Been a while since we did a "tips and hints" threa

J

JamesTXSD

Active member
If you are working on/in the bilge in a 25, you know they are always wet. Joan would like to see the bilge dusty dry. I would like to have thick hair again... you don't always get what you want. But, here are two tips that, combined, will cost you a grand total of $1 plus tax...

I would like to take credit for this first one, but Joan came up with it: a way to hold open the hatch in the cockpit floor of a 25...

HatchHolderE.jpg

I'm aware that some of the earlier model 25s don't have the vertical hatches, but she uses the latch from the vertical hatch to hold the floor hatch open. Clever. Free.

I saw this item at Dollar Tree. It is a kid's water toy/squirt gun. We use it to pump out her kayak. It also works great to get that last little bit of water in the bilge that the pump can't seem to pull out...

BilgeSuckerE.jpg

No, it isn't industrial strength AYBC approved. But it cost a whole dollar, and we've been using it for a year. If it breaks, buy another. Heck, buy a dozen. I will warn you, that Joan has used this on other kayakers (I won't mention any names, but it was me) for it's designed use: as a water toy. I don't need one for my Hobie, so it is a bit like ... um... taking a paddle to a watergun fight. Works good for the bilge, and the price is right.

Best wishes,
Jim
 
Well on the cheap side I carry a metal clothes hander. I can bend that thing in multiple ways. Something thrashing about in the bilge? Use the hanger to pull it out. Need to snag a wire just out of reach? The hanger. Need to catch the small chain attached to the gas fill cap? The hanger. Need to lash a couple of things together in a hurry? The hanger. And I'm missing other uses. Just a piece of bendable metal.
 
Jim, my turkey baster from Wallyworld (4.95) with a rubber tip will get the bilge dry too, and it won't shoot water nearly as far as that thing Joan is using. (Might give you a better advantage with that paddle :wink:) in case hers ever breaks and you run out of the dollar store ones. The TB and a couple of swipes with a sponge and she'll thing the desert moved in down there.

Harvey
SleepyC :moon

1_10_2012_from_Canon_961.highlight.jpg
 
Last couple of trips out in the evening I had lots of nats join me in the cabin. The towel doesn't seem to work without smashing them and smearing them all over the ceiling. SO the last time out I tried using my lens cleaner bulb to blow them away. It works great in a few minutes they were out the door. I guess you could carry a can of air with you as well.
 
We use Avon's Skin So Soft as an insect repellent, but any repellent can be sprayed on your boat's screens to keep the really small critters from coming throguh the mesh.

Nick
"Valkyrie"
 
Make your own bug repellant mix equal parts of CVS knock off Skin So Soft and the green version of rubbing alcohol. Works well not greasy.
If you hate shuck corn stick the whole ear in a microware without shucking, set for four minutes, remove from microwave (easier to cut that way) cut off the fat end just before it starts to taper, slide ear out of husk by squeezing the pointy end taking care because it's going to be hot. :hot Walla no silk or anything add some spray butter and eat after it cools a little.
D.D.
 
Galley tips - We had the dealer install a pedestal barbeque on our swim platform and it has produce some tasty meals -- but a $200 marine barbeque is nothing close to a $200 home barbeque. We also have found it hard to keep lit if their is much wind.

The Princess stove (butane) that came with our boat gets the most use. We use a stainless steel perk for coffee. No glass or paper filters to contend with and it makes good coffee. Like DD said - "a good cup of coffee is priority 1". Like a ration of grog - the crews sanity depends on it! :lol:

A stainless steel pressure cooker is our next most important pot. You can cook almost anything in it. Quickly and using very little fuel. And only 1 pot to clean. A roast with potatoes and veg., pork chops with cracker crumbs and a little onion soup mix, the options are endless.

Although we are power boaters - a lot of the reading I do is cruising/sail magazines. They are a great source for tips. An offshore passage requires some creativity.

Regards, Rob
 
We keep an inexpensive squeegee or two on the boat - works good to help wipe down the head after showering. Some vinegar water in a squeeze bottle cleans the salt spray off the windows, then wipe 'em with the squeegee. Fast and easy.
 
Join Active Captain it's free see reviews on marinas, hazzards, bridge information etc most reports/reviews by actual boaters newsletters about new products. Learn about the latest software. Don't cruise with out it. Earn free stuff by creating your own reviews on marinas, anchorages,points of interest, add info on hazzards that might be of interest to other boaters etc.
www.activecaptain.com
D.D.
 
Screw stripped out in wood or fiberglass and won't tighten up? Remove screw fill hole with toothpicks break off flush with top of hole. Now replace screw wala it tightens up.
D.D.
 
I have mounted many items on the cabin walls with 4200 or 5200. Initially I made a rube Goldberg brace, then I started using a drop of hot glue on each corner of the item. Works like a charm, keeps the item in place while the adhesive cures.
 
Will-C":21o05x96 said:
Screw stripped out in wood or fiberglass and won't tighten up? Remove screw fill hole with toothpicks break off flush with top of hole. Now replace screw wala it tightens up.
D.D.
Click to expand...

I do the same w/ chopsticks. :lol:
 
Couple of +'s I forgot to mention re using a pressure cooker - because it cooks using a very low flame , it limits the heat buildup in the cabin on a hot day. Also because of its design it contains most of the steam generated during cooking. It can be moved to the open cockpit to open the lid - letting the steam escape outside the boat. Good way to cook and limit vapour buildup in a small pilothouse like the CD.

Regards, Rob
 
I can't take credit for this one, as I 'borrowed" it from Roger on "Dreamer". I made clips out of really inexpensive PVC that fit over the bow rail and hold towels down so they can dry. Put the towel on, snap on the clips and voila. Just don't drop one overboard like I did the first time I used them. :roll:
 
JamesTXSD":qckvteek said:
I saw this item at Dollar Tree. It is a kid's water toy/squirt gun.
Click to expand...

Thanks for that one! My grandson was walking over to Dollar Tree a few days ago and I showed him the pic and asked him to look. He got me two of them.

Now I need to try the corn in the microwave trick.
 
TyBoo":1pyfu7fi said:
JamesTXSD":1pyfu7fi said:
I saw this item at Dollar Tree. It is a kid's water toy/squirt gun.
Click to expand...

Thanks for that one! My grandson was walking over to Dollar Tree a few days ago and I showed him the pic and asked him to look. He got me two of them.

Now I need to try the corn in the microwave trick.
Click to expand...

Hey, Mike! With two of them, you can at least have a fair water fight! :mrgreen:
 
I have been using a Cobb bbq and Kenyon butane portable stove on my splashwell table, and had thoughts as in some threads about proximity to fuel tank vents. Not been a problem as I always sniff around before light up. But with the addition of a new LPG bbq I thought more about a way to be sure nothing is vaporizing around my cooking. I used duct tape over the vent once and that works but I needed something more fitting to the kind of ship a c dory is. So I spent a buck and got a rubber chair tip and a red piece of streamer and taped the streamer to the chair tip. The new style vent accepts the open end of the chair tip and the outside of the chair tip closes a seal on the inside edge of the vent. Just jam fit it in there. No vapor discernable! The red streamer is there as a "remove before flight" type reminder on pre flight. Check battery, fuel on etc streamer gone? should be ok cheap and easy and safety first. Older boats with the old vent style could use a 5/8 chair tip to go over the outside of those vents pictures in my album (Kerri on's layout)second page George (can't seem to recall how to post the darn link sorry
 
Back
Top