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Old 04-20-2014, 06:30 AM   #1
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Repurposing

I hope to start a thread on useful non marine items that would help in our hobby..

On a home improvement show I saw items for handy caped folks that might be great aboard.

There was a towel rack and a toilet paper holder ,each with built in SS grab rail .

Probably big brother regulated to handle most any weight.

In the head one cant usually see a wake coming , so more to really grab on to might save bouncing off a bulkhead.
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Old 04-20-2014, 06:57 AM   #2
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FF, good idea. I have a landscape lighting transformer that I no longer use and I was going to integrate in the boat somehow. I tried hooking it to my ice maker (fan/circulating pump) but it didn't have enough kahonas to make it work. I may just hook it to all the courtesy lights that you would only use while plugged in or on the noisemaker.
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Old 04-20-2014, 07:44 AM   #3
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Some of my favorites are cleaning supplies...marine supplies at $10-$15 per bottle....check the MSDS and a lot of dollar store items are very close in composition without any real benefits...Like Mary Kate On/Off...3 or so major acids -$15... The Works has just the major ingredient at $1-$2.

Sure be careful and smart...real the labels and MSDSs...make an informed decision.

Then the greenies have a good idea too for ICW brown mustaches....lemon juice...still acid but milder. Of course you use 10X more of the stuff, and wait a lot longer with multiple applications (at least those of us with more porous gel coats.

But that's just one example of home versus marine.

Few things on a boat HAVE to be marine....sure "ignition protected" but only when applicable....sure better grade stainless for longer life...but only outside or in the bilge. Many trawler salons are just as dry and airy as any beach home...especially if you are in brackish, calm water anyhow. So why marine lamps and fixtures????? OK...if you go to se a couple times a year...wipe them down and add a little wax/corrosion spray. $10-$30 LED lamps at a discount store versus $45-$225 marine versions.

Paint and epoxy are other good examples. I think Sherwin Williams has marine paints and epoxies that you can get through local stores. Now some are just as pricey...but I have seen some at much better deals than West or even mail order. Rustoleum paints have worked well for many TFers as reported.

The only trick is to be an educated consumer and know when it's a safety issue and when it just going with the mainstream.

hey...I would have loved to have bought a couple hundred thousand, fresh and yachtie trawler...and buy all the really maine/nautical goodies to keep her that way. But putting $50,000-$100,000 of upgrades into a $50,000 hull/engine to me is just silly if I'm not going to completely restore to original which I couldn't afford anyhow.
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Old 04-20-2014, 01:45 PM   #4
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Furniture.

To us one of the big things was wanting a salon that sat as comfortably as our family room at home. Comfortable sofas and chairs were the key. We like reclining so recliners are something we wanted.

Televisions.

Will the $2000 flat screen that is supposedly extra beefy outlast three of the $600 flat screens from Costco? I know boating is tough on televisions so I'll buy from Costco and get extended warranty through Square Trade. (No, I don't normally do extended warranty's but the deal they have with Costco makes me do it, ending up with five years of warranty for $59 or $69.)
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Old 04-20-2014, 04:53 PM   #5
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Repurposed an old Tupperware cake box into two spice racks for inside the locker door in my galley. Picture:


Cut to the appropriate size, turned on edge and screwed into the door, it fits, and was 69 cents at a local thrift store.

On a gas stove often folks fold up aluminum foil to surround the burner and prevent blow-outs. Better solution: the sides of a spring-form pan (think Pineapple upside-down cake) and voila: a wind break that looks attractive.



The business end of a battery charger that bit the dust, fitted with a cigarette lighter (male) now means I have a way of testing when stuff breaks. (And yes, I double checked the polarity before connecting -- LED likes it correct)

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Old 04-20-2014, 05:55 PM   #6
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Solar yard lights are one of my favorites, the ones with the panel and "spot light" are bright, plastic so they don't rust and go off in the daylight. I position them to light up steps to the flying bridge or dock and other spots where extra light is needed. About 10 bucks in the garden dept. The ones I bought about 4 years ago are still working fine. There are solar rope lights too.
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Old 04-20-2014, 07:06 PM   #7
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Recycling fail: someone dumped a set of golf clubs in the dumpster at the yacht club. Thinking I could use the stainless steel shafts, I hit them with a magnet. While labeled "stainless" they were not stainless enough for use on a salt-water boat.
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Old 04-20-2014, 09:39 PM   #8
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A 4-6 ft piece of 1 inch PVC pipe to make a dock line handle. Pass the tag end through the pipe, leaving 4 ft of line and the loop. Pass the loop over the end of the pipe and the loose line. This forms a large loop to make grabbing a cleat or piling easier. Once attached, pull the pipe off the line and secure normally.
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Old 04-21-2014, 05:43 AM   #9
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Sometimes a remote switch is useful, but the long wire run and exposed position for the switch makes it a dubious proposition.

The folks that sell under sink garbage grinders have a very nice remote setup.

An air powered of/on switch is located at the under sink unit and a thin plastic hose is lead to the push button , which is the air pump to operate the switch.

Push its on , push its off , and the switch is water proof & chrome plated..
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Old 04-21-2014, 08:35 AM   #10
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Trash Compactors. I don't know why you don't see more of these on boats where space for trash is always at a premium.
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Old 04-21-2014, 12:06 PM   #11
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B&B-agree on the trash compactor. WE have one and it rally makes handling a load of trash much easier to handle when away from the dock for a period.

I once looked at a 65' trawler designed by Bill Crealock in the early 80's and he had designed a small, sealed storage space in the side of the deckhouse that opened to the outside solely for trash storage. It was shaped to hold about 4-5 bags from a compactor. Never seen anything like on any other boat. When I was working with him on a design in his later years, I asked him about it and he said no one other than that owner had ever asked him about trash storage. The owner built the boat for extended cruising and did not want to throw trash overboard. It always seemed like a pretty cool idea to me.
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Old 04-21-2014, 05:41 PM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by swampu View Post
FF, good idea. I have a landscape lighting transformer that I no longer use and I was going to integrate in the boat somehow. I tried hooking it to my ice maker (fan/circulating pump) but it didn't have enough kahonas to make it work. I may just hook it to all the courtesy lights that you would only use while plugged in or on the noisemaker.
We did something like that with our water heater. Installed one of these in-wall timers to schedule when the water heater comes on. Put it in the galley so it is easy to turn the water heater on outside the scheduled time.

Marty............................
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