The three cent wonder

Some times the best is improvising. We were replacing the last of the water line in the Tartan this weekend, a project that has spanned over the course of a couple of weeks due to schedule conflicts. One of the last two hoses to do was the one to the V-berth peak tank which unfortunately butts right up against the holding tank with a space just exactly the size of my bicep to get into with a wrench to loosen the hose clamp and replace it on the new line. There isn't enough room to get a screwdriver in there, and not even a regular socket wrench, only our little mini handle wrench which is a slippery handle Snap-on one. The hose fitting also happens to be poised directly over the bilge which angles sharply down under the holding tank. See where I'm going with this?  If one were to drop said wrench, it would slide immediately under the holding tank where even a magnetic retrieval device would fail to reach. In the absence of one of those fancy and expensive tool wrist straps, necessity became the mother of invention and the following 3-cent tool was born:

Loop a rubber band around the tool and pull it tight. Add a second one and a third one, and put the third one around your wrist:

By the way I did, in fact, drop the tool not only once, but three times...

Poli-Glow

When we bought our first boat, Nomad, a 1986 Compac 27/2, she had been sitting on the hard for quite a while.  Her topsides were dull and lifeless so we dutifully cleaned and polished with the 3M finish that everyone recommended. It was a lot of work.  Flash forward 2 years to the next haulout and the topsides looked bad yet again.  All of the 3M product, who's name escapes me, had worn off.  We happened on a quart kit of Poli-Glow at the marina garage sale and decided to give it a whirl. We applied the cleaner per the directions to remove the former wax and dirt, and then began to wipe on the Poli-Glow with the included pads.  All I can say is WOW.  The boat looked like new when we were done and it was a fraction of the work that we had to put in with the 3M product. 2 years later when we sold the boat to its new owner, the topsides still looked as shiny as the day we applied the Poli-Glow with water beading up nicely. Although on the expensive side, in the end I believe you save money since you're not applying it every year like the wax. A big 5 anchors on this stuff!  If you want to read the our original post complete with application pictures you can see it on our main blog.

Nebo Windup Flashlight

I'm all about using as few batteries as possible. I'm also the worst person in the world for remembering to turn off a flashlight.  I find them all the time glowing dimly or they won't turn on at all because I forgot to turn them off.  Enter the Nebo windup flashlight, something we received as a gift one Christmas after we bought our first boat. This thing is truly amazing. You crank up the windup handle a couple dozen times and you have enough light to do your job.  Leave it on?  No biggie. Just wind again. There is also a side benefit to this, as it seems to be highly entertaining to grandchildren.

UK Halsey, Sailmakers

When we bought Kintala, she was missing her mainsail. They tell me that this was a result of trying to sail the boat home on Lake Michigan in 35kts with a really old mainsail which ended up in tatters. This was probably the best blessing in disguise. We were referred to UK Halsey, mostly because the boat resided in Chicago at the time, the home of U.K. We contacted them and they sent someone down to the boatyard to measure the rig, and then followed up with a few phone calls to discuss what type of sail we wanted (loose footed), how many reefs (2), fully battened or no (yes), and they highly recommended the Strong Track system given the tall rig, the weight of the sail and the fact that we were a crew of 2. This was probably the best thing we ever did. As a result of having that Strong Track system, I can raise the main myself, something I undoubtedly would not be able to do had we not had it installed. Having both crew members be able to do all jobs is just another safety factor and I like safety factors. At every point the folks at U.K. were professional, courteous, knowledgeable, and reasonable. The customer service was excellent, the product was of the highest quality, and they delivered on time. If you need a new sail, UK Halsey is definitely one that should be on the to of your look-see list.

superbrightleds.com

If you are looking to reduce your energy consumption and make those batteries last a little longer, then surely you've thought of using LEDs. Early on we replaced all of our incandescent lights with drop-in LED bulbs and added a few LED fixtures.  We bought all of them from superbrightleds.com, a local company for us, but one well worth dealing with.  Their website is a little cumbersome, but the products are high quality, very reasonably priced, and they ship super fast at a reasonable shipping rate.  I had to do a return on some bulbs I ordered incorrectly and there was absolutely no problem. We've bought the 1142 bulbs, the festoon, the side-pin, the tower bulbs, the waterproof light bar, and the utility lights. They have a good selection of colors, but we are happiest with the warm white which is impossible to tell from incandescent lights unless you touch the fixture and realize it's not hot. They also carry the red bulbs for night vision. One note of caution - be careful about what color you choose for nav lights as I'm told that some are not legal with the Coast Guard.

The cool white is a good color for inside cupboards, engine rooms, or for reading lamps, but anywhere you have them in a living area the warm white is a better color. Change out all your bulbs to LEDs and you'll find that all of your fixtures together will probably use less amps than one of your old incandescent lights.

Sailrite

At the very top of my "Companies You Should Deal With" list is Sailrite.  The products are of the highest quality, the customer service is the best that I've ever experienced in any industry, the shipping is quick, the prices are fair, the knowledge base of videos, instructions, and other helps is absolutely unsurpassed.  Does it sound like I'm gushing? I am. I've been a sales manager for years in various facilities and I have never had the pleasure of dealing with a company as good as Sailrite.

Teak Source

When we run across a good company to deal with, we like to pass it along.  I happened on this company through a simple Google search and I've been incredibly pleased with their price, speed, and most importantly, their customer service.  I've emailed Rex a list of teak boards that we needed for some projects and he has had them cut, planed, and in my hands in just a few short days at a price that just can't be beat.  If you happen to need some teak custom cut for anything I highly recommend contacting Rex at woodshop102.com