What is the more useless thing that all boaters have?

[BandB]

Originally Posted by savoir

AHA ! This might explain the gentleman's dislike of sailing to windward.

The brolly won't work.

Wifey B: Hehe......ok get ready for this one......Clothes.

[captain58sailin]

Until you get somewhere there are bugs.

[xpfenech]

What about all the stuff the previous owner had aboard, that you do not know for what it can be useful, but keep, just in case, sometime you figure out the real use???

[CaptTom]

I have one. Usually I describe it as the most dangerous thing to have on board, but I'd go with useless, too: A schedule.

[Azul]

Originally Posted by xpfenech

What about all the stuff the previous owner had aboard, that you do not know for what it can be useful, but keep, just in case, sometime you figure out the real use???

This is one of the best answers since it probably applies to most of us.

My boat was completely full of stuff with questionable purposes. During a cleaning spree I threw most of it out including an ugly wooden frame with netting across it that looked like it was for mining gem stones- it was the insect screen for the V berth hatch (I figured this out during a sleepless night swatting mosquitos on my maiden delivery voyage.) When Hurricane Sandy chafed one of my lines completely through I figured out what the roll of old firehose I threw out was for. I still have at least six homemade quirky tools of uncertain use I am holding onto.

It would be fun to have a thread where people post pictures of these curious items and have old salts determine what they are for.

I bet most people still have a few repair kits squirreled away for toilets, pumps and other stuff which is no longer aboard.

[zeehag]

brolly will too..i seen it in action on 3 different tenders...inflatable, rowing lapstrake dink typical of fatty knees, and optimist type dink.lol aka sabot
will work with kayak also, after i get my hands on one..lol

these are post prototype sightings, btw..these folks were cruising and used brollies for dink sailing..lol....does fairly well on reach, but down wind rocks....

[valhalla360]

I think we need to differentiate uselessness.
- A bell is only really useful to avoid the authorities harrassing you. Otherwise it's outdated. (flags are similar in nature)
- Barameters, sextants and other old time devices are nice curiosities and you could come up with senarios where they would be useful but for typical cruising there are better options.
- Finally, what type of cruising you do is important. If you are an off the grid, no power anchor out all the time solo sailor, your list of worthless items will be dramatically different than a couple who like amenties and spends time in marinas.

[forsailbyowner]

Originally Posted by Bash

Most useless items?


2. Inverter
3. Transom shower
5. Fishing tackle

Geez on my boat these get a lot of use. My entertainment center an sewing machine both run off an inverter, transom shower is fish cleaning station. Guess fishing tackle is self explanatory.

On my boat it would be engine tools like micrometer set, dial guage and stand, bore guages etc,,, wont be doing any rebuilds offshore but hate to part with them for when its rebuild time. Guess my AK would have to be considered useless, All Ive done is cleaned and oiled it since Ive moved aboard;

[The Garbone]

On my boat the most useless thing is the weatherproof telco plug right next to the shore power connector.

My last boat had an hours meter on the forward bulkhead even though the boat came set up for an outboard.

[bill352]

Originally Posted by s/v Jedi

Most useless item: any additional hulls :-s

This may be a good time to appropriate and paraphrase Oscar Wilde's bigamy/monogamy definition:

Multihull - having one hull too many;

Monohull - same thing.

[JPA Cate]

How about jewelry?

[xeon_tsd]

Originally Posted by forsailbyowner

.... Guess my AK would have to be considered useless, All Ive done is cleaned and oiled it since Ive moved aboard;

So you have had a lot of good days not haven to use your AK.

[sailorboy1]

I have 2 air conditioners on the boat that I can not, and have never, run because the last guy who got the boat new didn't get a generator on it.

Those are pretty useless.

[leftbrainstuff]

Loran manuals

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by Ann T. Cate

How about jewelry?

Emergency funds...