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Important boat stuff you forget

7K views 47 replies 37 participants last post by  bblument 
#1 ·
I'm pretty good at remembering to have the standard "important" stuff on the boat. You know things like: beer, soda, TP, maybe some food. But there are a lot of other real important stuff that I don't think of and maybe it is time to have a list.

From this weekend after solo sailing all day thinking about the beef I was going to grill on the BBQ:

lighter (or something that will work) to light the grill with

Please add to the list. :(
 
#5 ·
I'm pretty good at remembering to have the standard "important" stuff on the boat. You know things like: beer, soda, TP, maybe some food. But there are a lot of other real important stuff that I don't think of and maybe it is time to have a list.

From this weekend after solo sailing all day thinking about the beef I was going to grill on the BBQ:

lighter (or something that will work) to light the grill with

Please add to the list. :(
Welcome back Don.:):):)
 
#7 ·
We keep a lighter on board at all times. But...

Anchored on the 4th of July after a long, hot day of sailing, waiting for the firework show. 10 people on board. Grill fired up, hot dogs cooking. From the galley:"Where are the hot dog buns?"
 
#9 ·
I have multiple hand held radios from when we had our 22 footer and I kept forgetting one at home. Thankfully Rock Hall has a West Marine.

Also, I started keeping dollar bills and quarters on board so I don't have to make change in the ice honor bucket and don't have to remember to take change down with me.
 
#10 ·
Ill play.
Last week took out two work buddies first time sailing. Im an easy going guy and it was a SUPERB day on the water so I was not one to tell my two passengers it was to be a dry ride (different for passage making) so I told them to bring beer if they wanted. Forgot to mention ice however- at least I got to laugh at the faces they made trying to force down piss warm beer haha.

Two months ago on my first shakedown cruise left the inlet in big ground swells. I have a centerboard boat and the centerboard tubes foam insert has not been replaced since I had only been sailing the St. Johns river and never thought it prudent. Well suddenly I look down a mile out of the inlet and every trough the boat plowed into pushed a good pint to quart of water up the centerboard tube into the sole. I had to keep the engine running and both bilge pumps to keep the sole from being flooded and force my 8000 pound bruiser into ponce inlet against an ebb tide and south west wind with an 8 hp yanmar. I only made that mistake once.
 
#11 ·
Paper towels
Trash bags
Toilet paper
Hand wipes

Lets be civilized here.

Cups, plates, forks, knives, spoons.
Bug spray
sun screen
spare hat
sunglasses

Gas tank for dinghy motor
 
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#39 ·
I forgot the Admiral.
This is clearly the winner. Nothing else can compare (coffee does come in as a weak second!)

Fair winds and following seas :)
 
#15 · (Edited)
It sucks when you start brewing that morning coffee and your realize you forgot to pick up half and half on the way to the boat (powdered stuff is not an option).

We found a store that sells Mini Moos, the little individual creamers. They'll keep for a while in the fridge and it saves buying a half and half every weekend.
 
#18 ·
We found a store that sells Mini Moos, the little individual creamers. They'll keep for a while in the fridge and it saves buying a half and half every weekend.
Mini Moos are UHT processed half-and-half. They are shelf stable and will last six to nine months without refrigeration. After a couple of weeks you should shake them hard to remix the milk solids that precipitate out.
 
#22 · (Edited)
Ran out of white wine vinegar for the salad.

Backstory: CalebD helped me get rid of headliner mold a few weeks earlier. We actually had some left, but I marked the bottle "mold removal only".

---

Forgot to move some beers from the "pantry" (storage under forward bunk) to the fridge. Had to put a couple in the freezer and wait a bit.

---

My daughter had 3 of her friends on board a couple weeks ago. They made pancakes for breakfast. We had almost no syrup on board. Had to make due with less syrup and extra butter.

Regards,
Brad
 
#23 ·
Forgetting coffee is a biggie, for me.

Nothing like the first cup of coffee, sitting at anchor, when you first get up, and are watching the sun come up. :D
 
#26 ·
Forgetting coffee is a biggie, for me.
Ah yes... brings back one memorable morning, rowing around the anchorage trying to borrow some ground roast. (ultimately successful.. we sent the women ;))
 
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#25 ·
One word - Checklists.

One for loading the boat, one for readying to leave the dock and one for shutting the boat down after docking.

Without them, it's amazing how many seacocks get left open, shore cords left plugged in when leaving etc. etc.

There is too much for most of us to remember - that's why they are mandatory for aircraft.
 
#27 ·
Along the same lines...

On the morning after the first night spent on the boat in the water, I rolled out of bed early on a gorgeous, misty gray morning. Trusty GS dog by my side. All is quiet... serene...

Back pack stove for coffee.... check...
Fresh water for coffee .... check....
Nice solid mug, diner-style, for coffee.... check.....
French press, for coffee..... check..
Coffee for coffee ...... @#$@#%%#@#$@#$@#$@@#$!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

True. I made shrimp jambalaya the night before, remembered stuff for scrambled egg/veggie omelet, all the necessary food and dishes for the dog, not not even a single coffee bean.

argggghhhhh
 
#28 ·
As the OP ........................ I have NEVER forgotten or run out of coffee on the boat. Coffee just doesn't fall into the "important boat stuff you forget" world. If you are forgetting coffee you have a lot of work to do and I fear for what else you must be forgetting to take to the boat.
 
#29 ·
Forgot our Passports in the car in Georgia and didn't discover it until we were about to clear in to the Bahamas at Green Turtle Cay. We had our birth certificates and photo ID so we were able to clear into the Bahamas but that still left us with the problem of getting back in the US.

We eventually got the Passports and were able to get back into the US but it's not something I recommend.
 
#30 ·
hot sauce

can fix many a "what's on the boat" meal as I was disappointed to find out last week when I looked for it and found out it wasn't on the boat
 
#32 ·
Wow, that brings back memories of when I was looking at day sailors. A lot of trailer boats that had been on the hard for a while. It's amazing what's living in some of them.
 
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