tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27295820163048112112012-02-16T16:38:18.039-08:00Life aboard is living large, in a small space. Every boat owner has found ways to make life in that small space easier, more comfortable, more convenient. The idea behind this site is to provide a place where these ideas can be shared amongst the boating community. To participate, send your contribution to SmallBoatProjects at gmail dot com.bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.comBlogger2531100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2729582016304811211.post-5722351374003174482012-02-16T06:58:00.000-08:002012-02-16T06:58:00.333-08:00

Mike of s/v Chalice has a simple tip for keeping your prop clean.  Given Washington State's recent banning of all copper-based bottom paint, we may be smearing this over our entire hulls. Do you hate cleaning barnacles off your propeller? Once cleaned, just cover with anhydrous lanolin. It's fairly cheap and stays put. It can be applied under water and is totally Eco-friendly. If you use

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2729582016304811211.post-6902687909432551492012-02-13T07:29:00.000-08:002012-02-13T08:48:24.087-08:00

Over at Dock 6 Brian has an old boat which he is dismantling for its parts: DonorBoat.  But that task has its problems...  He's found a product you probably need in your toolbox:    DonorBoat destruction has meant unbolting and unscrewing hundreds of, er, bolts and screws.  And nuts.  And washers. All bedded just as they left the factory.    Stainless screws and bolts installed through

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2729582016304811211.post-87041563331877639092012-02-09T06:44:00.000-08:002012-02-09T06:44:00.156-08:00

Brian over at Dock 6 has an offer you cannot refuse... So there you are, invited for vittles on a boat across the bay.  Being the good guest you are, you load a bottle or two and  some cheese and crackers in a bag , jump in your tender and get gone.  You arrive, climb aboard, and share out your lukewarm bottle, sweaty cheese and broken crackers.      Impressive.     Or say you want to go

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2729582016304811211.post-41963483842991113912012-02-06T10:01:00.000-08:002012-02-06T10:01:24.535-08:00

Over at Dock 6, Brian set out to design and build himself a beautiful stitch 'n glue dinghy, with design targets of: under 25 hours total working time a $250 budget Did he make those targets?  Read on... Here's one from the vault- originally published on Anything Sailing back on 2009, this is the tale of "Chirp." Alright, get your minds out of the gutter- SWMBO has already made all the

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2729582016304811211.post-21780332880783796512012-02-02T06:27:00.000-08:002012-02-02T06:27:00.154-08:00

With the construction of an insulated lid, Jason aboard s/v hello world completes his freezer project.  I did not include the insulation of the freezer box itself here on Small Boat Projects, because I thought it was too big to be considered, well, Small.  Because Jason does everything right, even building just the lid is almost too big.  But boy, his fiberglass work is spectacular!  You gotta

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2729582016304811211.post-47195922018463461462012-01-30T08:29:00.000-08:002012-01-30T08:30:43.686-08:00

How to get that first line ashore when you are approaching a dock? Here's a simple idea, available from DockWand, that we all, every one of us, need to have on one of our spring lines: Giving credit where credit is due, this was seen first at The World Encompassed, and later published at Windborne In Puget Sound.

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2729582016304811211.post-81400570611577955072012-01-26T11:13:00.000-08:002012-01-26T11:14:32.307-08:00

Brian over at Dock 6 whips together a quickie outboard motor stand:         When it's too cold to float a boat, it's the right time to get your boat ready to float.  The only upside to a long cold winter is that the more work you do when the snow flies, the less work you have to do when the sun shines.  One of my projects this winter is to revive an old outboard, so I need a work stand.   I

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2729582016304811211.post-13521873019468983952012-01-23T13:57:00.000-08:002012-01-23T13:57:39.700-08:00

Can you ever have too much stowage on a boat?  I don't think so.  Brian over at Dock 6 puts some unused space to work as additional stowage: This winter, I focused on adding function to the interior of Whiskeyjack.  There was a lot of wasted space under the v-berth: So we decided to add a hanging cubby to the underside of the v-berth filler panel, which you can see just above the dog in the

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2729582016304811211.post-35914608283451790112012-01-19T08:46:00.000-08:002012-01-19T08:46:20.563-08:00

(the last Pledge drive post was back in June.  I'll keep these at about a 6-month frequency) I hope you have been enjoying the ongoing series of projects posted here. This is your site.    For this to work out for all of us, everybody needs to contribute - think of this as a pot luck dock party. Come on now.  All of you have a small project of one kind or another that others would be

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2729582016304811211.post-3105816155079260562012-01-16T06:55:00.000-08:002012-01-16T06:55:51.785-08:00

Drew over at Sail Delmarva  makes some proper sail ties: In the West Marine catalog--or any supplier for that matter--they sell prefabricated sail ties for ridiculous prices. My boat came with 2 sets of 2 types. I tried some webbing with Fastex buckles--something I had. They all stink. We used some for other things and cut some up to use the materials for other things. All rubbish. Having

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2729582016304811211.post-72421829936358241932012-01-12T06:53:00.000-08:002012-01-12T06:53:00.223-08:00

Erick has been stripping s/v Windsong, his Downeast 38, down essentially a bare hull.  In the process, he has learned a thing or two about how to remove bungs, having done literally thousands of them. Before you do your next wood working project, you owe it to yourself to check out the detailed treatise he wrote up covering the process he developed.

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2729582016304811211.post-13271679305808878692012-01-09T07:21:00.000-08:002012-01-09T07:21:02.196-08:00

Sometimes, a commonly available solution to a problem is, well, incomplete.  On Eolian, lo these many years ago, I installed what must be the standard teak wine glass rack on the underside of the cabinet over the galley sink: But there is a problem.  In a seaway, the glasses jostle around and then eventually abandon the rack, jumping to their freedom.  Short of fitting them with tiny life

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2729582016304811211.post-85355634925420317522012-01-05T07:25:00.000-08:002012-01-05T07:25:32.480-08:00

Nature abhors a vacuum, and an empty flat surface is the topological equivalent of a vacuum. Flat surfaces inevitably get covered up with, well stuff.  And on a boat, things are made worse by the dearth of flat surfaces to begin with.  Brian over at Dock 6 addresses the problem head-on with a clever folding counter extension: In true low-buck fashion, this is a freebie project. One of the

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2729582016304811211.post-44450542191836878332012-01-02T07:25:00.000-08:002012-01-02T07:25:01.053-08:00

Steve and Lulu on s/v Siempre Sabado have found an interesting solution to the courtesy flag problem. What courtesy flag problem? Well, read on... It's a requirement in Mexico, and probably every other country, for visiting vessels to fly the flag of the host country. This is called a "courtesy flag" and is a sign of respect. You fly your own country's flag as well but the courtesy flag

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2729582016304811211.post-25327465648930007242011-12-25T07:05:00.000-08:002011-12-25T07:05:00.170-08:00

From the crew of Eolian to you and yours, May the joy and hope ofChristmas fill your hearts thewhole year through

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2729582016304811211.post-144892850847070342011-12-22T07:26:00.000-08:002011-12-22T07:26:00.207-08:00

Here's a tip from Lotte of s/v Lunde on cleaning corrosion from brass and bronze: The fine hardware I have used for hanging of screens is so old that they are probably almost vintage modern. Three pieces were saved - to my great luck - in my father's rich hardware depot.  Their origin is lost in the mists of time, but now they have new life on board with us. First, however, a bit of old

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2729582016304811211.post-23873911796887850142011-12-19T08:27:00.000-08:002011-12-19T08:27:52.255-08:00

Do you drag your dinghy behind your boat?  If you do, you've probably wished for a set of davits, but they are sooo expensive.  Brian over at Dock 6 shows us that you can make your own! My low-buck dinghy needed a place to live. So I had to build some low-buck davits. Updated: Have you priced davits lately? At the bottom end of the scale you have Plastimo davits, which start at $750, and

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2729582016304811211.post-79897729525487227602011-12-15T06:39:00.000-08:002011-12-15T06:39:00.623-08:00

The insides of boats are frequently not a friendly place to mount things to.  Especially if the mount is to be structural, to take weight.  Drew at Sail Delmarva shows us his answer to this problem: One constant aboard performance cats and even semi-performance cruising cats is cored hulls. If there is anything serious to mount, it's a long and methodical process: Drill through. Route-out the

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2729582016304811211.post-37628417163374203802011-12-12T14:20:00.000-08:002011-12-12T14:20:02.764-08:00

Say you have to drive a screw in a location where you only have room to get the screw and screwdriver in there.  Or that you are working at full arm's length, with only one hand. How would you do it? Here's an old mechanic's trick: Start with a piece of tape perhaps an inch long, held sticky side up Push the screw thru the tape, so that the sticky side is against the underside of the

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2729582016304811211.post-28807602525883666612011-12-09T15:31:00.000-08:002011-12-09T19:23:50.105-08:00

Three Sheets Northwest notes this safety item - you need to check your flares. Note that the "signals" they speak of are the actual cartridges - not the gun that shoots them (although it too is orange in color). Orion Safety Products has issued a recall for two models of its hand-launched aerial signals, citing problems with the devices failing to launch and/or ignite. The recall applies to

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2729582016304811211.post-57554670497698214852011-12-08T06:37:00.000-08:002011-12-08T06:37:00.910-08:00

Many folks would simply buy one of these. But with the marine tax, they are breathtakingly expensive.  Mike of s/v Chalice solves the problem using some plywood scraps and some epoxy... I needed to add a separate sump to our grey water system. I have a store bought sump from Rule in the forward end of the bilge for the head and shower, but needed one to handle everything else including it. At

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2729582016304811211.post-79727664992596093502011-12-05T09:17:00.000-08:002011-12-07T10:06:33.440-08:00

You have a garbage container onboard, I know you do.  But where is it?  Brian over at Dock 6 shows us how he created a secure place for his, out of sight: One issue on almost every small boat is no room for a garbage can. Another issue on "Whiskeyjack" is the amount of dead space below the galley countertop. Think, mark, cut, trim, screw together a couple of pieces of scrap luan for a lid,

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2729582016304811211.post-12737957217685231492011-12-01T05:50:00.000-08:002011-12-01T05:50:00.551-08:00

Not every project goes as smoothly as we would hope.  Drew at Sail Delmarva takes us thru three projects which are completed with varying degrees of ease: Some days it works, some days not so much. I had business near Annapolis yesterday, and combined with an alpine start, I had a full afternoon to knock out a few projects, and perhaps, take a brief sail. I could sleep on the boat as well, and

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2729582016304811211.post-79316375586279115372011-11-28T09:21:00.000-08:002011-11-28T09:21:32.973-08:00

Is your fuel clean? Are you sure? Really sure? Want to find out when the waves are sloshing it around in your tanks, stirring it up?  Tho bugs and decomposition products can foul your tank with even the cleanest fuel, Steve and Lulu aboard s/v Siempre Sabado get a head start by making sure the fuel going into their tank really is clean: The beauty of diesels is that they don't ask for much.

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2729582016304811211.post-4325494702904910062011-11-25T07:45:00.000-08:002011-12-07T10:07:53.178-08:00

Brian over at Dock 6 demonstrates that a cockpit grate is within reach of all of us: I needed duckboards, or a cockpit grate if you will, to replace the nasty looking deteriorated weird rubber mat that graced whiskeyjack's cockpit when I got her (see pics in first post of this thread). I priced having a teak grate custom built, my daughter burst into tears when I told her she was not going

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2729582016304811211.post-5395927515661419582011-11-21T18:30:00.001-08:002011-11-21T18:30:42.604-08:00

As it is a safety item, I feel it is important to get the word out as widely as possible.  I'm sure Chuck and Susan would agree.  Here is their posting  (thanks to Chuck and Susan on s/v Sea Trek for this information) We have been users of the Mustang Inflatable vests for many years and have been very satisfied with them. But we recently have been made aware of a recall due to a problem

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2729582016304811211.post-80775893379077542082011-11-17T07:16:00.000-08:002011-11-17T07:16:00.568-08:00

This project is too large to qualify as a Small boat project... but it is so darn cool that I couldn't resist including it here.  Mike of s/v Chalice, one of our uber-craftsmen here at Small Boat Projects needed a wood-burning heater to fit his dimensions.  So he made one. After looking at many different options for heat on the boat, I decided in the end to build our own. Many folks seem to

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2729582016304811211.post-59123903974969424712011-11-14T10:56:00.000-08:002011-11-14T10:56:45.838-08:00

Lotte on s/v Lunde hoists her new storm sails...  her neon orange storm sails, that is.  Why aren't all storm sails colored like this?  If your boat is in difficulty requiring a rescue, it is likely that you will be flying your storm sails (if anything) - what a great attention-grabber! Pang-colored accessories I actually really like the orange - but these rags, I hope not, we will need to flash

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2729582016304811211.post-21946702722087971932011-11-11T09:01:00.000-08:002011-11-11T09:01:01.026-08:00

The Chesapeake is kind of a unique environment...  warm water, not quite enough fresh water dilution to be called "brackish", but then not that far from it either.  It's an environment that grows things very well (well I know - we kept our boat Deja Vu III there for several years).  Drew over at Sail Delmarva takes us on a tour of the tools he uses there in the Chesapeake to keep the critters off

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2729582016304811211.post-35387022573695305722011-11-11T07:59:00.000-08:002011-11-11T07:59:00.184-08:00

10/8 Drew over at Sail Delmarva provides us with a minor rigging modification that will majorly add to sailing safety and pleasure... Though sailing wing-and-wing is not supposed to be a catamaran thing, on a cruising catamaran the VMG dead downwind in a breeze is better and the ride smoother. Accept it. The moment the chute comes down, whether because you are single handing or because the

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2729582016304811211.post-43957798871782338462011-11-08T21:13:00.000-08:002011-11-08T21:13:23.102-08:00

Livia and Carol on s/v Estrellita have been poking around down in their bilge.  We took a lot of time in San Francisco to work on boat projects because we were enjoying the town, had a lot of free places to stay, and resources through friends in the area. This is one of the projects we tackled. We’re now certain that our gorgeous girl has been grounded hard at some point. There was the

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2729582016304811211.post-2443705847599388352011-11-03T06:33:00.000-07:002011-11-03T06:33:00.543-07:00

Having built her own screens from scratch, Lotte on s/v Lunde now makes the brass fittings for mounting them. Nicely done! I know that many of you are choking with all this do-it-yourself (if you even still bother reading it).  It was never originally thought that this blog would be a DIY / nerd blog, but at times it really is that which fills most of my life and ergo also what is most

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2729582016304811211.post-34795747916909350082011-10-31T07:56:00.000-07:002011-10-31T07:56:00.316-07:00

Please welcome new contributor Brian over at Dock 6! Brian has a good list of small boat projects, one of which we will pick up today: My first foray was a cockpit table.  I needed a cockpit table. Well, I, personally, didn't need a cockpit table, but SWMBO did, and I need a warm place to sleep, so you can see how the stars aligned on this one. I sussed out commercially available, marine

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2729582016304811211.post-20347248550311508082011-10-27T05:53:00.000-07:002011-10-27T05:53:00.791-07:00

Jeff and Anne aboard s/v C'est la Vie show us the final results of the construction of their chainplate platforms. If you missed Part I or Part II, it would be best if you read them first. With the completion of the new chain plate deck fittings we are one project closer to re-stepping the mast.  The entire process is detailed in our photo album - Chain Plate Deck Fittings - Fall 2011 Before

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2729582016304811211.post-77618525563326745082011-10-24T07:49:00.000-07:002011-10-24T07:49:00.383-07:00

Some places in the world are still dealing with heat (not us here in Seattle).  Drew over at Sail Delmarva extols the virtues of fans... I have a Cruise-&amp-Carry AC unit. We have a love-hate relationship. It's heavy, blocks some of the view, and is in the way when stowed below. It snags genoa sheets. I can only use it when plugged in at the dock because of the power demand--I could run a

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2729582016304811211.post-89617583310164818772011-10-21T07:15:00.000-07:002011-10-21T09:27:42.936-07:00

How do you keep the pesky critters out?  Lotte on s/v Lunde shows us how she builds custom-framed screens for Lunde's hatches: The mosquito net is finished. Below is instruction in pictures and text.  If anything is unclear, just ask. You start, of course, taking aim. Here I would like to make a mosquito net with the target size 480 x 480 mm (external dimensions), but the method can

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2729582016304811211.post-89146503250157593502011-10-19T06:17:00.000-07:002011-10-21T09:27:42.939-07:00

Jeff and Anne aboard s/v C'est la Vie continue with Part II of the construction of their chainplate platforms.  If you missed Part I, you really should read it first. Epoxy cured, chain plate removed, and modeling clay removed; I sand down the new fittings with 80 grit sandpaper and a Dremel tool. The battery powered Dremel with a rough sanding drum saved a great deal of time and effort

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2729582016304811211.post-18194402206777322342011-10-17T07:46:00.000-07:002011-10-21T09:27:42.942-07:00

In the first of a two part post, Jeff and Anne aboard s/v C'est la Vie show us how to use modeling clay and epoxy to make professional-looking raised platforms for their chainplate deck penetrations. This is a two-part post because Jeff does such a good job of describing the work and the problem-solving process - a great read and an inspiration to all of us. With all the standing rigging down

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2729582016304811211.post-91145118145455045702011-10-13T17:47:00.000-07:002011-10-13T17:47:53.202-07:00

Are all spice jars in the supermarket a standard size? Well, no they aren't. This means that inevitably, some will be too big to fit into standard spice racks, and some may be small enough to not be adequately captured and thus escape. Mike of s/v Chalice solves that problem by making his own spice rack, to his own dimensions. Spice up your Life I needed to build a spice rack. So I got some

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2729582016304811211.post-35641576337620781022011-10-10T10:39:00.000-07:002011-10-10T10:39:47.702-07:00

Kitchen appliances that use 110V (or 220V for you Europeans) are problematic on most boats. And there frequently are not 12V versions. Sometimes the best answer is the 0V equivalent: a manual appliance. Lotte on s/v Lunde presents one here for our consideration: I have for several years on land been very happy to have a hand blender.  I blended very little with it, but chopped rather a lot.

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2729582016304811211.post-69535258298862736892011-10-06T19:06:00.000-07:002011-10-21T09:27:42.948-07:00

There are many ways to know how much anchor rode you have veered out. In this post copied from Sail Delmarva, Drew shows us a simple way he used to mark his chain, on his own deck, without making a mess! Knowing how much rode you have out is essential to proper anchoring. When I had an all-fiber rode I would measure it as deployed, counting the fathoms by arm span. I could time the windlass (

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2729582016304811211.post-70920047206424517942011-10-03T07:30:00.000-07:002011-10-03T07:30:01.735-07:00

For cruisers, the dinghy fills the role of the family car. But what if your family car broke down? Steve and Lulu on s/v Siempre Sabado tell us that you'd be up the creek... ...with a broken paddle. We were rowing back from shore the other afternoon, having returned the Terminator to John on Trick as they were headed back to Puerto Escondido. I'm merrily rowing along when *SNAP* the port

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2729582016304811211.post-5299009068837626802011-09-29T19:39:00.000-07:002011-09-29T19:39:00.253-07:00

Chuck and Susan aboard s/v Sea Trek have taken some of the grunt (and pain!) out of getting the dinghy ready for use.  And they have reduced the risk of giving the outboard a saltwater bath in the bargain! During our cruise along the south coast of Cuba several years ago, I did a really dumb thing. We were Med-moored to the dock at Santiago, next to our friend's Vagabond 47 and there

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2729582016304811211.post-30292283414732621262011-09-26T07:30:00.000-07:002011-10-21T09:27:42.951-07:00

Mike of s/v Chalice, one of our Extreme Woodworkers here on Small Boat Projects, demonstrates that you don't have to settle for chintzy, weak plastic cabinet door closures... he makes his own! The Latch When reinstalling all the doors and draws in the boat, I knew I would need to have a latch for the doors. They originally had little plastic clips. Most where broken and they would not hold a

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2729582016304811211.post-27775014352475676782011-09-22T18:49:00.000-07:002011-09-22T18:49:00.124-07:00

Lotte on s/v Lunde finds that a little sand, grabbed from a beach, is the perfect answer to providing non-skid properties to her foredeck.  This is the same process which Downeast used on Eolian when she was manufactured, except that Eolian's sand is considerably finer: 150 grit (ascertained by comparing the non-skid with various grits of sandpaper). (Apologies for my dubious corrections to

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2729582016304811211.post-4529276142971803672011-09-20T18:41:00.000-07:002011-09-20T18:41:00.234-07:00

Eolian's freezer is about 12" square but it is deep:   38". Laying on the counter top, I can just barely touch the bottom of the freezer. Jane's arms are not as long; she cannot reach the bottom.  Also, the two (!) holding plates do not reach all the way to the bottom - this means that if a not-yet-frozen item is dropped to the bottom, wedges under the holding plates and then freezes like that

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2729582016304811211.post-74673316585407368542011-09-05T07:22:00.000-07:002011-09-05T07:22:59.002-07:00

Over at Sail Delmarva, Drew has some thoughts on how to overcome slipperiness.  What he says is also a classic case of recognizing when the boat is telling you something, and dealing with it before a minor issue results in a major problem. I've enjoyed too many small slides on the side deck, and during our last trip I very nearly broke a collar bone on a stanchion. It's not a place you would

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2729582016304811211.post-36954190363199610552011-09-01T19:18:00.000-07:002012-02-01T16:07:37.719-08:00

Christy on s/v Hello World has done the research, and gives us the results of it: These past two weeks of (planned) vacation, we've ended up doing too much (unplanned) boat project work. Ugh. But we've gathered a bunch of ideas from some experts on running messenger lines that we thought useful to pass along...here are the big three: 1) Gravity: tie something flexible and heavy to your line at

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2729582016304811211.post-75005436025864237212011-08-30T19:45:00.000-07:002011-08-30T19:45:00.428-07:00

Mike of s/v Chalice Is building himself a boarding ladder, from scratch.  Mike is among the leaders in the "He who has the most tools wins" contest.  And not only does he have them, but he clearly knows how to use them: The new boarding ladder. Took me almost six months to get the hardware. Good thing I was in no hurry. I was glad to get it actually. Instead of a bunch of picture, I made a

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2729582016304811211.post-72478560027126637992011-08-25T18:49:00.000-07:002011-08-25T18:49:00.508-07:00

Over at Sail Delmarva, Drew takes advantage of all that "good stuff you save just in case" that we all have, to fashion a set of wheels for his kayak: Of course, this concept could work for a tender of any sort, so I thought it worth sharing. I've seen them built of everything from angle iron to PVC to copper pipe fittings; only imagination limits the options. ____________________________

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2729582016304811211.post-62486479790589689352011-08-22T06:49:00.000-07:002011-08-22T06:49:13.742-07:00

Jeff on s/v C'est la Vie is working on refinishing his interior.  What caught my eye in this project was that he is using painter's points.  What are these?  They are little plastic pyramids with a sharp tip, designed to hold a chair, say, up so that its legs can be finished all the way to the bottom.  I really don't know why I don't have some of these - they are now on the list for our next run

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2729582016304811211.post-27464830906514713882011-08-18T18:01:00.000-07:002011-08-23T13:13:26.909-07:00

That's it - I'm out of projects. The next post here will come when someone contributes one, or when I do one on Eolian...

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2729582016304811211.post-72877370039820951562011-08-16T19:40:00.000-07:002011-08-16T19:40:00.920-07:00

While Jane was Back Home Again In Indiana, I decided to tackle a pretty disgusting task: cleaning out the shower pan in the aft head. After living aboard all these years, I am embarrassed to admit that all I have ever done was to clean off the hair catcher. And slowly but surely the pan got dirtier and dirtier. Despite bleach dousings, a layer of hair, bacteria, and what Joe of s/v Tropic Star

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2729582016304811211.post-29888350323255116082011-08-11T18:14:00.000-07:002011-08-11T18:14:01.313-07:00

Please welcome new contributor Bob of m/v Brave Spirit!  Bob is a wood worker.  One of the things I have noticed about wood workers is that they seldom like to build one-offs.  It seems that the first step in many wood working projects is the construction of templates and jigs - so you can do it again.  In fact, wood workers are tool makers - a high profession. So how does that tie in here? 

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2729582016304811211.post-86536927581038855992011-08-09T08:06:00.000-07:002011-08-09T13:19:46.362-07:00

It's not a pleasant task - Jane is reluctant to do it. It's not that you have to actually come into contact with the stuff... but still.  On Eolian, our holding tank is polypropylene - it is translucent.  We can check the level by shining a flashlight thru a corner of the tank, revealing, well let's not talk about it. s/v Letitgo has addressed this issue head on (oops...) with a nice solution

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2729582016304811211.post-28668714322248001882011-08-05T07:27:00.000-07:002011-08-05T07:27:00.449-07:00

I have tagged this with the 'carpentry' tag, but given the quality of the other projects with this tag, it hardly qualifies.  Nevertheless, it did involve wood working.  Wood butchery, actually. If you follow our sister blog, you might recall that a year ago we broke our boathook in an attempt to moor at Flagler State Park on Marrowstone Island. Yes, I know that an entire year has elapsed.  I

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2729582016304811211.post-37413408837195259202011-08-03T19:55:00.000-07:002011-08-03T19:55:00.420-07:00

Mike of s/v Chalice gives us a guided pictorial tour of the beautiful new hatch he built from scratch: Finished aft hatch. A lot of work but it's done. From Update 3-15-2011 Painting and varnishing. From Update 3-15-2011 From Update 3-15-2011 From Update 3-15-2011 From Update 3-15-2011 From Update 3-15-2011 Installed. Ignore the dirty deck. Still to be delt with.

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2729582016304811211.post-91477959178116816602011-08-01T06:53:00.000-07:002011-08-01T06:53:00.268-07:00

Drew over at Sail Delmarva has been working on his PDQ 32 again. Here he shows us how to make a teak cockpit floor for $145 and an hour or so of your life... Perhaps just over an hour at the boat and an hour at home. I'll explain. Shoal Survivor came with Dri-Deck in the cockpit; certainly durable as hell, functional... and ugly. More than that, we found it exceptionally painful on bare feet

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2729582016304811211.post-71472590586198547462011-07-22T05:59:00.000-07:002011-07-22T05:59:00.083-07:00

I'm going to take a break from blogging for a week. See you again in August! bob

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2729582016304811211.post-20900847084512161302011-07-20T19:20:00.000-07:002012-02-01T16:07:37.715-08:00

Please welcome new contributors Christy and Jason from s/v Hello World!  Christy has here a sewing project that we could all probably use at one place or another aboard... We had some unused bulkhead space just next to the companionway. And we were always losing our sunglasses. So I sewed together a bulkhead pocket using Don Casey's instructions in Canvaswork & Sail Repair. It turns out to be

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2729582016304811211.post-15517037822434346592011-07-18T07:01:00.000-07:002011-07-18T07:01:00.784-07:00

If you have an SSB, you are probably like most boats - you have an insulated backstay for an antenna.  And because that insulated backstay is not a quarter wavelength at the frequency you are transmitting (I am assuming here...), you need some kind of antenna matching network between the transmitter, which has an output impedance of 50 ohms, and the antenna, which is probably considerably less.

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2729582016304811211.post-29068232699268506322011-07-15T17:16:00.000-07:002011-07-15T17:16:44.232-07:00

This is a public service announcement, copied from s/v Sea Trek's blog: There has been a lot of discussion recently on how the U.S. government could possibly allow LightSquared, an independent 4G LTE provider,  to put up 4,600 transcievers sending broadband data services in the L band with such power that could significantly interfere with nearby GPS frequencies. Possibly causing complete failure

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2729582016304811211.post-55293946227286863962011-07-13T18:55:00.000-07:002011-07-13T18:55:00.665-07:00

Mike and Rebecca on s/v Zero to Cruising have found a neat little LED nav light for your dinghy. Using this, or something like it, is a good thing to do, whether required, encouraged or ignored by the local gendarmerie... South of the litigious United States, navigation lights on dinghies become much less common. Although areas with established cruising communities may suggest that they are used

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2729582016304811211.post-29668869291697001342011-07-11T07:58:00.000-07:002011-07-11T07:58:44.742-07:00

Mike on s/v Chalice shows his carpentry and design skills again, with this cleverly designed cover: The Cabo Rico has a lot of these oblong holes in it. Most are trimed in teak rings, and I have had to make some new ones to replace the old ones. Well there was one over the nav station, which I thought was strange. It gave access to some wires and that was all. I didn't like the look of an

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2729582016304811211.post-56036450303412675852011-07-07T19:03:00.000-07:002011-07-07T19:03:00.870-07:00

Bob over on Boat Bits has posted a sobering rant that every boat owner should read.  Here is a tease - a short test from the end of the post: So here is a quick and handy test to see if you have a too complicated (spelled unsafe) boat... How many seacocks and thruhulls do you have? Do you know where they all are and how to get to them in a hurry? If the answers to #1 and #2 require ponderation

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2729582016304811211.post-57392435407802058712011-07-05T19:58:00.000-07:002011-07-05T19:58:00.834-07:00

It seems that this is the time of year when folks are thinking about straining the bugs from the air they direct below for ventilation. Here's a solution that Paul on s/v Solace came up with: In addition to our new bug screens placed on the hatches inside the boat, we came up with an idea for the companionway hatch that is easy, cheap and functionally easy to apply and use. My wife sourced

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2729582016304811211.post-55653608785340962972011-06-29T18:58:00.000-07:002011-06-29T18:58:00.805-07:00

Our friends on s/v Letitgo show us an easy way to move water from where it shouldn't be to somewhere else... Our dock neighbour and friend, also a veteran catamaran sailor who sailed from the West coast to New Zealand and back, parted with us a very wise advice few weeks ago.  While filling his water tank he discovered that a fitting had broken during the winter and the entire content went

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2729582016304811211.post-74581164530269917202011-06-27T12:22:00.000-07:002011-06-27T12:22:06.893-07:00

3M 5200 sticks to everything, and is for all intents and purposes a tough, permanent adhesive - right?   Can you think of a better sailmaker's adhesive?  Livia on s/v Estrellita 5.10b shows us how in another in her continuing Haul Out series: One of the things I wanted to do while the mast was off (and the sails were off as a result) was to examine all of sails. I made it through the main,

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2729582016304811211.post-57641703150431295902011-06-24T07:49:00.000-07:002011-06-24T07:49:00.155-07:00

Please welcome new contributors  Christie and Matt aboard s/v Kaleo. As their first contribution, they offer us tips on cleaning supplies made from commonly available ingredients: Who doesn’t like a clean house? Whether it be out to sea or ashore, we’ve found a few simple recipes that help us keep Kaleo shining inside from stem to stern. Yet you won’t find Mr. Clean or Windex lurking under our

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2729582016304811211.post-5567245485362794632011-06-22T19:02:00.000-07:002011-06-22T19:02:00.139-07:00

Mike of s/v Chalice puts his considerable woodworking skills to the task of adding ventilation using muffin fans: I needed a bunch of fans for the boat. If you have priced these recently you will see they are not cheap, price wise anyway. So I said " I think I'll make my own". Here is how I did it. Find the fan you would like to use. I had 2 on hand, and found some more on Ebay. From Update

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2729582016304811211.post-67748854657844621752011-06-20T08:42:00.000-07:002011-06-20T09:01:07.553-07:00

Please welcome new contributor s/v Peregrina! In one of those great but seemingly rare instances, we learn how a tool that you may (should?) have on board can serve an entirely different purpose. I had one last cable to make up, but after three boats the tool had finally given up.  I had just got done with a job on relatively mall gauge battery cables on the venerable GAUCHO, and one of the

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2729582016304811211.post-36475606814966167262011-06-15T18:06:00.000-07:002011-06-15T19:17:03.012-07:00

On a boat that lowly cooking ingredient, white vinegar, can really turn out to be useful. White vinegar is nothing more than a 5% solution of acetic acid (a weak organic* acid) in water. As a general cleaner, you will find straight vinegar to be superior -  it kills bacteria and other microbial life forms, and the organic nature of the acetic acid helps to solubilize dirt and grease.  And it

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2729582016304811211.post-67914477120435543942011-06-13T12:24:00.000-07:002011-06-13T12:24:30.734-07:00

Paul on s/v Solace instructs us on replacing fluorescents with LEDs. Original non working light We have had a fluorescent light inverter/ballast fail on us and had a number of options to choose from. My first thought was to change the whole light structure to a more modern fitting, but was eventually convinced by my wife that to do so, was taking from the character of the boat. A new light

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2729582016304811211.post-63938531727568504802011-06-08T19:24:00.000-07:002011-06-08T19:24:00.499-07:00

Steve and Lulu on s/v Siempre Sabado use their macramé skills to control deck cargo: I don't really like carrying stuff on deck. It cuts into the walking around room and is one more thing to fret about when things get rough. But, if you're going to cruise on a 28' boat, chances are some stuff will end up topsides. Things like extra diesel jerry jugs, extra anchors and associated rodes, the

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2729582016304811211.post-15096707152049815062011-06-06T07:39:00.000-07:002011-06-06T07:39:07.740-07:00

I hope you have been enjoying the ongoing series of projects posted here. This is your site.    For this to work out for all of us, everybody needs to contribute - think of this as a pot luck dock party. Come on now.  All of you have a small project of one kind or another that others would be interested in seeing. Contribute to the feast: Write it up and send it to SmallBoatProjects at

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2729582016304811211.post-10078145564912732542011-06-03T07:09:00.000-07:002011-06-03T07:09:15.046-07:00

Kool Aid as a tool?  Livia and Carol on s/v Estrellita 5.10b show us once again why they are the Kool Aid boat on the dock! In addition to “what is that smell? where is that smell?” sometimes boaters get to play “what kind of water is that (salt or fresh)? where is the water coming from?”.  We played that game in the Copeland Islands swinging at anchor. The game is complicated when it is

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2729582016304811211.post-44553872579219605082011-06-01T20:04:00.000-07:002011-06-01T20:04:00.744-07:00

Paul on s/v Solace shows off his carpentry skills by making a below-decks cover for his electric windless, with some difficult corners...  We had a new electric winch installed as we moved to a roller furling boom.  The electric winch was the same size as the old two speed, but the electrics protruded through the aft bedroom ceiling.  Also, we had a ceiling light at the same location as to

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2729582016304811211.post-43451217382206443402011-05-30T19:26:00.000-07:002011-05-30T19:42:10.180-07:00

Steve and Lulu on s/v Siempre Sabado have a perfect example of a Small Boat Project: It is easy to do It is inexpensive It is clever It solves a real problem And it replaces an expensive "marine" solution I love it! Since we're planning to spend our summer further north in the Sea of Cortez, we've been advised by many seasoned cruisers that we need adequate bug screens. Besides mosquitoes and

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2729582016304811211.post-12782024897782621862011-05-25T19:19:00.000-07:002011-05-25T19:19:00.195-07:00

Rather than just replacing it when it failed, Paul on s/v Solace hot-rodded his BBQ grill: Original Magma BBQ Some of us have BBQ's on our boats, which after time, seem to not perform as well when new, and in my case had an annoying feature. Mine progressively produced less heat and had  grill bars which allowed fluids to drip into a "catch tray" but often overflowed and dripped on my deck. In

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2729582016304811211.post-47777755854739758552011-05-23T09:34:00.000-07:002011-05-23T09:34:00.144-07:00

Craft a Craft recently featured a step design which originated on the Make Magazine site (a good spot to haunt for ideas).   Although Craft a Craft was seeing this as part of a boat, I think it could be an interesting set of dock steps... Visit - Single sheet steps We've seen a variety of single sheet boats, where people see what kind of boat they can build from a single sheet of plywood or

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2729582016304811211.post-92057807323107149202011-05-20T09:56:00.000-07:002011-05-20T09:56:00.153-07:00

Paul on s/v Solace has a nifty way to monitor the temperature in his refrigerator and freezer. We have recently changed our method (compressors and evaporator plates)  to our fridge and freezer. We wanted a reliable method to monitor the temperatures with out extra wiring. We have tried the manual thermometer, but found them less than satisfactory due to having to open up the boxes to read

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2729582016304811211.post-50119934825152192112011-05-18T20:11:00.000-07:002011-05-18T20:14:03.464-07:00

Have one of those seemingly ubiquitous Honda 2000eu generators? And does it successfully drive your inverter?  You're in the minority, apparently.  Over on s/v Letitgo, they have the solution.  And it's one time when a short is a good thing... So far this has been one of my most frustrating item, I just crossed it off my list so it deserves its own post! Don’t you think? I am really hoping

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2729582016304811211.post-27458470926631648972011-05-16T12:38:00.000-07:002011-05-16T12:38:47.890-07:00

Now there's something we'd all like to have...  Paul on s/v Solace will have it now, even at anchor! One thing lead to another with these boat projects. This blog is about linking three boat projects, and each one is worthy of it's own post. But for now, I'll give a precise of the  events. Firstly, in the shower cubicle of the boat, I had a cupboard with a large 12 gallon hot water tank that

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2729582016304811211.post-77096580928856810122011-05-13T08:09:00.000-07:002011-05-13T11:12:25.986-07:00

This is a project, it is boat-related, and it qualifies as small, tho the effects are potentially huge. Here is a challenge issued by Livia aboard s/v Estrellita 5.10b: Many of my non-boating friends are outdoors enthusiasts of some sort and most outdoors enthusiasts (I hope) make it a practice to pack out all of their own trash and a piece or two of someone else's. When hiking I would

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2729582016304811211.post-79859895442765934212011-05-10T19:23:00.000-07:002011-05-10T19:23:00.073-07:00

Over on s/v Solace, Paul has done a beautiful job of straining the bugs out of the fresh air coming aboard... We had soft mesh covers, with bug mesh screen, made for the out side of our hatches. The problem with these, was when it started to rain we had to rush out side to remove them so we could close the hatches; otherwise the mesh would get stuck in the hatches as we closed them. So, having

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2729582016304811211.post-74481591811462494812011-05-09T08:01:00.000-07:002011-05-09T08:01:00.783-07:00

In a typically thorough treatment, Drew from Sail Delmarva takes us through his analysis, decision-making process, design and construction for installation of solar panels on his PDQ catamaran. Cruising farther means more nights on the road. Limited battery capacity flat means more nights in marinas. That's money, but more importantly, it means bending our plans to fit in marina stays, and I

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2729582016304811211.post-18455336573916099892011-05-04T18:12:00.000-07:002011-05-04T18:12:00.409-07:00

On s/v Letitgo the local Grange (farm supply store) is proving to be a great chandler: On our recent cruise, I was confronted to the need to get sea water onboard. Not to refresh or clean the blood from the fish we caught yet though…. The bucket we had onboard are not up to the task, handle with let go under the weight, they are hard and scratch the side. This is when on the back of my small

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2729582016304811211.post-67132218669329956122011-05-02T12:21:00.000-07:002011-05-03T12:47:03.572-07:00

In a nicely layed out How-To, Chuck on s/v Sea Trek shows us a way to hook up a larger fuel tank to your Honda generator. One of the pieces of equipment on our to do list is a generator. We much prefer to anchor out when cruising and at times we can get weathered in for days. During those extended stays we still like coffee in the morning, still have the need to recharge the batteries and

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2729582016304811211.post-24571577580910408422011-04-29T08:41:00.000-07:002011-04-29T08:44:36.772-07:00

Boat ovens are not known for their even heat distribution. Paul on s/v Solace shows us a way to make an improvement on that: Most boat ovens are heated by propane and don't give an even distribution of heat.  An idea heard from others was to place a pizza stone in the oven, which heats up and gives a more uniform form of heat distribution.  We used a surplus pizza stone we had at home, and

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2729582016304811211.post-8964843004280364702011-04-27T18:41:00.000-07:002011-04-27T18:41:00.050-07:00

Paul on s/v Solace shows off his carpentry skills with a nicely made permanently-mounted screen for his hatch: We had soft mesh covers, with bug mesh screen, made for the out side of our hatches.  The problem with these was that when it started to rain we had to rush out side to remove them so we could close the hatches; otherwise the mesh would get stuck in the hatches as we closed them.  So,

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2729582016304811211.post-56870068681613236132011-04-25T08:50:00.000-07:002011-04-25T08:50:00.142-07:00

Steve and Lulu on s/v Siempre Sabado find a way around the "marine tax" on "marine" speakers: Been trying to come up with some kind of speakers for out in the cockpit. Something that doesn't cost an arm and a leg (so Bose weatherproof speakers are out) but still sounds pretty good. Speakers have big herkin' magnets in them so a permanent installation anywhere near the compass was out. I've seen

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2729582016304811211.post-10095272884815212252011-04-22T07:27:00.000-07:002011-04-22T11:39:10.128-07:00

Over at Sail Delmarva, Drew has put up a post covering the installation of a home made carbon filter on his holding tank vent.  I'd copy it here, but it is pretty long (Drew is nothing if not thorough!). I highly recommend it to you.

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2729582016304811211.post-60366552539402997062011-04-20T19:05:00.000-07:002011-04-20T19:05:00.170-07:00

Single-celled life was here long before us, and will be here long after we no longer grace the surface of the planet.  That said, we still want to reserve some small areas for our exclusive use.  s/v Letitgo decides that their water tank is one such area: Our second major undertake was to regain control of the fauna in our water tanks. Do you remember few weeks back our water filter under the

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2729582016304811211.post-46488179771169378192011-04-18T09:42:00.000-07:002011-04-18T09:42:53.713-07:00

Sure wish I had a shop with a TIG welder and a bunch of stainless scrap like Paul on s/v Solace... Those pesky dive tanks are never easily stowed on a sailing vessel and so I decided to have a suitable bracket made up. This one clamps to the lower railing near the stern and secures both bottles with velcro. I used a couple of Bimini clamps and had them welded to the  stainless bracket made from

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2729582016304811211.post-18560392003900326102011-04-16T10:04:00.000-07:002011-04-16T10:04:48.282-07:00

Jeff on s/v C'est la Vie is closing in on installing his rebuilt companionway stairs.  It won't be long now... Here is an image of my progress on C'est la Vie's companionway steps  Like so many boat projects this one has taken much longer than expected.  Most of the time has gone to multiple coats of Bristol Finish in search of perfection. I did add non skid to the treads. The only remaining

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2729582016304811211.post-78816663406507368822011-04-13T17:54:00.000-07:002011-04-13T17:54:19.495-07:00

Mike and Rebecca on s/v Zero to Cruising have found that eliminating the bridle at the dinghy stern allows it to be hoisted a lot higher (and that's a good thing): I’m not sure if I have written on this topic specifically but ever since acquiring our new (to us) hard-bottomed dinghy back in Florida, we have had a devil of a time getting it to ride securely on the davits. With the

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2729582016304811211.post-52545092767866198762011-04-11T13:56:00.000-07:002011-04-11T13:56:44.395-07:00

Despite the best laid plans, sometimes things just go awry. Over on s/v Letitgo we have a recent example... As we all know by now; on a boat things are never simple, one problem leads to another one and sometimes one can’t help an unscheduled trip up the mast…. And this is what happened yesterday when we installed our spinnaker halyard. It all started innocently with a reeve eye and a

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2729582016304811211.post-68574582210066971262011-04-08T07:11:00.000-07:002011-04-08T07:11:00.294-07:00

Steve and Lulu on s/v Siempre Sabado fell into a good deal on line, and then proceeded to put it to good use: My big plan today was to make a swim ladder for getting back onboard after swimming or dinghying around. We had this old piece-of-crap swim ladder that hung from the gunwales. It had aluminum sides and hooks and plastic steps. We bought it second hand some time ago. While we were in

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2729582016304811211.post-79703342866460713712011-04-06T19:51:00.000-07:002011-04-06T19:51:00.458-07:00

When we bought Eolian, "Eolian" wasn't her name.  Using John Vigor's Denaming/Renaming ceremony, we re-christened her to Eolian. But before we could do this, there was a tiny detail:  the name on the transom was wrong.  So I scraped off the old name.  When they made these boats, Downeast created, what appear to be from a short distance, carved name boards for the transom.  But actually these are

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2729582016304811211.post-35689984524613526962011-04-04T10:47:00.000-07:002011-04-04T11:18:17.193-07:00

What happens if your holding tank vent gets clogged?  It could be a bug building a nest in the vent fitting out on the stern.  Or it could be "stuff" pushed up into the vent by overfilling the tank (oh, there's enough room for one more flush, isn't there?).  Whatever the cause, having the vent line blocked is a problem.  If it is almost blocked, then you will probably be unaware of it during

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com2