Favorite modification/hack for liveaboards?

[GILow]

Just about ANYTHING that gives you more electrons when you need them is a great return on effort/expense.

[GILow]

Originally Posted by UNCIVILIZED

Add a couple of those solar powered mushroom type ventillators. The ones with a built in battery, so that they run 24/7. Helps with dampness & smells a lot.

Got to get me some of those.

[Jacko]

Have just installed a second freezer as there is no restock where I cruise so have up graded to 700watts solar and from 400a/h house bank to 600a/h T105 trojens wow what an improvement. I am staying above 85% overnight and can run my 12vlt water maker 2hrs every second day not to mention the expresso machine etc etc so old saying " you can never have too much power " Hahahahah
Forgot to mention I run wind genny over night I am in trade wind islands

[Pizzazz]

Favorite mods and some missteps:

+ Desiccant wheel dehumidifier and air filter. Keeps the humidity low at night, removes dust, nearly silent. One of the better devices to keep the air fresh.

+ A good battery monitoring system (Link 2000). It helps manage your power consumption.

- LED lights. While these are great underway, the blue light is harmful to the brain and typically too bright. I have a mixture of LED and incandescent and use incandescent when not power constrained

Pizzazz

[Uncle Bob]

Originally Posted by Pizzazz

Favorite mods and some missteps:

+ Desiccant wheel dehumidifier and air filter. Keeps the humidity low at night, removes dust, nearly silent. One of the better devices to keep the air fresh.

+ A good battery monitoring system (Link 2000). It helps manage your power consumption.

- LED lights. While these are great underway, the blue light is harmful to the brain and typically too bright. I have a mixture of LED and incandescent and use incandescent when not power constrained

Pizzazz

FWIW warm white is nearly the same hue as incandescent and no problem, from my experience.

[JanetGroene]

Designated stowage spaces for out-of-season garments, laundry, trash. Add a good wet locker and a charging station for rechargeables. If possible have a bed that stays a bed, rather than a convertible. Sometimes you need a nap or are sick in bed.

[Lake-Effect]

Originally Posted by Pizzazz

- LED lights. While these are great underway, the blue light is harmful to the brain and typically too bright. I have a mixture of LED and incandescent and use incandescent when not power constrained

As pointed out, warm white LEDs are available, and are relatively easy to dim. It's also quite easy to put in red LED lighting, to use when you are sailing overnight and want to preserve your night vision.

[Hudson Force]

'maybe not a modification or a hack, but an important behavior for me as a liveaboard was to always keep my boat ready for leaving the dock. There's little reason to live aboard a boat if you prevent yourself from spontaneously heading out for a sail on a beautiful day. Even if it's just for a few hours after a day of work, it's best to be able to get underway within about ten minutes. We did not keep anything stored on the deck or the dock that required tending before a departure and all items below were kept in secure positions. The shore power cord and the dock lines can be the only things to deal with.

[Olddan1943]

Originally Posted by JanetGroene

Designated stowage spaces for out-of-season garments, laundry, trash. Add a good wet locker and a charging station for rechargeables. If possible have a bed that stays a bed, rather than a convertible. Sometimes you need a nap or are sick in bed.

Yes a stateroom .... the bed is always a bed. I do have a convertible in the salon. No need to make the guest too comfortable. They will never leave.
Storage for out-of-season clothes? On a 34ft boat, be is a sail boat or a trawler like mine, there will never be enough storage for anything. I maintain an onshore storage room/locker.
Yea, I miss the wet locker I had on the Nordhavn. Now, I just shake off the water and hang it on a hook in the pilot house.
I do have the luxury of a washer/dryer onboard. When you have that, you better have a water maker too.

[Olddan1943]

Hudson Force, dock lines? Leave them on shore. I know you have a spare set on the boat.
Shore power cable(s) yea, bring them on board. I have a couple water hoses to bring in or leave on shore.
Time for me to leave the dock? About one hour if I take my time and do it right, alone. If I leave hoses, shore power cables and dock lines on shore, best guess, 15 minutes. Realize, I am by myself.

[Hudson Force]

Originally Posted by Olddan1943

Hudson Force, dock lines? Leave them on shore. I know you have a spare set on the boat.
Shore power cable(s) yea, bring them on board. I have a couple water hoses to bring in or leave on shore.
Time for me to leave the dock? About one hour if I take my time and do it right, alone. If I leave hoses, shore power cables and dock lines on shore, best guess, 15 minutes. Realize, I am by myself.

I'm with you! When I said "deal with the dock lines and power cord....", I was thinking of leaving them at the dock. We could usually get away before the engine warmed.

[redhead]

Very low tech but it's changed my life.

ALWAYS tripping over shoes - flip flops, shower shoes, boat shoes, running shoes, you get my drift. I bought old fashioned peg coat hangers and put one in each berth and 2 in the cockpit. Hang shoes on pegs (every single time - it takes some behavior modification).

Voila! Your cabin sole is now clear and you know where your shoes are.

(Hint: make sure you buy one with an even number of pegs......_)

A simple solution to a simple problem that was driving me insane.

[Cheechako]

Originally Posted by redhead

Very low tech but it's changed my life.

ALWAYS tripping over shoes - flip flops, shower shoes, boat shoes, running shoes, you get my drift. I bought old fashioned peg coat hangers and put one in each berth and 2 in the cockpit. Hang shoes on pegs (every single time - it takes some behavior modification).

Voila! Your cabin sole is now clear and you know where your shoes are.

(Hint: make sure you buy one with an even number of pegs......_)

A simple solution to a simple problem that was driving me insane.

Yes, speaking of shoes, one of these in the closet against a bulkhead stores a lot of shoes and other things too! $13

[hellosailor]

Changing the label on the "SPARE" breaker to read "Scuttle Charges". :-)

[jamhass]

Run everything you can from 12-volt, preferably without an inverter. Many TVs today are actually 12v, running on a wall-wart transformer. You can get a 12v-12v converter to protect sensitive electronics from the higher charging voltages.