a boat that could be catastrophic is the raw water pump on an engine. This must be serviced once a year or every 100 hours. Thanks again for the great articles. Please keep them coming.
Our two favorite hacks for the boat – 1. to save water, we use a spray bottle to spritz off the soap when doing dishes, uses way less than just rinse under a faucet. 2. I highly recommend ear plugs when wanting to sleep. You might think you wouldn’t hear someone or something, but you’re wrong. Helps with a restful sleep while underway or at anchor with howling winds.
Not lazy. That TV clip is genius. Old that oldie article was something. But California? I though you guys were from the Northwest? Anyway. If I haven’t said it before. Seattle was my home for sometime before I went into the Marines and after that I lived in California up till a couple years ago. Where I moved south (to be closer to the the BVIs) and look for my next boat (which we have). But west coast sailing is my experience. Nice dive knife at the helm. and I love spare air. Great invention! Screens so important for all the bugs out here. lol
I’d say seatbelt cutters would be a better option, and safer, than knives. A bare blade on rough seas would be another hazard 😬. Lots of them available at any surplus store, since the army began issuing them to us for rollovers. You’d be surprised how thick of a rope or strap you can cut with those things.
Our favorites are the water saving fitting and the double painter for the dinghy! My hack is that I have a magnetic spice rack in my (tiny) galley which frees up a lot of cupboard space. Oh and I wash the boat while it’s raining while we are underway to save on fresh water. But make sure it’s decent rain otherwise you’ll only get half the boat washed like I did today 😂
Great stuff! Couple of points of feedback: Dinghy Painters: Ensure you connect them to two different hard points on your boat. That way, not only does it halve the stress on each hard point, but if one fails, the other hard point (hopefully) holds. WD-40: Fares poorly in most corrosion tests. Try searching YouTube for one of the several outstanding tests to see what works the best and lasts about 50 times longer than WD-40. Fans: I’ve had four Lasko box fans for 7 years. On low they’re quiet yet move far more air than the “small” fan you recommended, but they cost $10 less. Each. On high, they can easily ventilate 150 sq feet of floor space per minute. Oh, you have 1,500 sq feet? That’s 10 minutes. Lightening: Check out both air-gap to grounds as well as the concept of using multiple grounds. By adjusting the air-gaps to multiple grounds so that no two grounds have the same air-gap, repeated strikes can travel — and destroy — different ground lines while leaving the others intact. Dyneema: And it’s lighter than water, so it floats! Dinghy Dock Lock: Another consideration would be to use a GPS tracker that alerts you via cell phone if it’s moved more than a set radius from your set point. That radius could be 5′, 500′, or whatever you want. Not only is it good for knowing if someone is stealing your dinghy, but also good for alerting you in case of an anchor drag (or a stolen boat!) while you’re ashore.
Loved this. I bet all the years on you have a massive library now of good hacks. Here is our contribution : youtube.com/watch?v=Wf5qiUu7khg – We are just new to our boating journey and will move to a sail boat on our next one, but for now we are learning the easy way with 4 kids on a launch tucked away in the Marlborough Sounds in New Zealand. Thanks for the articles – love your work!
I was hoping for a hack article! I’ve been preparing a list so this is great! I had slip grip already as I used to use it when travelling in or with a trailer and still have a bunch! I’m surprised no one has mentioned that before now! You had an epoxy stick in case of leaks. Is it just easier to store than a can or Navicoat or Splash Zone? As effective? In a jam I’ve heard people say pool noodles, nerf balls and expanding foam will help. Loved the knife tip! Wasn’t expecting that! Now I’m going to see if I notice in your other articles as I keep perusal lol. Also suddenly, I want to take up sewing lol. Tried it and fried it before, but these tasks are a new inspiration Megan! I looove all these additions you create and they are so helpful in staying organized etc. That rod holder too is exactly what I’ll need. Out of the way but ready in a second. Excellent! I thought there might be more kitchen or bathroom hacks tbh. Or is that Hack article #2? 😆. Thanks folks. Appreciate the tips and articles.
Leaving a faucet running (hack 17) can be serious. My father and I were on his boat a day’s sail out from Alabama in the Gulf when I discovered we had no water aboard — he’d left the faucet in his head running. We had to return to fill up, of course. Now, on my sailboat with electric demand fresh water, I’ve rigged plumbing with a valve that I can flip when at sea that brings a foot pump into the feed line, bypassing the electric pump, such that it is impossible to accidentally run the tanks dry.
Those wooden plugs arent a hack. They are mandatory on every ISF rated boat from cat7 upwards. Anyone who doesnt have them is a noob or a fool.. They are as important as flares, buckets and lifejackets. The correct size should be permanently attached to every skin fitting on the boat.. Spares should be kept for other damage, eg collision causing hull skin penetration.
I just can’t understand why WD40 don’t want to make a honest move and try to stop the bottom of there bottles from rusting, top is okay we can get with, but the bottom stains are too nasty. They ruin every surface. Do I need to buy two bottles to spray one another? Mind blowing how profit oriented they are.
We have had unsecured items in the cockpit taken twice while we were not aboard while at anchor. Once in Mexico & once in Tonga. Your fishing gear, the knives & the snorkel gear at the ready would be prime targets for theft I would think. Maybe it’s not a problem in the Bahamas but unfortunately it’s been our experience most 3rd world island nations always seem to have their share of unsavory characters. I can hardly count the number of 15hp and up dingy motors that we knew of that “disappeared” over the years either, even ones that were locked! I don’t think I’d enjoy putting all that stuff away every time I left the boat. Unsecured cockpit lockers are also a target. It’s a constant dilemma for cruisers. I know of one cruiser that has a GPS tracker velcroed to the underside of the dingy motor cowling, now there’s a good cruiser hack!
About the scuba masks, if you have a new one, burn the glasses with a lighter until they turn completely black and clean them with soap afterwards. (I always use strawberry soap because of the nice smell) 🙂 The reason why burning them is because they come with a thin protection layer on the glass out from the factory what makes glasses very quickly very foggy.
Thanks for the WD40 tip. We live on a 44 ft steel Bruce Roberts in currently in Thailand. Everything above the cove line is stainless steel so I NEVER stop cleaning and polishing. I put Singer sewing machine oil on all my standing rigging and turnbuckles but for some reason it never occurred to me to coat all the handrails, dorades, bimini top, etc. During the dry season after a day of sailing all the stainless looks like the top of a margarita glass dipped in salt. I wish you both fair winds and following seas.
Try threading a small plastic or cork float through and secured at the ends of various lines where appropriate. Like the boat end of a dingy anchor line. That way the end floats straight up and it gives you something to grab onto with hand or boathook if you lose your anchor for any reason. Sure beats diving for an anchor rope. This is especially a good idea for a man overboard line because it gives you something that you can see above the water level if you fall in AND it’s something to stop a slippery, wet line from sliding out of your grasp … leaving you wistfully gazing at your boat as it sails off blissfully into the sunset without you. Even if you’re not a single handed sailor the other crew might not see you go overboard so towing a man overboard line is always a good idea. If your boat is making good way when this happens it’s easy to lose the line because there’s considerable pull as you accelerate to boat speed and then encounter resistance while being dragged through the water.
Calculating how much scope to put out can be annoying, particularly in your head whilst also worrying about maneouvering around other boats in the cove. To solve, keep a laminated card next to the helm so you can just read the depth sounder, find the depth on the chart, and go from there. Better yet, would be to mark your anchor chain with zip ties. I.E. When the depth sounder says 4m, let out chain until you see 4 black zipties for 4:1 scoped, 4 green zip ties for 6:1 scope, and 4 red ties for 10:1. All the thinking is done in advance – you just yell out the depth to the anchor-person and they hit play until they see the right number of zip-ties.
Nice article. I’ve found the Yamashield Rust and Corrosion Protectant to be THE best protectant out there and can also be layered depending on the type of water and conditions one finds themselves. I use it on everything outside metal including the anchor and it doesn’t discolor. It’s more expensive than WD40 but it’s worth it and lasts a long time.
Captain I have an absolute answer for your fresh free running water. install a sprayer handle with a hose on your faucet stem. so, when you need water you; ( 1)depress the trigger and when you don’t not, 2)release the trigger the h2o stops. you also have the option of the hose for longer reach you may call it a presence switch
Rinse your boat from salt water by water tension or water softener spray tablets put them into a yard Fertilizer sprayer. Spray the vessel the salt and the water and the dirt will beat off the vessel virtually dry The same words for cars wash your car spray would the water tension tablets or water softener tablets perfect Rinse Jet dry is also a water softener
Great article! Love you guys! Going to use some of your hacks here on land. Try getting a roll of Ivy Grip Tape (or similar) I’m VERY sure you will find all kinds of creative uses for it! (Are you guys sub-rosa sponsored by Stur, or are you singlehandedly keeping them in business?) Oh…and when you decide to sail up the Hudson River a ways let me know…I’ll take you out to lunch or dinner.
WD40 is just as good as the day it was invented, 40 or 50 years ago. But, there are a few things that are far better (and last much longer, too). I really like CorrosionX products. They seem more expensive, but since they work better, go further and last much longer, I think they’re actually cheaper! Oh, for mask-fog, good ol’ spit works pretty good, too.
Plastic-foam pipe insulation installed around a mooring-ball pendant (and fixed in place with zip ties). Keeps the pendant floating on the surface; easier to pick up. Also serves as a stand-off to keep the pendant from submerging under the mooring ball or mooring barrel and getting tangled. Also, in a crowded harbor, keeps the pendant visible and thus less likely to be run over by an eight-year-old in an Optimist. Maybe not for cruisers who live on the hook, but a boon for us day sailors who return to home port each evening.
I know Dynema is new and all the rage. I think I ran into it during training but if its what they said it was I don’t like it. It’s too stretchy. I don’t like stretchy lines. They snap without warning. A towing line should always be hemp. It doesn’t stretch and will smoke before it snaps. I saw Dynema used as the lower life line on a sailboat. Which in my opinion was a lousy choice of line for that spot. If you slip and you’re not hooked in, the last thing you will hit going over the side will be that line. You don’t want to hit a rubber band, it will stretch and over you go. Love how you keep a knife installed at all locations you could possibly need one including the type for the location. Brilliant! I think you just made a lot of good sailors better sailors.
# 11 …back up antenna… I used to work on radios… I would also have a stainless quarterwave in a ziploc treated with that wd40 😉 😉 tucked away INSIDE something to go out on a pair of vise grips or the spares mount or wutever… also… on your spare antenna… can you hook up your PORTABLE MARINE RADIO (handytalky, handheld) to that SPARE antenna of yours, for better distance if your mast antenna system is FUBARed ??? …connection at the base to remove it from the wire goin into the cabin to the radios and hook to the external antenna jack of the handheld???? also… I would have to have a HF MARINE radio…. I like those ”STEALTHED HF ANTENNAS” that look like ”lines” 😉
Megan get Nick to put some hinges on your dishes drying bin lid with a folding spring holder on the front . I saw it on a friends Leopard a couple of weeks ago and immediately did it to mine. It helps so much in keeping the galley more tidy and while sailing you don’t have a heavy loose lid flopping around
Here are a few bits of info about corrosion. Dissimilar metal in contact with each other will corrode from galvanic corrosion. Even different alloys of stainless steel in contact with each other will corrode over time in a marine environment. A 304 SS screw in a 316 SS plate will corrode. For pumping stations we isolate SS 304 bolts from the SS 316 pipe flanges with phenolic (plastic) washers and sleeves as isolators. Also, stainless steel will show signs of rust, brown streaks coming off of SS anchor rollers and chain plates. The stainless is not rusting, the ferrous material embedded in the SS is rusting. In a steel fab shop there are lots of invisible ferrous (steel) particles in the air from welding, brushing, grinding, polishing, etc. The steel particles land on everything, including any SS laying around. These particles will rust and cause streaking on the SS later if not removed. The solution is to passivate the SS and use passivated SS fasteners. Passivation is a wash of mild citric acid (from orange peel) that dissolves the steel particles and washes off with water. It’s marina safe. The product we use is called Citrisurf.
Hi guys, been perusal for a while – if only I didn’t get so seasick, it would definitely be a great way to live… I noticed that when you tied the dinghy up with those carabiners, you connected them to the same fitting on the boat – that would be a single point of failure. Perhaps consider connecting each line to a separate fitting (just “to be sure, to be sure”….
We had pen and paper out for this one! Thanks for sharing these tried and true tips with us. The ceiling mounted fishing pole rack is a great idea, but do you worry that it attracts petty thieves to strike, especially while at dock? Getting packed to meet our new Cat in France…finally, and reeeeally loving your vids. Thanks, Al and Caroline:)
just on being good to go “at the ready if you will” with the diving kit we have found it really handy to have a divers weight on a 60 ft cord ( blinds cord) and a float – we call it a divers shot – anything goes over the side – drop the shot next to it or along side where it went over – simple establishment of a search datum.
WD40! I love that hack! My granddaddy use to always say, “You can fix anything with Bailing wire, Duct tape, and WD40, and if you can’t fix it with that you don’t need it!:” I have to say, I have used the bailing wire on my cars quite a bit. My current car has a 3 year old fix on it that has bailing wire holding things together under the hood. I am quite famous for giving my upstairs apartment neighbors a can of WD40 for their mattresses. There are just somethings I don’t like to be woken up by in the middle of the night.
You mentioned in your podcast about keeping fuel tanks clean…..and wouldn’t you know it another website sailing doodles started there recent article with fuel tank cleaning / fuel polishing . youtu.be/SFbQ90rwHdU If it doesn’t make you rush out and get your tanks cleaned nothing will! He does appear to have steel or ‘black iron’ tanks in his ’89 Asia built boat. Common in that era. Love the hacks! Cheers Warren .
Great article as always… had an idea for you for either youtube or your podcast… I’ve been perusal a few different sailing websites now and I was wondering what your thoughts were (not reviews per se as that could be taken negatively) on some of them like Sailing Uma, Sailing Project Atticus, Sailing Kittiwake, Sailing Soleanus(sp?), and finally, just discovered Sailing Lady Africa and wondered if you had seen what they did with their catamaran as it is similar to what you did only I think they went even further.