Nugland

Even though we have all of four or five hours of sailing Centennial in the log, we have tried to think about ways to improve the experience while sticking to the idea of not spending a whole lot of money.

I will use this page to share some of those ideas — and their success or failure — as a source for other cruisers.

I’ll update it as more occurs to me.

These will initially be in no particular order.

Cheap red rope
The Loys provided me with a spool of inexpensive red rope to use to secure all the loose bits on Centennial before she went for her big truck-ride. I cut a mess of (approximately) 18″ pendants with small bowlines on one end. Once Centennial got to Ohio, they all came off, but I saved them. They’re really handy for securing all sorts of things around the boat.

I have a rule for them, though: above the deck, they are used to secure things that need to be unsecured before sailing. Because they are the only red ropes on deck, it’s really easy to see if you’ve left something tied up (that shouldn’t be) before you sail. (And, yes, I sort of got the idea from the use of red ‘remove before flight’ items in aviation.)

Bulk dried food
(Go here to see what I’m mostly talking about here.) OK, it is true that I am not planning on sailing very far anytime soon, so why fuss about this now? The answer: stock your boat for a long cruise, then go sailing anytime you want without fussing over provisioning her. Were you to stock up for a month-long cruise, you could sail every weekend without agonizing over what food to take down to the boat each time. The link above is to an outfit that sells ingredients to people who want to stock up on staples for, oh, I dunno, the rapture?, but asian grocery stores also stock tons of dried ingredients that are astonishing in both their variety and low cost. Additionally, plain ol’ rice and (for those who can stomach it) oatmeal are sold everywhere. Also:
Whole salamis and Laughing Cow Cheese will store indefinitely without refrigeration.

GFCI outlets
As seen here, I rigged up a shore power connection for almost no money (compared to the built-for-cruising-boats stuff sold at places like West Marine or Defender) by using a hardware-store-purchased GFCI outlet as the first stop for the shore power wires. Very safe if wired correctly, and they immediately trip themselves if wired incorrectly.

Butane soldering iron
These are great for melting the cut ends of ropes on board. I got this one from radio Shack and it actually worked (unlike the one I got from Harbor Freight). You’ll also have to get some butane to fill it with, but every convenience store carries that (for refilling butane lighters).

Lee cloths
These are considered a requirement for off-shore cruising (they keep you from falling out of your berth when sleeping while underway — link), but are actually really handy when day-sailing as well. You can pile your loose junk on a berth and it will stay there when the boat starts heeling and pounding.

Cigarette-jack fan
(And, of course, 12V cigarette jacks.) Sold cheaply to RVers and truckers, they make things much more bearable below decks (assuming you can spare the amps).

Stick-on non-skid feet
They sell pads of little silicone feet that can convert just about any smallish item into one that won’t slide around so much when the boat heels. Can be hard to find, but worth the search.

DYMO embossing label maker
Classic, waterproof, and doesn’t require batteries.

Knives with plastic sheaths
KitchenAid makes some very handy galley knives that come with a blade cover. That means that you can chuck ‘em into a drawer without worries. Even cheaper sets of paring knives (which make great steak knives) are available at various kitchen outlets. (A reminder: non-folding knives without sheaths should never be stored loose. Opinel makes the best folding kitchen knives if you want to go that route.)