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Low buck projects- Let's see 'em!

858K views 2K replies 341 participants last post by  pdqaltair 
#1 ·
In this forum, we've seen big projects on small boats and small projects on big boats- let's see the cheap projects! Show us what you have done on your boat on a budget.
Here's the rules:

1) Gotta be under $100 US, or equivalent currency.

2) You must have done it yourself. Although, if you found someone to work on your boat for less than $100, feel free to post contact info.

3) bonus points will be given for elegance and ingenuity.

Here's one of mine:

I needed a cockpit table. Well, I, personally, didn't need a cockpit table, but the admiral 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 priced cockpit tables and promptly gagged. So, I thought to myself, "self, you could make it yourself for a lot less." One problem. Well, four actually. I have limited woodworking skills, limited woodworking tools, and limited time. oh yeah, and I am cheap.
So, I went to plan "c".

I spent some time eyeballing the cockpit in question:


Then I moseyed into action. I bought one of these for $29.99


A frenzy of measuring, remeasuring, cutting, screwing, drinking, varnishing, etc. later, and this is how it finished up:



Let's see yours.
 
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#1,209 ·
Been awhile since I've posted here!

The "leg vise" on my bench build project.
http://www.sailnet.com/forums/off-topic/104786-roubo-bench-build.html

Was about $100 for the 1.25" acme rod and 8" cast iron wheel.
The machinist charged me $75 to mount the wheel perfectly. :rolleyes:

No really high bucks but not really low.. UNTIL one compares the cost of DIY engineering to "Benchrafters" leg vise hardware coming in at nearly $400!


How do they compare?
 
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#1,215 ·
#1,218 ·
I have two of the West Marine stadium type seats and we love them. I also have one of the bigger version with the armrests and the cupholder and the shoulder straps. I wish I hadn't bought that one. It's not that comfortable and it takes up a lot of room and it's just not as good as the cheaper stadium model seats.
 
#1,223 ·
My "low buck" version of the fancy (and heavy) WM adjustable seat are these big pillows that I stuff with dollar-store dog beds. Normally they live in the salon as pictured, but whenever and wherever I want, I throw them into the pit, or nets.

Cloth is fabric-store synthetic, but you could use Sunbrella (stiff) or Sunbrella Furniture Fabric (less stiff, more for the purpose) as the cover. When salty or dirty, just take the stuffing out and wash the whole lot.

 
#1,227 · (Edited)
I purchased a couple 16-foot, solar-powered, rope lights, attached one to each of the toe rails, lights up the entire side of the boat while I'm anchored. All too often, those LED anchor lights look like a bright star on a clear night, and with no moon you would be hard pressed to determine there was a boat anchored beneath that light/star. Unfortunately, in order to meet USCG requirements for anchor lights, the top of the mast is the only location where there is 360 degrees of unobstructed view. Sure makes a lot more sense to me to light up the entire damned boat - no doubt about whether or not there's a boat in front on you when coming into an anchorage in the middle of the night. And, in this part of the world, there seems to be a whole lot of folks that tend to ignore the law when it comes to turning on the anchor light. About half or more don't bother to turn them on.

Just got a Black Friday advertisement from Harbor Freight Tools - 22-footd, solar-powered, rope lights for $9.99. Outstanding price - gonna buy a couple spares tomorrow. The sale is good till Monday.



Gary :cool:
 
#1,229 · (Edited)
I stumbled across a useful little $1 item called a "Tarp Shark":


It's a bit of a stretch calling this a "project," but it does allow me to take an inexpensive square tarp and get it to conform to the contours of my boat, so by saving the cost of a custom tarp, it is a low-bucks project:






This is one item that is less expensive at Home Depot than it is online. For $0.97 you can afford to use as many of these as you need.
 
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#1,230 ·
I stumbled across a useful little $1 item called a "Tarp Shark":

This is one item that is less expensive at Home Depot than it is online. For $0.97 you can afford to use as many of these as you need.
Those look really useful. Unfortunately not available online or in the stores around here (western NY. I also checked northern NJ, and western PA, but no luck.)

They do have these EasyKlip for about the same price, but they don't look nearly as adjustable (or as cool:)). Will check them out next time I'm in the store.

Dave
 
#1,231 ·
Home made radar mount. Built from aluminum conduit and stainless steel. There was some welding but most of it could be bolted together if you were so inclined.



This pic shows how the conduit was bent to go around the stern rails, and inside it was bent to follow the angle of the transom.



Most are familiar with the compression feral in the Dremel chuck. It is a barrel shape with cuts made in the cylinder so it may be compressed around the bit shaft. I built the same idea to clamp to the base of the mast and used big u bolts to compress the cylinder around the mast. That cylinder was welded to stainless 1/4 X 1 1/2 flat stock, which was glassed to the hull. It is very strong and the mast requires no supports. Skipping the extra supports really helps clean up the clutter in the stern. :)
I have $80 in it, not counting the radar !
 
#1,232 · (Edited)
Had a space in the cockpit cubby that once held a now defunct LORAN receiver. Was thinking what to do with the space. This past summer I made a junction box and ammeter panel to see how the solar panels are performing:
THE BIANKA LOG BLOG: ANOTHER SOLAR PROJECT: Cockpit Ammeter Junction Box
Helps to help minimize boom shadow on the panels when at anchor.
 
#1,235 ·
Yesterday I replaced two 15 watt and one 25 watt incandescent with a 7.2 watt led light in the galley. And a 3.5 watt light in the passageway and head dad wanted brighter lighting so 55 watts incandescent changed to about 14 watts led cutting power usage by about 75% and the lights cost me 38 bucks deliverd.
 
#1,240 ·
Volvo hour-meter repair:

The LCD module is connected to the main circuit board via a flat ribbon cable. The problem is poor contact between the pads of the ribbon cable and the board receptacle. Lever up each end of the receptacle to release pressure on the cable and pull it out. Lightly clean the pads of the end of the ribbon cable with contact cleaner. You may also need to get a little contact cleaner inside the receptacle. Fully dry each with heatgun/hairdryer before reconnecting. Be careful when doing that as you don't want to overheat the ribbon cable.
 
#1,243 · (Edited)
With upgrades and additions to my electrical system, my switch panel(s) were not only an eyesore, they were becoming incapable and potentially unsafe.

I bought switches and fuseholders off eBay for less than $50, drew up my own design for the desired panel in PaintshopPro and had an engraving shop to their thing for $40. I already had the meter in a junk box.

During installation I took the opportunity to clean up corroded wire ends, sort out overloads and generally tidy everything up.

Now I have a one-of-a-kind panel that suits my needs perfectly.

Before:


After:
 
#1,244 ·
When I bought my boat it had no electric bilge pump. Beneath a hatch in the cabin sole was a cavity stuffed with rags. Once I removed them I realized I had a perfect spot for my new pump in the lowest possible place on the boat (I have an encapsulated keel so likely a different layout than a boat with a bolt-on keel).
I wanted to keep the pump and float switch upright and stable and also easily removed for inspection/replacement.

I had a small sheet of stainless sheet metal in the garage and went to work with a zip disc and after 30 minutes and a few stainless rivets I had a "stand" for my bilge pump and float.

Empty cavity:


Completed "stand":



In place:


I'd imagine a sheet of aluminum would have worked just as well. Either way, the cost to buy if you don't have it laying around would not exceed $50.
 
#1,246 ·
I like the platform for the pump & switch - what was the thinking behind having it elevated above the low point?
 
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