Are You a Secret Dumpster Diver ?

[Minggat]

Often things of value but unwanted are left BY the dumpster in my old marina. Both of the outboards for both of my dingys were acquired that way. One was still glossy shiney!!!

Once I saw a Dewalt shop vac in the dumpster, with the box and the receipt from Home Depot. It had been purchased that day! It was defective. Rather than returning it, the buyer kept the canister portion and threw away the rest.

My dad used to say that some people have more money than brains.

[MarkJ]

My first and only dumpster dive gained me a Mercury 9.9HP Outboard!!!

I knew who it was because he had been having trouble with it and was just about at the point he was going to buy a new one and I was going to put in an offer on the old.
So it finally died and he thought it worthless so he chucked it.
I left Nicolle to guard it while I found him and asked if I could have it and he said yes, its in the bin. Take it.

So now it whips Li'l Dink areound the bays 10,000 NMs away

[mrohr]

Nothing secret about it ,I'm open and notorious,love trash pick up days too! Once bought an old hotel on foreclosure (Rosendale N.Y.) ,furnished much of porches and even interior with discarded furniture and sold the whole lot in 6 mos. generating enough to buy a very nice boat. College towns at the end of the school year are bonanzas, but the marine dumpsters are the best by test! Only problem with those dumpsters is fishermen dumping fish offal in, and so creating a repulsive stench.

[witzgall]

When I was a kid, I think 12 YO, I found a huge canvas cabin tent in a dumpster. Looking back I cannot believe my dad let me take it.

We had a skinny, very deep back yard. I put that tent in the way back, and had my own place for the summer. I think I got to second base for the first time in that tent...

Chris

[High Heels]

So we have been together for almost twenty years and there is always a new story around the corner...I have a canvas tent to Thank for your prowess?!? ;0)

[sww914]

All but 2 of my fenders came from the dumpster! People throw them away because they're ugly? Hell, I'm ugly too so we fit right together. Docklines, teak strips that I can use to replace little missing bits, 12v fans, 5 gallon buckets, a couple of shackles, a hose, an electric cord and a rope light are all items I pulled out of the dumpsters the last time I was at the boatyard, but I don't hide it. I'm proud of it. I would never dig food out unless it was rib bones for my dog. She prefers them after they've marinated in the dumpster for a day or two.

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by High Heels

So we have been together for almost twenty years and there is always a new story around the corner...I have a canvas tent to Thank for your prowess?!? ;0)

Ahhhh... but he only 'Thinks he got to second base'.... what were you guys drinking that nite...

[hummingway]

Originally Posted by Blue Stocking

An all-bronze Baby Blake. Am going to remove the bowl, fit a copper tube in its place, and make a table lamp for my study.

A web search gave this as a possibility Baby Blake

Is this what you're making your lamp of?

[High Heels]

Originally Posted by boatman61

Ahhhh... but he only 'Thinks he got to second base'.... what were you guys drinking that nite...

Apparently boatman, he was Mr. Don Juan of the block...I mean he would have had to have been to convince a girl to go to second base in an old stinky tent

It just cracks me up that when I think I have heard it all...there is a new story and a new girl from way back then...but it kind of keeps me guessing and provides entertainment after all of these years!

[hummingway]

Ah, a case of "True Confessions" then.

[S/V Alchemy]

It's no secret.

People throw out either easily repaired gear or things that could have been rehabbed. An example would be solid teak dropboards or similar exotic wood pieces. I've sanded teak planks down 1/16th of an inch and then made binocular racks or other little pieces for wood that is extremely expensive to otherwise acquire in that width.

I've also obtained old cleats (perfect for the slip!), identical tiller pilots and depth sounders to what I already own to cannibalize for parts, slightly scuffed fenders, great Dacron sails a year old, chucked in favour of composite "latest, greatest", and any number of boat hooks with slight dents, surplus line, oil lamps with cracked glass (that I can replace for five bucks), a working, clean Koolatron with a cracked latch I fixed with a clamp and glue, and on and on.

I have the money...I don't have to scavenge, but I deplore waste, value economy, and see every dollar I can reasonably avoid spending unnecessarily translating into extra days at sea in the form of "time not working". Either that, or I use the savings to replenish my flares or to buy a better handheld. I went on a boat the other day that had all mod cons, but had SOLAS grade parachute flares...from 1986! They don't improve with age, I thought, and I told the owner they would be best off the boat than in a hot locker. The same boat had two broken bilge pumps and suspect batteries, but featured a new MP3-capable "marine stereo".

I find it telling that a lot of the people who work so much that they rarely sail are usually the people who chuck out slightly old but functional gear, or things that are cosmetically damaged, but again, fully functional.

[allanpeda]

Boo hoo. I live in an apartment, and I have no room for stuff. Otherwise I'd be a pack rat.

[Jim Cate]

Originally Posted by allanpeda

Boo hoo. I live in an apartment, and I have no room for stuff. Otherwise I'd be a pack rat.

Get serious, mate! Any apartment that had less room for stuff than a cruising sailboat would not meet minimum housing standards!

Of curse, you might have to downsize your 96 inch flatscreen to make room for the good stuff...

Cheers,

Jim (the sailing packrat)

[allanpeda]

Originally Posted by Jim Cate

Get serious, mate! Any apartment that had less room for stuff than a cruising sailboat would not meet minimum housing standards!

Of curse, you might have to downsize your 96 inch flatscreen to make room for the good stuff...

Cheers,

Jim (the sailing packrat)

Yeah, I'll carry that extra outboard on the subway.

[Bash]

During the tsunami surge a 75' boat on my dock burst two large Taylor fenders, which ended up in the dumpster. I hauled them up to West Marine and traded them straight across for two brand-new fenders.