Trapping the cold

Warm air rises, right?  And, well, cold air sinks.

Does your refrigerator or icebox have a drain?  If so, what is keeping the drain from draining away the cold air?

You need a trap.  And as a shipwright I know frequently reminds me, drainage holes on a boat should always be sized "to pass a soggy Cheeto." Here is my answer, made up of plumbing fittings and plastic hose.

Bigger than a soggy Cheeto

Giving thanks

The fourth Thursday in November is set aside in the US as a day of Thanksgiving.  Those of us who live on boats have a lot to be thankful for.

We will be spending the next few days with our whole family, so brief post today.

From the crew of Eolian to yours: Happy Thanksgiving!

Into the modern world

Do you know what this is?

You've probably seen these on packaging or elsewhere - it is a 2-D barcode.  Because it is two-dimensional, it can encode far more information than the one-dimensional kind (like the UPC codes you see on virtually everything now). 

In the modern world, there are apps for your smart phone that can interpret these symbols using the phone's camera.  If you have one, try it!  This one encodes a URL for a website.

If you are making boat cards, you might want to consider putting one of these symbols on the card somewhere (I put this one on the back of ours).  By doing so, you eliminate the need for reading tiny type and remove the possibility of making a typo.  You can find any number of online apps for generating the QR code of your choice - just Google "generate qr code".

Leave something behind

Business folks do it, because it works.  When they meet someone, one of the first things they do is exchange business cards.  Because th card helps jog the memory, and because it contains all the important contact info.

Why not boaters too?  Many do, including us.  Avery makes some very nice pre-perfed business card stock that will go thru your printer, and with the right template in you word processor, you can print 10 at a time.

When I first started doing this years ago, I made all 10 on the sheet the same, like business cards.  But then I thought, "Why?"  Now, I make them all different - its more fun that way.

It's a great little inside project for a crummy weather day.

Don't leave home without it

Anyone who hacks on cars knows that a coat hanger is nearly the equivalent of duct tape - the things you can fix with a  coat hanger are almost innumerable.  You should have a few on your boat too.


Ah, but add this tool (featured on Craft a Craft), and the list grows even more, perhaps especially for boats.  Because with this tool and an old coat hanger, you can make a hose clamp, custom-sized to the application. 

Well, OK, you really should use the stainless wire that ClampTite sells - it *is* stainless, and it is specially selected to work with the tool.  But in a pinch, you really could use a coat hanger.

Now there's another thing I need to have onboard Eolian.

He who dies with the most tools, wins.

Lilies to guard the liquor

As a part of the larger project to refurbish the starboard side of the saloon on Eolian, the revamp of the liquor cabinet doors qualifies as a "small" boat project.

Originally, the doors were made with the ubiquitous teak louvers, but I wanted something a little fancier. So for my first ever stained glass project, I decided to make something to fill the 5x7 inch opening in newly-made doors. I originally considered something using beveled glass (and I may yet go back and do it), but I settled instead on a *very* stylistic representation of Calla lilies. Each one only took 3 pieces of glass, none of which were fiddly or delicate.

Kind of looks like martini glasses too

When I made them, I cut a 3/8" rabbit in the back of the doors, so it was easy to mount the glass panels by just bedding them in some polysulphide. To keep from having a tremendous mess with the polysulphide (this stuff seems to go everywhere as soon as you open the tube), I masked both the door frame and the edge of the glass before applying it. Then, after smoothing it but before it had begun to cure, I removed the tape.



I still wonder about the beveled glass tho...