Great Inexpensive Gizmos

[charliehows]

hand held gps - $120 for 3000 years of endeavour

[colemj]

Originally Posted by rebel heart

Nice call on these! Just got two of them on amazon for maybe ten bucks. First time I've gotten five gallons of water into the deck fill without spilling a drop. There were a few cups left in the bottom that I needed to tilt-pour, but at that point it's simple to do.

Ditto! My two just arrived yesterday.

Mark

[Pau Hana Daz]

Originally Posted by colemj

Ditto! My two just arrived yesterday.

Mark

Where'd you get yours Mark? Amazon (the link posted earlier) shows them as unavailable. I have an old one that we've used for fuel, but a nice and shiny new one (or two) would really come in handy for water...

[colemj]

Amazon. Must have been a run on them! There are also others on Amazon for similar price - look for safety siphon.

Mark

[David_Old_Jersey]

A paint brush gaffa taped to a 6 inch stick - for cleaning up in hard to reach places. and also for "not so hard to reach but still too small / awkward big for a normal brush" places .

[mr-canada]

a curved peice of arbutus wood with a scrub brush head attached to the end, and a peice of PVC pipe attached to extend it. Allows me to scrub the bottom of the boat right down to the keel without a haulout. i'm sure I miss a few spots here and there underneath the boat but if done regularly, the bottom stays very clean

[Kettlewell]

Watch out that Amazon doesn't send you some sort of cheapo siphon with a bulb in it, like they did to me the first time I ordered. They didn't send me the item in the listing for some reason--had to return them and reordered a few weeks later and got the correct items. There seem to be a lot of knock offs on this item. Here is what they look like, but I am not sure if these are the originals. This company claims they sell the original.

[terminalcitygrl]

Originally Posted by mr-canada

a curved peice of arbutus wood with a scrub brush head attached to the end, and a peice of PVC pipe attached to extend it. Allows me to scrub the bottom of the boat right down to the keel without a haulout. i'm sure I miss a few spots here and there underneath the boat but if done regularly, the bottom stays very clean

Oooooh, could you take a pic of that sometime? I bet that would be a very useful gizmo.

[mr-canada]

Originally Posted by terminalcitygrl

Oooooh, could you take a pic of that sometime? I bet that would be a very useful gizmo.

I can try but it isnt the most exciting peice of hardware aboard so i maynforget next time im aboard. the wood is shaped almost like a question mark, about 5 ft long, and the end was shaved to the same diameter as a broom handle and the brush head was screwed on not unlike the end of a mop. On the other end its tapered so it can be jammed in snug to a 5 ft length of pvc pipe, put them together and viola, you have a 10 ft long stiff brush where the brush is perpendicular to the handle.

Quite the invention by he previous owner. Ive seen other copycats at the yacht club made out of a variety of things, pvc pipe using 90 degree elbow fittings, 2x4s and wood dowelling. None of the copies break down nicely into 2 5 foot long peices for convenient storage in the cockpit locker though.

[Cheechako]

yes, many of the racers used to use them made out of pvc. large... mayb 2"? the trapped air inside forces the brush up against the hull...

[Capn Morgan]

Toilet plunger, 2 bucks max.

When taking the speed transducer out I put the plunger on the outside of the hull around the transducer wheel. Then I come back on board and unscrew the collar, take it out and put in the blank. Instead of gallons of water gushing in, you just get a few drops as the water pressure seals the plunger around the hole.

I took out the handle of the last one and attached a thin rope to tie it to the railing. This way next time I take the boat out I can do the reverse and just pull the plunger back on board without getting wet.

[sailcruiser]

Velcro straps that wrap and hold many things. Rescue tape (silicone self fusing tape), softpaws for dogs, 1 gallon shop vac, gallons of vinegar, drawer liner (or toolbox liner) rubber mat cut to fit, insulated cups, silicon baking mats, and hot pads, lock n lock storage.
SC

[Reefmagnet]

Originally Posted by Capn Morgan

Toilet plunger, 2 bucks max.

When taking the speed transducer out I put the plunger on the outside of the hull around the transducer wheel. Then I come back on board and unscrew the collar, take it out and put in the blank. Instead of gallons of water gushing in, you just get a few drops as the water pressure seals the plunger around the hole.

I took out the handle of the last one and attached a thin rope to tie it to the railing. This way next time I take the boat out I can do the reverse and just pull the plunger back on board without getting wet.

Cheapo suction cup dent pullers work as well and as an added bonus they can be used as movable handholds when scrubbing the waterline of the boat.

[noelex 77]

For a great syphon just use two hoses and a rag.

Put a long hose in the jerry can to the water/fuel tank. Now put in a short (6 inch) bit of hose( it does not need to reach the reach the liquid) into the jerry can as well, block the remaining opening with a rag, or just your hand.
Blow (not suck) into the short bit of hose.
The pressure in the jerry can will force the liquid out int the tank. Once the syphon starts it will continue without any further effort.

The only limitation is it needs to closed container, not an open bowl.

The advantage over the juggler siphons is there is it will work even if there is small depth of liquid. There is also nothing to gum up, or buy, any old bit of hose will work.

[HappyMdRSailor]

Originally Posted by skipmac

Sesame combination padlocks.

You can open them in the dark by feel so no searching for a flashlight when you get back to the boat late at night. Comes in a solid brass version for the boat.

Brilliant! Did not know they existed...
Thanks!