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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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#1,457 ·
If it's that deep it doesn't matter if you get the last little bit of water out.
 
#1,458 ·
LOL people alway wonder why I have a turkey baster on board.
Current project is a new padauk tiller extension, couldn't find a universal joint I liked so I made my own out of aluminum bar stock.
First coat of varnish this morning.
 
#1,459 ·
Plastic oar blades cut out of plastic 45 gallon drums make great oar blades, when nailed to 2x2s. Nobody is going to steal them for resale.
Scraps cut out of old fibreglass hulls and decks, can be used to make many fibreglass projects, like ice box liners ,name plates, solid dodgers, etc, saving you the work of getting a smooth finish on them. They already come with a smooth gelcoat finish on one side. Just join them at the corners, and that is the only part you have to smooth out. Saves not only time , but money as well.
 
#1,466 ·
I often get questions about our custom floor mats. Made them out of carpet remnants cut with a soldering iron (tip shaped like a hot knife) and held in place with carpet tape. Zero cost, they look great, are easy to clean, and feel nice on bare feet on cold mornings.

You can read more about them here.

 
#1,469 ·
Macgyver riding sail...

Wind picked up in Boot Key Harbor to 20-25 and the Solitaire dances on the mooring like a drunken ballerina. In a good breeze she will sail 60 degrees to either side of the eye of the wind. Hard on the ground tackle, and uncomfortable to boot. Need a riding sail. I know anchoring stern to solves the issue, but not on a mooring ball, and a riding sail is gonna cost me rum bucks even if I have it stitched up at the local canvas shop. Besides, I don't have one today and don't know how well it will really work. Hmmmm...

No chunks of Sunbrella or sail cloth just layin around so what to do. Oh lookee here, a new bath towel... 10 minutes later with small small stuff I have a (to small) riding sail. Works too. Needs to be bigger, but good proof of concept. Reduced the swing from 60 degrees each side down to less than 20. Off to the canvas maker when the rain dies down to stitch up a bigger version
 

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#1,479 ·
Just bought my second one in 5 years. First one seen me through the refit of my '82 Newport 28. Sold that and bought an '83 CaboRico 38. Used the BucketHead to pump out the bilge water, 2 1/2 feet down, of about 4 buckets of water. After a couple week, the bearings on the motor were shot from the H2O. Well 20 bucks went a long way and the new one will get me through this refit. May need to use a sponge filter for water pickup.
 
#1,480 ·
Even the big ones remove the filter for water. But there's a ball that floats to shut off when full. Even with that its a lot of moisture to run through any motor. I would be careful to use a GFCI outlet with any wetVac. I've never heard of anyone getting Zapped but you never know.
 
#1,481 ·
My docking technique largely consists of aiming the side of my vessel at one of the fenders on my dock. As a strategy, it works pretty well, but I noticed this fall that the new striping I had done on my new-to-me 1996 Catalina 28 had gotten slightly scuffed.

And, a tiny amount of blue fender was deposited on my freshly compounded and polished topsides. :eek

So, two minutes ago, I completed my first fender cover, using Sailrite's cover kit...$52.00 or so. Kit's good for several covers (depending).

The material is sun and rot resistant, soft/fuzzy on one side. I ordered the navy blue.

I'm usually not a fan of "kits", as they require me to read directions and I'm ADD. However, I recently finished a mainsail cover kit from Sailrite, and the pre-marked material and excellent instructions saved me a lot of hassle.

The fender cover kit came with printed instructions, velcro, and V69 thread. There are also video instructions at their site.

In the interest of "low buck" attitude, I used my recently acquired 1964 Coronado, all metal Japanese domestic sewing machine. $43.00 with shipping from shopgoodwill.com. The beautiful mint green paint and chrome accents helped, I'm sure. That said, most of the all metal vintage domestic machines can handle this project, as you only have to sew through two layers of the material.

Level of sewing difficulty for this project is very low.

My boat will gently glide into place next season. And, no more of that squeak squeak stuff when we travel and can't cross tie.
 
#1,483 ·
I have a Coronado 25 and I was thinking of the mainsail kit also, was it difficult at all?
 
#1,482 ·
Goodwill comes through for the yachties once again! lol
 
#1,485 ·
I made cabin cushions from video instructions from Sailrite. They turned out pretty good. Not perfect. Made fender covers out of fleece with a drawstring without any instructions that turned out great. My daughter tells everyone that I sewed sweaters for the fenders.
 
#1,487 ·
Found these for $14/each at Lowe's the other day, great for inside lockers and what not. Battery powered motion sensing LED lights made by Sylvania. Powered by 3 AAA batteries (we use the rechargeables from Costco), it has ON, OFF, 10 Second, and 60 Second delay modes. The motion sensor has a 120 degree detection beam and is extremely sensitive. The light lens also rotates back and forth to direct the beam where you want it. Best part is that they turn off automatically when you’re done inside (or stop moving for a few seconds).

They come with a removable magnet that mounts to your chosen surface with double stick tape, and they’ve also included a screw which fixes the magnet with a bit more security. The light fixture then “sticks” to the mounted magnet, but I tend to be a bit skeptical of it’s strength in rough seas. If one were inclined, one could add double stick tape between the magnet and the light fixture for a more secure mount.
 

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#1,489 ·
Found these for $14/each at Lowe's the other day, great for inside lockers and what not. Battery powered motion sensing LED lights made by Sylvania. Powered by 3 AAA batteries (we use the rechargeables from Costco), it has ON, OFF, 10 Second, and 60 Second delay modes. The motion sensor has a 120 degree detection beam and is extremely sensitive. The light lens also rotates back and forth to direct the beam where you want it. Best part is that they turn off automatically when you're done inside (or stop moving for a few seconds).

They come with a removable magnet that mounts to your chosen surface with double stick tape, and they've also included a screw which fixes the magnet with a bit more security. The light fixture then "sticks" to the mounted magnet, but I tend to be a bit skeptical of it's strength in rough seas. If one were inclined, one could add double stick tape between the magnet and the light fixture for a more secure mount.
I like the idea, but can you aim the sensors enough so it does not turn on every time the boat rocks and the clothes move? Of course if the door is shut I guess you would not know! And with rechargeables it really does not matter. On another topic, that is why shelves are better for clothes they don't chafe as much as they do swinging around in the hanging locker. I have an old cheap rain gear jacket that came with the boat that whole sections of the outside is rubbed off where it swung around rubbing on the jacket next to it, not sure how long it took though. But I woudl hate to try to put on my suit (I still have to work while living aboard) and find it had chafed in patches.
 
#1,488 ·
I finally got the picture thing figured out so I will be sharing some projects.

Most are from scraps so while not "Free" no direct cost immediately. I have so much small stock laying around from big provects what might qualify as Low Bucks for me might not truly qualify for others but here goes.

Main cabin sole refinish, mostly elbow grease. Stripper applied twice and wire brushed (fine SS or Brass) small like a big tooth brush, to remove from the grain and poly finished 6 coats looks GREAT.. Removed some rotted sections and made a grate for the affected areas. I like it because I can visually monitor the slack bilge for water constantly.
 

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#1,491 ·
I wanted to try out a riding anchor sail. My boat swings like crazy when there's a breeze and I plan to get a mooring this year rather than slip. I found a few websites of people making riding sails out of regular hardware store tarp and then based the dimensions on the Sailrite kit. I'm a fan of trying to do things the unconventional way to see if it works. You learn a lot!

I have to thank Mom for this one though as she actually made it, I just pointed her in the right direction :) Seams are doubled up with zip zag stitching and reinforced with canvas. Seems solid to me and it cost $8 CDN (which is 5.72 USD, brutal) Just need to add a few carabiners.

We'll see how it works in the spring. I think it will work, it's just how well and how long it'll hold up.
 

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