Products or Tips that you are particularly proud of 5

[AlanT]

I was musing in the post Christmas dinner fug about all the knowledge that our members have acquired and put to use over the years. If y'all have the patience to share I would propose that we list our favorite (maximum of 5) boating tips or tools or products or tricks that work so well that we want to share them,

I'll start:

1. Schedule 40 plastic water pipe. Cheap, available in a multitude of diameters. Can be easily cut, drilled and glued. Makes rod holders; Tool holders; an easily stowable frame to keep my dinghy cover 'tented' to avoid water puddles; conduit for cable runs and many more uses.

2. Emergency battery. I have several and keep one in the boat and one in each vehicle. At 1,200 amps it will start a genset or a tender motor, it might start a smaller main engine; contains a built-in air pump for inflating the tender or fenders; also a very bright LED light. Plug it in to charge once a month and it will last for years. Mine is branded Caterpillar, sold through Costco at $110. https://www.costco.com/cat-1200-peak-amp-digital-jump-starter.product.100799044.html

3. McLube Sail Kote. This dry lubricant contains no silicone or teflon. It lasts longer than either and leaves no residue or stickiness whatsoever. When you first spray it you will think you have been conned as it leaves no trace. It will lubricate anything that slides (door tracks, window tracks, exposed throttle cables, drawer glides). Primary use is to lubricate mainsail tracks/slides.

4. Laminator. Any time I identify a previously unknown circuit, modify the electrical system, pumps, pipes etc. I will make a diagram with an explanation of what was modified, or instructions on valves to turn etc. file it in my boat file and laminate a copy and secure it to the item at issue. You can buy multiple sizes of laminating sheets, from Luggage Label size which are perfect for identifying wires/pipes etc as they come with slots and nylon loops for securing them to suitcases, to full size A4. Buy online for best prices.

5. Two tools A heat gun for sealing Ancor Heat Shrink wire connectors and a rope cutter hot knife. The latter can also be used with slight modification to cut and seal Sunbrella to avoid loose threads.

~A

 

[HeadedToTexas]

Nice! Those are winners.

 

[Marco Flamingo]

I just bought and installed a great Christmas present for my wife. She's generally in charge of putting out fenders when docking. I bought 8 of the Taylor Made 1099 fender hangers. They attach near the base of a stanchion and appear to work great. Deployment and adjustments are quick and simple. Four fenders in 30 seconds is possible. She loves them.

 

[Comodave]

A tip I use frequently is to take some powerful rare earth magnets to find locations on the other side of bulkheads or the hull. Tape one on the side where you want to drill the hole then go to the other side and let the second magnet find the first one. Works great and you don’t need a tape measure to find the spot to drill. And there isn’t any chance of miss measuring.

 

[O C Diver]

1. Corrosion X protects electrical contacts from corrosion. Use it on everything from battery terminals to light bulbs and LED emitters.

2. Dremel tool will do an amazing number of jobs for its relatively small size. If I ever need to cut the anchor chain, that will be the tool.

3. Heat shrink crimp connectors, why wouldn't you. Molex is my brand of choice.

4. Kiwigrip is probably the ultimate non-skid. One of the nice features of this water based deck coating is the ability to recoat easily over an existing worn area without arduous prep work.

5. A tag or trailing line behind an anchored boat. Being able to grab a float line in seas or current whether intentionally or unintentionally in the water, can be a life saver.





Ted

 

[RickyD]

I love my chain counter/windlass control in the flybridge. I prep the anchor before getting to my anchorage, keep an eye on the depth, drop the anchor with the appropriate chain length all from my preferred helm.

 

[rgano]

Thanks, AlanT. The order for the fender hangers is IN!

I am partial to heatguns, and I have finally bought a small one with a digital heat readout and large range of heat adjustment. Wonderful for all the heat-shrink connectors and rope ends. That big monster I used to use stripping varnish on the old Grand Banks is in semi retirement.

An intermittent windshield wiper: Most boats come with a non-parking windshield wiper which does not allow a conventional intermittent module to be easily installed. I found an inexpensive little circuit board that does the intermittent part, and separate push-on, push-off button was installed to allow me to run an intermittent or continous wipe program. Doesn't stop nicely parked, but I love it over the continual need to reach over to get a wipe or two by switching on and off.

Automatic on-off, 30-foot long waterline heater tape I have permanently wound around the mufflers, water, and waste tank areas in my lift-kept boat here in sometimes-freezing-weather area.

This https://www.mactools.com/search?typ...ast&options[unavailable_products]=last&q=pick. It is a beefy 90-degree pick that will save you hours, blood, sweat, and swearing in getting hoses of barb fittings.

Dehumifier-in-the-sink trick for a mold-free cabin.

Do I get another "go" later on cuz I been "hacking" the boat jobs since the 1960s?

 

[cardude01]

Thanks, AlanT. The order for the fender hangers is IN!

I am partial to heatguns, and I have finally bought a small one with a digital heat readout and large range of heat adjustment. Wonderful for all the heat-shrink connectors and rope ends. That big monster I used to use stripping varnish on the old Grand Banks is in semi retirement.

An intermittent windshield wiper: Most boats come with a non-parking windshield wiper which does not allow a conventional intermittent module to be easily installed. I found an inexpensive little circuit board that does the intermittent part, and separate push-on, push-off button was installed to allow me to run an intermittent or continous wipe program. Doesn't stop nicely parked, but I love it over the continual need to reach over to get a wipe or two by switching on and off.

Automatic on-off, 30-foot long waterline heater tape I have permanently wound around the mufflers, water, and waste tank areas in my lift-kept boat here in sometimes-freezing-weather area.

This https://www.mactools.com/search?typ...ast&options[unavailable_products]=last&q=pick. It is a beefy 90-degree pick that will save you hours, blood, sweat, and swearing in getting hoses of barb fittings.

Dehumifier-in-the-sink trick for a mold-free cabin.

Do I get another "go" later on cuz I been "hacking" the boat jobs since the 1960s?

I used the small dehumidifiers in the sink for years, but switched to a big house style dehumidifier that I put in the shower. It drains into the shower sump which is pumped overboard. Even has WiFi so I can keep track of the humidity, if I’m at a dock with good enough WiFi that is.

TCL 50 Pint Black Smart dehumidifiers, 4,500 Sq. Ft https://www.amazon.com/dp/B089LBG4M2/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_MQBBD7AKCBKZ0C9ESZBN

 

[rgano]

I used the small dehumidifiers in the sink for years, but switched to a big house style dehumidifier that I put in the shower. It drains into the shower sump which is pumped overboard. Even has WiFi so I can keep track of the humidity, if I’m at a dock with good enough WiFi that is.

TCL 50 Pint Black Smart dehumidifiers, 4,500 Sq. Ft https://www.amazon.com/dp/B089LBG4M2/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_MQBBD7AKCBKZ0C9ESZBN

My boat is way too small to use anything but a tiny dehumidifier.

 

[AlanT]

Do I get another "go" later on cuz I been "hacking" the boat jobs since the 1960s?

Go for it Rich! Love the tips! I use the dehumidifier in the sink and the macho hose pick also.

~A

 

[angus99]

Climbing onto a sundeck—especially from a low dock—can be a chore as some of us are starting to “approach middle age.” We have a set of Marquipt sea stairs that work well but are a hassle to set up for a short stay at a marina—especially if it’s just the two of us. Another DeFever owner recommended a swim ladder for boarding/unboarding.

We use a Dive ‘N Dog folding four-step. It’s very light, plenty strong, easy to store and one ladder can be used at multiple boarding gates. We bought two extra sets of slotted brackets and use the ladder at all three boarding stations—stbd, port and aft to access the swim platform—wherever it’s needed. Sorry I have no pix of the ladder in use.

 

[rgano]

Go for it Rich! Love the tips! I use the dehumidifier in the sink and the macho hose pick also.

~A

OKaaaay! Second go:

I know it seems silly in some contexts, but we used to pass through numerous buoy system changes as we poked along, but the homemade buoy indicator at the extreme top of the first photo was referred to quite often as we cruised along and kept us honest about checking what we saw against the chart to ensure we were in channels and not alongside them.

Same photo: I splashed the original GB 42 instrument console with LED alarm indicators as I added one alarm after another which all connected to the single alarm bell. It was my way of adding an official alarm panel to an old boat where there was no room.

The analog gauge in photo 2 is my Electro-Guard anti-corrosion system. With the two zincs of this system kept in proper order, I never had an underwater metal issue in 29 years. It also went berserk in a couple of marinas while we were traveling indicating they had an issue there. We left rather than remain even overnight in those places.

A two-butt wide "pilot bench" custom built at the lower helm where there had been NOTHING and where we ran the boat 90% of the time was absolutely heaven-sent.

So what to do about the limited view astern through the dinghy which sat in chocks on the aft cabin top? See the next three photos of the aluminum frame, its mounting, and the resulting view to see how I resolved that issue and gave myself a bicycle storage location under the dink (yes, I still had a view with them there).

With two main engines and a generator and a fuel polishing system, I wanted to know how all the filters were faring without a trip to the ER. I put tees in the fuel supply lines downstream of the primary filters and ran small diameter hose to these vacuum gauges in the cabin where I could see them from the pilot bench.

 

[cardude01]

Those are some great ideas!

 

[rgano]

Those are some great ideas!

Yeah, I thot so too!

 

[SteveK]

Rich, Is the two seater hanging/cantilever over the hatch? Or is it movable

 

[rgano]

Rich, Is the two seater hanging/cantilever over the hatch? Or is it movable

We took a very small notch out of one corner of the forward athwartship hatch. The whole thing had five screws holding it in place on the off chance we ever needed it removed.

 

[HeadedToTexas]

With two main engines and a generator and a fuel polishing system, I wanted to know how all the filters were faring without a trip to the ER. I put tees in the fuel supply lines downstream of the primary filters and ran small diameter hose to these vacuum gauges in the cabin where I could see them from the pilot bench.

Great remote read vacuum gauges! That’s a keeper. What is the instrument to their right?

 

[C lectric]

Link 10
Battery monitor which were very popular some years ago. Were a great step up from what was available before.

 

[rgano]

Link 10
Battery monitor which were very popular some years ago. Were a great step up from what was available before.

It was for the house bank of four Trojan 145s. Start banks were not involved with the Link 10.

 

[wkearney99]

Heat guns are handy, I use one for a gentle bit of heat to help attach/remove stubborn hoses. Be aware there are such things as butane powered soldering irons (that have a small heat gun feature, good for heat-shrink on wires).

https://www.amazon.com/Weller-P2KC-Professional-Self-igniting-Soldering/dp/B000WOHSHM

A bit more convenient than snaking an AC line to power a regular electric iron.

 

[angus99]

We use the Reminders app on our iPhones to create checklists. They can be customized to track anything: getting the boat ready for departures, arrivals, layups or any process where not missing something is important. They can be shared with anybody using an iPhone or iPad. When you check off an item as completed, it can be set to disappear from the list on all shared devices. When you’re ready to use the list again, just select “unhide” and tap to uncheck them. You can also use it to track and notify you of periodic maintenance items.

No financial interest in Apple (dammit!).

 

[wkearney99]

For those that choose to avoid Apple devices and services, there are other options.

We have Alexa devices on the boat and at home. It's pretty convenient using lists on them. "Alexa, add drinks" to the Boat Shopping list. "Alexa, add have varnish redone to the Boat Work list", etc. The lists are readable in the app, or on any Alexa devices that have screens.

 

[rgano]

For those that choose to avoid Apple devices and services, there are other options.

We have Alexa devices on the boat and at home. It's pretty convenient using lists on them. "Alexa, add drinks" to the Boat Shopping list. "Alexa, add have varnish redone to the Boat Work list", etc. The lists are readable in the app, or on any Alexa devices that have screens.

WOW, I mean just WOW. I wish I had had Alexa aboard my woodie GB 42 to do all that varnish!!!

 

[Swa]

Vertical fender hangers for the wife's Christmas present. I should have thought of that. She didn't much care for the new mop and bucket

 

[wkearney99]

WOW, I mean just WOW. I wish I had had Alexa aboard my woodie GB 42 to do all that varnish!!!

Heh, now THAT is something I'd pay for, a little varnishing bot to scurry about...

 

[Circumnavigator]

The boat hook is never quite long enough -- or -- the extender twist lock is stuck and I need the hook now!


The big box hardware/ lumber stores sell painter's poles that screw into a paint roller frame for doing high ceilings. They extend in three parts to as much as 24 feet and the catches are much more reliable that the twist locks on the typical extending boat hook sold by boat shops.


Sea Sense (and probably others) makes a boat hook end that has the Acme thread that's the same as a broom handle or paint roller.


Jim

 

[sbu22]

Great idea, Jim! Thanks

 

[HopCar]

Lot of good stuff in this thread.
One of my favorite products isn’t made for marine use, it is sold for removing rust from fabric. You can find it in the laundry aisle at the grocery store. It’s called Whink and it’s great for removing rust stains from gel coat or stainless. It works much better than oxalic acid or phosphoric acid based rust removers.

 

[RT Firefly]

Greetings,
Mr. HC. It probably works BUT it's HF and I, for one, want nothing to do with that stuff.


https://www.merrittsupply.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Whink-Rust-Remover-SDS.pdf

 

[friz]

Greetings,
Mr. HC. It probably works BUT it's HF and I, for one, want nothing to do with that stuff.https://www.merrittsupply.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Whink-Rust-Remover-SDS.pdf

Sorry Firefly. Do not have the motivation. What is "HF" and why should I not be using it as a BBQ sauce or rust remover? I thought the bottle was BBQ sauce.