storage tips and ideas

[tmoandj]

Does anyone know of a good source for mesh bags? I bought a few at a dollar store last year and have found them indispensable but I didn't buy enough! We have colour-coded mesh bags for laundry right now (There are three of us) but I can think of dozens of other uses for them and they help your items "mold" to the shape of the locker. I haven't been able to find any for a decent price since. I'm afraid I might have to add "sewing bags" to my project list!

[GordMay]

I like Lock & Lock containers ➥ https://locknlock-usa.com/

[Suijin]

Originally Posted by tmoandj

Does anyone know of a good source for mesh bags? I bought a few at a dollar store last year and have found them indispensable but I didn't buy enough! We have colour-coded mesh bags for laundry right now (There are three of us) but I can think of dozens of other uses for them and they help your items "mold" to the shape of the locker. I haven't been able to find any for a decent price since. I'm afraid I might have to add "sewing bags" to my project list!

Simply put, Amazon. They have them in every conceivable size shape and color from a zillion different vendors, and the review system allows you to sort out which ones are trash.

[Sea Dreaming]

Originally Posted by tmoandj

Does anyone know of a good source for mesh bags? I bought a few at a dollar store last year and have found them indispensable but I didn't buy enough! We have colour-coded mesh bags for laundry right now (There are three of us) but I can think of dozens of other uses for them and they help your items "mold" to the shape of the locker. I haven't been able to find any for a decent price since. I'm afraid I might have to add "sewing bags" to my project list!

You can buy mesh bags online at dollar tree. They are all white bUT you could sew a colored band around them. 12 bucks for a case! 12x15 would be 36 bags, bigger 12 bags. I'm going to do this myself!

[Dave22q]

I use clear plastic bags to organize most small parts placed into larger bags by category e.g. electrical, plumbing, painting, screws/bolts/washers. Works fairly well for my irregular hatches. In the cockpit hatches I use laundry baskets on wood rails to stow chemicals, lines, life jackets, go bag, etc. I needed to place wood false floor because my hatches are too deep and stuff wants to migrate to the center out of easy reach.

[jkindredpdx]

+1 clear locktop boxes, 3-5 gal buckets with gamma seal screw lid, defined storage areas... electrical, diesel, hardware. Agree also don't keep too many spares.

[redhead]

I use transparent boxes of different sizes (easier to see contents) and then dollar store mesh bags to store stuff in between said boxes.

A lesson learned the hard way: Don't permanently label the boxes (with a Sharpie for example) until you are 100% certain that the box will be adequate to hold all of whatever that particular thing is. Example: I have a box labelled "tape, all" then you see "all" crossed out and "electrical" written in marker. Then "tape, electrical" is crossed out and "caulk" written in. Very confusing. Your storage plan will evolve and nothing is ever permanent, at least in my experience.

I also second a boat inventory, with every locker, cabinet, drawer, cubby and lazarette drawn out and numbered. Being a luddite, I did it on loose leaf paper and wrote in pencil (see??? I had learned my lesson about markers). That binder has saved me hours of hunting, and impresses my husband no end. The frustration level when a tool is needed has gone down considerably.

I understand most people in the 21st century can do this on a spread sheet in their 'puter. Imagine that.

[bill martin]

Originally Posted by Dave22q

I use clear plastic bags to organize most small parts placed into larger bags by category e.g. electrical, plumbing, painting, screws/bolts/washers. Works fairly well for my irregular hatches. In the cockpit hatches I use laundry baskets on wood rails to stow chemicals, lines, life jackets, go bag, etc. I needed to place wood false floor because my hatches are too deep and stuff wants to migrate to the center out of easy reach.

I have been using a very old sail in its bag to level the floor of the lazerette that provides access to the diesel motor. I will be taking pictures of the motor tomorrow.

[hzcruiser]

Originally Posted by StuM

Whoosh, that one went right over his head

It sure did.

[hzcruiser]

Don't want to be a party pooper, but I might add what didn't work for me, at least so far: old milk crates.

They stack up great, are sturdy and cheap or free, but they are difficult to actually put away. Either they are too big for the space, or you just don't fit two in there, hence wasting a lot of room. Many lockers are not rectangular with vertical walls but slope outwards along the hull. Impossible to stack them up efficiently.

The crate structure allows to see what's in them but also invites every pokey bit to stick out which then makes moving the crate around more of a hassle. As soon as something sticks above the top there is no more stacking either.

So I think I'll have to retire them and go with meshed duffel bags instead, unless someone has a working solution that uses crates?

[Sea Dreaming]

Originally Posted by hzcruiser

Don't want to be a party pooper, but I might add what didn't work

So I think I'll have to retire them and go with meshed duffel bags instead, unless someone has a working solution that uses crates?

Crates are great for canned goods. But not all lockers are created equal. We used crates in our mac x. We cannot use crates in our much larger Cheoy Lee. THE lockers are larger but the openings are smaller.

[bill martin]

Originally Posted by Sea Dreaming

Crates are great for canned goods. But not all lockers are created equal. We used crates in our mac x. We cannot use crates in our much larger Cheoy Lee. THE lockers are larger but the openings are smaller.

The problem is most of the storage available aboard a sailboat is oddly and uniquely shaped. So crates are not variable enough. Even with shelves, the backs of the space matches the angles of the boat. A bunch of various bags wherein you can view the contents not too small not too big might be helpful. Clear plastic bags would work well with dry and canned goods. I currently keep tools that will rust in sturdy ziplock bags that I have thoroughly sprayed with WD 40.
Bill Martin

[Sojourner]

Originally Posted by delmarrey

A couple things I have done is make a spare parts list and ID their location on the boat, which I keep in a maintenance log next to the cursing log.

If I kept cursing logs onboard, most of my storage would go toward that library

On our Super Maramu, there is more storage space than in our apartment. But my problem is I just bought this boat, and the previous owner left everything behind. So I try to switch storage spaces or move this sail to another place to make it more 'custom' to my needs, only to discover that the dude had figured it all out already. More than a few times I ended up unpacking two entire lockers to swtich things around and after a frustrating afternoon not being able to tetris the contents how I thought, repacking them exactly the way he had them in the first place I've more or less stopped trying.... if it's already in a spot, it's there for a very good reason!

[Steadman Uhlich]

Originally Posted by Sojourner

If I kept cursing logs onboard, most of my storage would go toward that library

On our Super Maramu, there is more storage space than in our apartment. But my problem is I just bought this boat, and the previous owner left everything behind. So I try to switch storage spaces or move this sail to another place to make it more 'custom' to my needs, only to discover that the dude had figured it all out already. More than a few times I ended up unpacking two entire lockers to swtich things around and after a frustrating afternoon not being able to tetris the contents how I thought, repacking them exactly the way he had them in the first place I've more or less stopped trying.... if it's already in a spot, it's there for a very good reason!

I enjoy your sense of humor expressed in good writing.

[Sojourner]

Originally Posted by Steadman Uhlich

I enjoy your sense of humor expressed in good writing.

Hey Steadman! Thanks! In a former life (one of a few...) I was a writer, so I guess maybe I haven't forgotten everything