Hints and tips

[eryka]

Good point. Then again, you've also got a much bigger boat.

[Giulietta]

(I posted this on Gear and Maintenance, but will post here also)

Yesterday I was talking to T34C on the phone, and was asking him to buy me a few blocks I need to make a modification in my boat..

I needed him to get me standup blocks, in this case, for the Spinnaker sheets , I don't like to have springs and other systems that more than often end up snagging some of the lines, in all rearwards blocks, and cockpit area...

So I asked him to get me regular blocks and I would do the "poor man" standing block...

I got a "what the hell is that???" from the otherside of the phone, so I explained that since 1980 I use tenis balls underneath the blocks to keep them up, and this is a good idea for dinghies where we sail barefoot most of the time and kickick the foot of a block with your toes hurts like a devil, ann because its more difficult for the block to snag and hold a line that is accidenataly near it..

So this is what I do:

You will need a block, a padeye (off course attached to the deck, cabin or whatever), and a tenis ball or other soft rubber ball that is hollow and fits the size...



Attach the block as ususal to measure the height between the block and the deck/cabin...



Take a tenis bal and cut a round hole on one side, that has to be wide enough to pass the block shaft...

On the opposite side cut a slot, that is as long as the length of the padeye. Don't be affraid to cut, watch your fingers..



Install the block shaft thru the hole, attach the shackle thru the slot underneath, and attach to the padeye..

BINGO there you have the POOR MAN STANDING BLOCK



You may also cut the ball in half if you need to get different heights...experiment..generaly the more you cut the ball the softer it will be and the more flexible it will be.

This is what I use for my spinnaker standing blocks..

And I have to admit...when you look at a boat, and you see these little tricks applied, such as the tennis ball under a block...one can imediately tell there is someone that knows what he is doing on the boat...I think it also makes the boat look really sporty and racey...

Ahh gets better, yopu can use many colours, as long as tenins industry paints them, and once dirty, just get a new ball.....

Good luck

Alex

[artbyjody]

For fiberglass sections in your interior where there is a random texture effect, perhaps:

A. You have cut out portions to deck repair from underneath.

Solution: When you set up the fiberglass inlay - take painters plastic and bundle it up in your hand to make a mess of it - then pull it back out and lay on top - tape it in place then run a roller over it. It will stick to the wet epoxy. After said drying time of epoxy - pull off and you will have that textured look - epoxy will not bond to it. The more the plastic is crumpled - the greater the effect.

B. You have sanded down portions of the interior and lost the texture. Use technique in A. with exception - give it only 5-10 minutes as paint will stick to it - and pull it down. If it is a fast drying paint - then bundle up the plastic in your hand and dab the areas as you paint.

[Bermuda30]

PVC pipe, when heated in a 400F oven, becomes a rubbery substance you can cut with scissors and form with (gloved) hands, then hardens back to it's original state.

[Lion35]

When you buy a CamFlow fan, the white fans with soft blades, they come with two mounts. One is a suction cup and the other is a screw down mount. The suction cup mount (I think most people use the screw down mount) makes a perfect plunger for unclogging sinks and cockpit drains. It works really well and has a threaded insert (originally for the fan base) for attaching a handle.

[legemar1]

For those sailors with dogs, who have anchored in that isolated gunkhole with 20 yards of beach, framed by rocks and low hanging branches and 200 yards away ... when it's 11pm, and you're trying to hit the sand using dead reckoning, there's an easier way. During that previous run in daylight, place two driveway marker/reflectors in the sand at unequal heights to mark the correct approach; with your flashlight, they'll act like rangelights. Be sure to pick them up after the evening run and put them in your dinghy.

[TrueBlue]

Nice tip, similar to what we've done if overnighting at anchor with our dog. During the first daylight dog run to the beach in the dinghy, I look for a long driftwood branch or board and drive it into the sand, just above the high water line.

The upright can be easily spotted at night with a flashlight and serves the same purpose as the driveway markers. Not as reflective, but is natural and can be left in place for the next dog owners.

[knothead]

If you choose to melt the end of a synthetic line instead of whipping it; wrap it very tightly with a piece of masking tape and cut in the middle of the tape with a very sharp blade.
Slice it don't squish it.
If you have a hot knife, pass it over the end of line (both ends if you are cutting from a spool) lightly, a number of times.
The objective is to melt it, not burn it.
Let it cool.
Then remove the tape taking care to not pull any individual strands and lightly run your hot knife around the sharp edge, making sure all strands are secure.

If you don't have a hot knife, the same handsome results can be achieved with a flame if you have enough patience and a very light wind.

Important: wet you finger thouroughly before touching molten plastic.

[sailingdog]

I've found the "flameless" wind-proof lighters work much better than the flame ones for what Knothead is suggesting.

Using short section of PVC pipe over the bottom of turnbuckle toggles on the shrouds can often prevent the genoa sheets from getting caught in the toggles. The short sections don't really trap water against the toggles or chainplates, so the risk of corrosion is pretty minimal.

[eryka]

Well, maybe someday we'll have a shiny steel arch, with solar panels and a couple of barbeque grills (winking at CD here) and davits. Until then the dinghy lives on the foredeck during passages, but you won't find us cranking it up at the mast. How to use the windlass:

(1) Tie a snatch block to the end of a spare fwd halyard (we use the spin. halyard)

(2) Bring dinghy alongside. Tie a line from the dinghy in the water, up through the snatch block, and down to the windlass.

(3) Take on the halyard until the block is suspended about 8 feet above the foredeck, and cleat off.

(4) Step on (or press) the "up" button on your windlass. Because the block is suspended over the center of the deck, the dinghy will align neatly in place when you lower it.

(5) Smile graciously because other people in the anchorage will be watching you - just like we watched the older couple in the anchorage in Maine (thanx, whoever you were) from whom we copied this trick.