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Old 14-07-2018, 02:27   #31
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Re: Time to Brag on Your #liveaboard hacks

A few of the things I do to save space:
Store extra bedding under the cushions whenever possible (just make sure it's in a place that will stay dry, not under a leaky hatch)
When shopping remove as much of the packaging as possible before getting to the boat
In the colder months I don't put my beer in the fridge I just put a few in a mesh bag and drop them over the side for a bit, also works for anything in a can or bottle.


I also like the idea of the dinghy bladder, I may have to be getting one of those in the near future....
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Old 14-07-2018, 02:45   #32
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Re: Time to Brag on Your #liveaboard hacks

Battery powered led light strings for dark cabinets and v-births.
Or hardwire to a 2$ 12vdc-5vdc buck converter...

While you're at it, hard wire some 12v to 5v USB chargers in the v-berth and at the nav station.
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Old 14-07-2018, 06:36   #33
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Re: Time to Brag on Your #liveaboard hacks

I like this thread

wipe your dishes with a bit of paper towel before washing up. you will use less fresh water, and won't plug up your sink drain with food scraps.

collect rain water and save your gray water (dish washing, transom shower rinse off after swimming, etc) and use it rather than fresh or sea water for flushing your heads

switch most everything to soft shackles

use telescoping curtain rods for fiddles in the fridge

have several LED headlights on board; you will find you use them often

when on the davits, secure the dinghy with stainless steel ratcheting cargo straps. Easy on; easy off, and very secure

make your jacklines of red-colored webbing or rope for maximum visibility under your red LED headlight at night.

similarly make your reefing marks on the halyard with red "Sharpie"

and this one you will think is stupid at first, but we like it: modify your dinghy chaps to accept a pool noodle fender around the forward part of the dink. It saves a ton of wear and tear on the chaps and hypalon.
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Old 14-07-2018, 10:13   #34
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Re: Time to Brag on Your #liveaboard hacks

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Originally Posted by hzcruiser View Post
I wonder what's in all those spray bottles? I have one for diluted dish soap. Oother than that, I could imagine one with a vinegar solution to clean and prevent mold, but what else?


Yes on the white vinegar.

One bottle with 50% ammonia 50% water. Stinks but cheap and effective cleaner. The smell dissipates quickly.

“Formula B” from practical Sailor. You can find the recipe on their website.
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Old 14-07-2018, 10:41   #35
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Re: Time to Brag on Your #liveaboard hacks

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I wonder what's in all those spray bottles? I have one for diluted dish soap. Oother than that, I could imagine one with a vinegar solution to clean and prevent mold, but what else?
One deluted with a few drops of iodine will eat up some forms of mold.
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Old 14-07-2018, 10:55   #36
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Re: Time to Brag on Your #liveaboard hacks

A few more hacks:

Disinfecting surfaces: We keep a spray bottle of 50% bleach, 50% water to spray off counter tops, tables, etc. Kills all germs instantly.

Flashlights: We buy the small LED flash lights on Amazon for under $4 each. They use 1 AA battery and are incredibly bright - shine for several hundred yards! Stash them all over the boat and make sure in critical areas you always put them back in the same place so you can put your hand on a flashlight in pitch dark. Like these: https://www.amazon.com/Tactical-Flas...pik+flashlight
We've ordered probably 50-60 of these over the years for boat, house, cars. They also make great gifts - have probably given away 10-15 or so of them to friends, family, etc.

Refrigerator/Freezer storage: Use small bathroom size plastic trash cans to keep food organized in cold storage. Allows more vertical storage. Example: keep lunch stuff (meats, cheeses, etc.) in one trash can. Keep fresh veggies in another. Makes it easy to pull out the entire can to retrieve stuff rather than leaving the fridge/freezer door open while you look for stuff.
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Old 14-07-2018, 16:29   #37
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Re: Time to Brag on Your #liveaboard hacks

A watermaker is the ultimate hack!

The garden sprayer is also a good one, tho I prefer these for a cockpit shower: https://www.nemoequipment.com/produc...SABEgJ2B_D_BwE
uses foot pump and collapses down when not in use for easy storage in lazarette.

These are also nice to give a quick fresh water rinse to the lower rigging tackle after a passage, or any other SS hardware.
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Old 14-07-2018, 18:52   #38
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Re: Time to Brag on Your #liveaboard hacks

God I must be old. What’s a “hack”?
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Old 14-07-2018, 19:13   #39
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Time to Brag on Your #liveaboard hacks

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God I must be old. What’s a “hack”?


No your not, it’s what we used to call problem solving.
You know I don’t have a can opener, how to open the can so I don’t starve? Well now using your pen knife is called a “hack” I guess it came from computers
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Old 14-07-2018, 20:51   #40
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Re: Time to Brag on Your #liveaboard hacks

The inflection in your computer voice makes me question how old you are at all
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Old 17-07-2018, 01:36   #41
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Re: Time to Brag on Your #liveaboard hacks

Focus on the bottom 10% and the top 10%. Bottom 10% is well found boat, 3-6months nutritous cheap stored food, lots of water storage and rain catchment, overkill ground tackle. Top 10% is luxury stuff, whatever that is for you. That $80/lb small batch Hawaiian peaberry coffee, voracious reading habit, plane trips back to visit the family, whatever does it for you. That middle 80% adds up to a ton and doesn't really make you happier.

Also, if you are not wealthy, you need really good ground tackle, so you can anchor out, and still relax. If you are wealthy you need really good ground tackle cause the anchorages are way prettier than the Marina's.

How do you know if your ground tackle is big enough? When your sailing buddies start to tease you about your oversize anchor, you are just about right. (Dead serious, this is the best guide I've found). I use a 75lb anchor and chain for my 35' boat (was that a chuckle I hear?) I sleep like a baby.
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Old 17-07-2018, 02:23   #42
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Re: Time to Brag on Your #liveaboard hacks

phone anchor watch. set it for current position and small circle. This will alert you for any wind shifts, so you can check on anchor and on other people with oversized anchors that sleep tight.

If you see their boat moving use very strong batteries and point to their bedroom windows, if they have them. If not, use stones and throw on their boat to wake them up.

thank me later.
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Old 17-07-2018, 06:56   #43
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Re: Time to Brag on Your #liveaboard hacks

Quote:
Originally Posted by Bond_vagabond View Post
.

Also, if you are not wealthy, you need really good ground tackle, so you can anchor out, and still relax. If you are wealthy you need really good ground tackle cause the anchorages are way prettier than the Marina's.

How do you know if your ground tackle is big enough? When your sailing buddies start to tease you about your oversize anchor, you are just about right. (Dead serious, this is the best guide I've found). I use a 75lb anchor and chain for my 35' boat (was that a chuckle I hear?) I sleep like a baby.
We did this - unfortunately our windlass doesn't feel like hauling like our 110 lb anchor, necessitating a future big buck purchase...
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Old 17-07-2018, 07:22   #44
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Re: Time to Brag on Your #liveaboard hacks

#1 Hack for new live aboards:

When a well-meaning friend or family member asks you what you need for your boat, reply "A dumpster". Otherwise you'll collect all sorts of useless crap. As mentioned, less stuff, more happiness.
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Old 17-07-2018, 08:59   #45
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Re: Time to Brag on Your #liveaboard hacks

it's worth having an extra propane bottle, especially if yours isn't the standard house grill size and needs refilling instead

little small 400W inverters will save a lot of power over using a boats main inverter for just small item

having a USB power strip of your toys is worth having

if you have solar on the stern, rig a line to boom and pull over at anchor and get much more daily power

long pants are overrated, instead of needing them move the boat to a better location

praise your autopilot regularly

unless you are a big coffee drinker, the single serving "tea type" bags are worth getting

marina stores seem to always have beer, but never eggs or soda
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