Helpful Hint

[JanetGroene]

Blue water sailors won't be taken in by the popular "helpful hint" suggesting that housewives sprinkle salt on icky oven boil-overs but I thought I'd post a warning here for you lake and river boaters. Salt works just great to absorb oven spills. Then the floor of your oven falls out. Love rust? Just add salt. Janet Groene, Janet Groene's BoatCook

[zeehag]

oven boilovers are prevented by placing a cookie sheet under the item being cooked --not directly under , but between the item and the oven floor... so easy--is done in homes worldwide-why would a boil over happen while under way?? who uses oven underway at sea????? goood luck and smooth sailing, all!!!

[Jetexas]

Here's one that I'm sure I didn't invent, but that just occurred to me last week. When I disassemble things (and my boat gets disassembled often), I throw all the screws into a ziplock bag. That's great and all except it usually doesn't take long before one has poked through the bag, and I end up losing several of them as the bags get shuffled around the cabin over the course of weeks or months or years or however long it takes me to put whatever it was back together.

To remedy this, I started saving my wine and champagne corks. I stick/twist the screws into the corks, then into the bag.

The only problem is I don't drink near enough wine to keep up with the screws to all my projects.

[maytrix]

I just keep old jars for screws. Jam jars, peanut butter containers..etc. Lots of things work well and you won't be making any holes in jars.

[David_Old_Jersey]

Originally Posted by maytrix

I just keep old jars for screws. Jam jars, peanut butter containers..etc. Lots of things work well and you won't be making any holes in jars.

I buy jam jars and peanut butter containers etc to hold jam and peanut butter rather than bottling yourself it's possible to sometimes buy them ready filled. from supermarkets.

Supermarkets also sell oven cleaner

Incidently here's my website: http://www.freewebs.com/wayluya/

[bvimatelot]

Originally Posted by zeehag

. who uses oven underway at sea????? goood luck and smooth sailing, all!!!

Well - I do!!! Roast Beef & Yorkshire Pud with Roasted spuds & turnips. Really pretty easy and possibly actually safer than having hot pots on the stove top. T

[JiffyLube]

Originally Posted by Jetexas

Here's one that I'm sure I didn't invent, but that just occurred to me last week. When I disassemble things (and my boat gets disassembled often), I throw all the screws into a ziplock bag. That's great and all except it usually doesn't take long before one has poked through the bag, and I end up losing several of them as the bags get shuffled around the cabin over the course of weeks or months or years or however long it takes me to put whatever it was back together.

To remedy this, I started saving my wine and champagne corks. I stick/twist the screws into the corks, then into the bag.

The only problem is I don't drink near enough wine to keep up with the screws to all my projects.

I found that an empty plastic bottle is a good place to store those screws too, and screwing the cap on insures you won't lose them.

[zeehag]

Originally Posted by bvimatelot

Well - I do!!! Roast Beef & Yorkshire Pud with Roasted spuds & turnips. Really pretty easy and possibly actually safer than having hot pots on the stove top. T

wow--havent considered the oven meals--will have to do that next time--as i will have one.....goood thought--sounds yummy too...except the turnips(never could go there).....

[osirissail]

Glass anything is a major hazard on a cruising boat. We always go for plastic containers of any foods, drinks, cleaners, etc. whenever they are available. Broken glass is not something you want to have to deal with when underway in rough seas.
- - We deliberately acquired a large variety of the plastic containers and jugs for transferring anything we really needed from a glass container to a plastic container.
- - But for some critically important things like fine wine there isn't any choice so we learned to purchase a dozen or two athletic "tube" socks and then slide the glass wine bottles into the tube socks. Then you can stack or place the bottle up against each other without danger of breakage.
- - Additionally, you can purchase in places like Walmarts or other discount mass marketers, the "100" packets of Chinese washcloths and hand towels at incredible cheap prices. Then we use them to stuff into all our storage compartments for kitchen goods, spices, drinking glasses and plates whenever we get ready to head out on a passage. This stops the items from "rattling" and making distracting noises along with breaking if you fall off a wave or whatever. And the super cheap cloths and towels make great work-cloths for engine work and then you can throw them away when they are too dirty.

[Healer52]

We've had various messy things like cooking oil in plastic bottles leak from friction wearing holes in them. I'd rather have to clean broken glass (which, btw, I've never had to do on my boats) than have to clean a quart of wesson oil out of my bilge (which I had to do once). The calculus, btw, is 6x simple green to oil, applied three times. And then rebuild the bilge pump.

I learned to keep most messy things in plastic over-packs, like rubbermaid container.

[jallum]

Originally Posted by Jetexas

Here's one that I'm sure I didn't invent, but that just occurred to me last week. When I disassemble things (and my boat gets disassembled often), I throw all the screws into a ziplock bag. That's great and all except it usually doesn't take long before one has poked through the bag, and I end up losing several of them as the bags get shuffled around the cabin over the course of weeks or months or years or however long it takes me to put whatever it was back together.

To remedy this, I started saving my wine and champagne corks. I stick/twist the screws into the corks, then into the bag.

The only problem is I don't drink near enough wine to keep up with the screws to all my projects.

Got a cellphone with a camera? I take lots of pictures as I rip things apart, so that I know how they go back together again. It saves tons of time, frustration and I almost never have "leftover" parts!

[zeehag]

everyone knocks glass items on boats then turn around and brag about how good their canning techniques are. what do ye can into ?? tin?? i doubt anyone has a crimper for aluminum cans on board their boat. canning is done with glass containers. food stores well in glass.. doesnt store well in plastic for long as plastic cannot be decontaminated by heat. go figger. glass it is. breaks, clean it up--isnt as hard to clean glass while on your hands and knees as it is to break it standing up. and if the seaway is that busy-why open or touch items in glass?? i dont do that when i am cruising in a busy sea. i use easy open non breakables for those times, as would anyone, i hope.
i pack my glass items between plastic and soft items. works well and i dont have any extra bs to deal with like extra stuffies to put away when i am done opening a glass item.wash the container and place in safe storage spot specifically for those items and is all good. as i reside aboard, i keep what it takes to run a household on th ewater as well as what is needed for cruising--is impractical to turn ones home into a stowage place for extraneous items such as hundreds of small towellettes used only for packing glass. is also impractical to have to unpack glass items fore the washcloths used for showering. there is a middle ground between never gonna and have to ---if your boat has unlimited stowage, these little items are lovely. my boat is only 41 ft, and has just enough stowage for my clothing, bubby's needs and crew stowage, inclusive of linens and clothing, foodstuffs and equipment. i donot have the bin stowage performance cruisers have abundance of, to the loss of proper cabinetry and drawer space. i have those--with doors that latch, so stowage is a different problem here. many cruisers do have these cabinets, so placement of goods is more easily adapted from home.
i am not anal about glass on my boat , as i realize that to can foods and not be found dead at sea, one must use high heats for prolonged lengths of time to kill germs. some germs last 20 min in autoclave---try to get that high temp in a boat--wont happen. so, plastic is not a canning material. i AM anal about how glass is stowed on board, in that, once used, is cleaned and placed in glass safe storage for use again. immediately.
my stowage of glass was tested under pounding on spoils banks for an hour--the pounding didnt break anything except the rudder on the boat ....

[GordMay]

I don’t recall ever breaking a glass storage container aboard, nor breaking any of our ceramic cups, glass glasses, and/or Corelle plates. Perhaps we’re just not as clumsy as some (but, I think not).
I do recall a disaster resulting from a plastic Clorox bleach bottle chaffing through. Lesson learned.
There's a place for glass, metal, & plastic - and sometimes it doesn't even matter (much)
We managed to safely store the various containers & etc, aboard a 28.5 footer.

[SaucySailoress]

Originally Posted by GordMay

I don’t recall ever breaking a glass storage container aboard....

We pretty much forbid glass containers aboard - unless they have rum, wine or beer in them. That's because we sail barefoot, except in the depths of winter when the temperature drops right down to like 10C, when we need to wear socks and crocs.

But now you mention it, until a few years ago, we used to take bottled softies on the dive boats - crates of them - and don't recall anyone ever cutting themselves on a broken bottle (and customers are usually quite thick when it comes to safety issues).

[zeehag]

in the years since 1990 when i first moved on board my first boat, i have kept glass containers when i have had to --i drink coffee from a ceramic mug--have correlle dinnerware--only things to break have been that cheap hard plastic-doesnt tolerate sun well.

i use oil lamps--they have glass chimneys--there is no problem with glass---i sail barefoot in my home and on other peoples boats. i have sailed barefoot since i was 7 years of age--we were never told not to have glass items on board--we used to have sodas on board my uncle's boat--that was 1957--not as many plastic bottles at that time. so what is the big huge deal! in houses, folks walk barefoot and have glass items. granted the house doesnt heel at 15 degrees in 25 kts breezes, but there is still no need to ban glass from a boat--would be most difficult to maintain a cruising lifestyle wherein home canning is done. and oil lamps used and many other glassware items that are traditionally used on board.
when i was cruising in gulf last year we used some glass items--the boat is a performance cruiser--mine is heavy displacement...we had no difficulty with any of the glassware on board--we sailed in 71 kt storm winds--no problem.