personal favorites (tips n tricks)

We did the same thing with our Lab. Trained him on some astro turf. He still doesn’t like it, but will if need be.

Watching fireworks on 4th of July. Get there early like noonish. Seek out the water cops and ask them where the boundary line is. Anchor on the line and put up a huge wind sock or flag or anything highly visible. You will hear the watercops as people try to encroach on the line "See that boat with the windsock? Anywhere behind them."

Best tip ever: always have a bucket aboard, can be used to wash the boat and many things and more than anything else when you realize in the middle of nowhere that your holding tank if full!!!

L

+1 on the buckets. We had several stacked in a corner on board. Washed dishes with saltwater in a bucket and rinsed with fresh water. Used a bucket to carry stuff with us in the dinghy. I even made a "lookie bucket" with one bucket, a piece of plexiglass and some 4200. After realizing the usefulness of a lookie bucket, the original purpose for the plexiglass was deemed less useful.
Did not figure that one until we were no where near a place to buy one. They are handy to check anchor sets, finding fish to catch in the dinghy, and general underwater sightseeing.

I would hope the bucket used for holding tank emptying is not also used for washing dishes??? Better have them marked...LOL

I once changed oil into a 1 gal plastic milk bottle. But didnt notice till I had carried it through the main salon that it had a small hole in it.......thats a tip to check the container.

Location awareness when boarding and unboarding the boat. Look down at your feet, and watch them hit the hard. Don't get distracted.

Fletcher500 said:

Location awareness when boarding and unboarding the boat. Look down at your feet, and watch them hit the hard. Don't get distracted.

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There's a story there...

We keep a 3 gallon bucket onboard. It is a little easier to stow.

Lou_tribal said:

Best tip ever: always have a bucket aboard, can be used to wash the boat and many things and more than anything else when you realize in the middle of nowhere that your holding tank if full!!!

L

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A bucket is a compulsory safety item here, though I think it`s more for emergency baling than the uses above.

A zinc hockey puck with a float switch epoxied onto it. No underwater screws, solved a serious issue. Used a zinc scrap from Martin Marine.

ctjstr said:

Here's one I'm not sure I like, but was on my boat when I purchased it. The Camano has rather narrow walk ways, which prompted this I'm sure.

the fellow has 3 fenders per side. all three are secured in place. He has a small line that ties to the bottom of all 3 fenders, and terminates back in the cockpit. By pulling the line, he pulled all three fenders up out of the water. You can sometimes manipulate the line to flip them up on to the walkway. Other wise, they are tied up more or less parallel to the water up near the walkway.

I will say this; it makes single handling a lot easier. I've only used his system 4-5 times so far, so I'll decide in time if I like it enough to leave in place.

toni

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Ive seen it and use it myself at times...
Especially helpful on sport cruisers where access up front not very handy
Also most useful in canals w/ many locks & open water (lakes) between like Rideau & Trent-Severn in Canada. It will get you into the lock the take the time to adjust individual fender hts if / where necessary.

Another (not my invention and I credit others that came up with this idea) for those doing a lot of locks and wanting to protect their fenders from slime & rough lock walls - cheap sweat pants provide good protection at lo cost -
1 XXL sweat pant can protect 2 fenders (pant legs) and a ball fender (waist/ upper leg slit)

if your really worried about debris clogging up the bilge pump take a stainless steel paint can and drill it full of 1/8th inch holes, then place pump in can, mount everything securely in a good spot and worry no more, also would work great i imagine with small buckets/plastic pails......run wiring through the lids and secure lid, no debris worries

if/when retro fitting charging ports for cell phones/etc... install/replace with good ol' standard 12v charging ports, then keep a collection of adapters so no matter what you need to plug in you have the right plug

the old standard 12v port is going to be relevant for many many years to come with the use of adapters, which will be immediately available for whatever style plug they come out with in the future

TugYacht_33 said:

if your really worried about debris clogging up the bilge pump

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Or, clean your bilge and make it a dry bilge.

Ted

Flip Flops

Never wear Flip Flops getting on or off the boat. Just ask the Admiral or her Doctor.

Comodave said:

We did the same thing with our Lab. Trained him on some astro turf. He still doesn’t like it, but will if need be.

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You can also cut down a box and put a square of grass sod in the bottom of the box for a pee / poop spot on board. then discard the whole thing in a dumpster...

DLP said:

Never wear Flip Flops getting on or off the boat. Just ask the Admiral or her Doctor.

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You can just make that one "Never wear Flip Flops." I've known too many people nearly come to serious injury or even death from them, known more than one to end up in the hospital. They catch and you go head first. That can be into the ground, into water, into a wall or anything. They are seriously dangerous.

Winterizing tip, if you have louver type vents. Mine have bronze screen on the in side covering the louvers. I cut to size a piece of vinyl siding to slip in between the screen to block cold air. Fast and easy to install or remove.

take an empty peanut butter jar and screw mount the lid to the bottom of a shelf and store small wares nuts/bolts/clips/connectors/etc... in the jar, a quick twist and they are secure for the trip and easy to see when looking for them..... any small plastic jar with a screw on lid will work

djones44 said:

A zinc hockey puck with a float switch epoxied onto it. No underwater screws, solved a serious issue. Used a zinc scrap from Martin Marine.

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I suspect this is really important, but must confess: Huh?

Enter skinny water on a rising tide so you can float off if necessary.
Never go where you have not been before after dark.
Make sure you have cold weather gear aboard regardless of where you plan to go.
Use an automatic inflating PFD if you're out on the deck or in the flybridge.
Check the batteries in everything regularly, especially alkaline batteries. Anything not full up should be replaced. Anything not needed in the near future should be put in a ziplock bag with the required batteries (out of the device).
Use lithium or lithium ion batteries if at all possible. Longer life, better cold / hot performance and never corrodes your gear.
Use ziplock bags to keep similar parts together in the spares box. Write the date of purchase or history on the bag with a sharpie.

Wifey B: Have a pre-flight check list. Ok, pre-trip, but like pilots have. Don't leave it to chance you'll do all the checks you should. Use a list.

A small handheld rangefinder while anchoring or at anchor is better at over water distance measurements than you are.

Pilots have that "checklist" for a reason and it is a good idea on a boat. Pilot friend of mine has the nickname "wheels up Thompson", and yeah, there's a story there.

Two kinds of retrac pilots: those who have (or attempted) wheels up landings and those who haven't yet.

Back to the subject: paper charts, up to date.

My wife just told me this one tonight:
To keep a bunch of bananas fresh for longer, wrap the stems in some plastic wrap. Re-cover the bananas with the wrap after removing one. This method prevents ethylene gas, produced naturally in the ripening process, from reaching other parts of the fruit and prematurely ripening it.
We are trying it now, results TBD.

Greetings,
Mr. S. Bananas on board are said to be bad luck although still a useful tip while ashore...

RT...this is terrible news to me so I had to look it up. Seems like the superstition is geared more towards fishing vessels. I like this reason the best:
Fisherman misses landing the big one due to a case of “the runs” caused by bananas he’d ingested.

The reason I saw for not having bananas on a (fishing) boat was that bananas had to be delivered quickly so they didn’t spoil. Since the boat was going faster, they didn’t have any luck trolling.

Also they were supposed to cause boats to sink.

Another superstition is no suitcases on board. No reason why.

k9medic said:

A roku stick and an unlimited plan ona cell phone is well worth the price for sanity when underway with two kids.

“Solar” window screen material secured with blue painters tape can be purchased at a large box store for less than $20 and it makes a great additional shade in the front windows on those days when the sun is just cooking everything.

You can never have enough flashlights.

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Using "static cling" solar screen material is easier and can leave it up permanently if wanted. Easy to see thru day and night and does a great job of heat reduction.