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Do-It-Yourself Improvements
by Chris Caswell
How to lift stains off teak, make ice chests cooler, and other helpful tips
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Spray-on Teak Saver
If you have teak decks (or teak trim pieces), you know how easily they can get stains from greasy potato chips, a piece of ham from a sandwich or even -- heaven forbid -- an oil spill as you change a filter.
While you can dig out the oxalic acid and use it to bleach the teak back to its natural color, a much simpler -- and safer -- solution is available in the housewares section of your market.
Buy a can of spray-on stain remover for carpets, such as Carbona, and keep it aboard for just such a problem.
Spray the stained teak lightly. You'll see the white foam turn brownish as it draws the greasy oil from the teak. After the foam has dried to a powder, simply brush it away -- and the stain will be gone.
Serious stains, such as dirty engine oil, may require several applications.
This Cover Carries Snacks
One of my friends has a new Sea Ray, and it's equipped with a clever cover for the top of the galley stove burners. The cover does double duty as a serving tray, with recesses to hold glasses and snacks.
While the one on that boat was made of plastic to exactly fit the stovetop, the idea can be easily adapted to any boat.
Start with a good piece of teak, sized to fit atop your galley stove. Use a router to cut indentations that fit your glassware, and to cut out shallow compartments to hold snacks.
When you're finished, you'll have a customized tray that can carry everybody's favorite snacks and beverages to the cockpit in one trip.
Hooked on Air Flow
When I'm away from my boat, I want to let air flow through the cabins without restriction, to keep the boat smelling fresh, to prevent condensation and, of course, to defeat mildew. I've tried a variety of ways to prop open the doors to the stateroom and the head, but they either didn't work or were too much trouble.
The solution I finally hit on was to add an inexpensive hook-and-eye latch to each door, with the hook on the inside of the door and the eye on the outside frame. Together, this combination holds the door open a few inches.
To keep the hook from rattling when not in use, I added another eye on the inside of the door as well.
A Private Anchor Line
Watching other boaters anchor is always fascinating, especially if the skipper is yelling at his crew over the sound of the engine and the wind. I enjoy the spectacle, but I would never want to be the one putting on the show.
At first, my crew and I worked out hand signals, so that they would know what I wanted them to do, which worked fine. The problem is that the crewmember has to be looking at me to see what I'm signaling, and that isn't always possible if the crew is busy with the anchor gear.
I ended up buying a compact intercom system at an electronics store, with two stations and about 50 feet of connecting wire. The intercom is powered by an internal 9v battery in the master unit, which I mounted on the flybridge in a weatherproof electronics box.
I ran the cable through the boat and into the anchor locker. From there, it goes up through the hole in the deck for the anchor rode.
Since the intercom isn't waterproof, I cut the wiring and soldered in a male-female plug on each side.
As we prepare to anchor, my crew simply takes the small intercom box forward, plugs it in and hangs the unit on a hook from the bow pulpit. I can speak at a conversational level on the bridge -- and my crew can easily hear every word.
Longer Lighter
Lighting an alcohol stove with a regular kitchen match can be frightening -- and even dangerous -- if the pan of alcohol catches with a "whump" before you can get your hand back out of the way.
Of course, you could buy one of those "stove lighters" with a long handle, but they're expensive -- and they can take up space in an already cramped galley.
I created my own compact stove lighter by using epoxy glue to attach an inexpensive alligator clip (found in hardware stores or electronics supply shops) to a 12 inch scrap of wire coat hanger.
After the clip was attached to the wire, I was able to simply use the jaws of the alligator clip to hold a wood or paper match -- while I remained far away from the igniting stove burner.
Make Your Ice Chest Colder
As summer heat arrives, the efficiency of iceboxes and ice chests found on most small power boats declines rapidly. Even if the insulation is thick and the top is tight fitting, you'll find that your blocks of ice can dwindle quickly.
One way to improve the efficiency of your icebox or chest -- without adding more insulation to the outside -- is to reduce the amount of air inside. Ideally, you should fill your icebox to the brim, which maximizes the cooling effect of the ice and makes it last longer. But that isn't practical, especially if you're removing sodas and food during the day.
I solved the problem by taking several large zipper-lock self-sealing plastic bags and filling them with the Styrofoam pellets used to pad packages. Fit as many of the peanut-shaped pellets into the bags as possible, then seal the opening. Lay the bags on top of the food in the icebox, covering the entire area -- as high as space allows under the lid.
Not only do the bags fill up the dead airspace, they act as a thermal barrier to keep cold air around the food and make the ice last longer.
Which Way is Up?
I was irritated by the instrument panel on my new power boat, because it seemed difficult to read the gauges. I realized that unlike the gauges in an aircraft cockpit that are aligned for easy scanning, my boat's helm console was a helter-skelter mess: The ammeter pointed in one direction, the oil pressure gauge pointed another and the engine temperature gauge pointed yet another way.
I solved the problem by pencil-marking the normal operating position of each needle on each gauge. Then, by loosening the mounting brackets behind the panel, I simply turned each gauge until all the pencil-marked positions were aligned.
The result is that, at normal operating temperatures and pressures, all my gauge needles point straight up. It's quick and easy to scan the gauges now, and it makes any errant reading stand out prominently.
A second advantage I discovered later is that this makes it easy for me to turn the helm over to a novice: All the "guest skipper" has to remember is that all the needles should point up when things are normal.
Hideaway Sea Rails
Sea rails on tabletops are essential for keeping everything in place while you're under way, but the rails can get in the way the rest of the time.
I replaced the permanent sea rails on my dinette table with 2 inch aluminum strips, as shown in the adjacent illustration. The L-shaped slots cut in the side mate to #10 round head wood screws in the sides of the tabletop to hold the rails securely at two different heights.
By leaving the screws just loose enough to move the aluminum rails, you can adjust the height to the higher notch (dropping the rail out of the way) or to the lower notch for a sturdy sea rail that guards against sliding cups and plates.
I cut the "L" slots with multiple drill holes, then filed them smooth. After the rails had been finished, I had them anodized for a finished look.
A Self-Moistening Swab
At anchor or on a mooring, swabbing down the deck means constantly leaning over the rail to wet the brush. Combine a bucket of water with the brush, and you'll save effort.
I took a half-gallon plastic jug and cut a hole in the bottom large enough to slide down the brush handle. The neck should be slit vertically, so that a stainless steel hose clamp holds it in place.
Small cuts around the neck allow the water to sprinkle out slowly, and larger cuts near the top speed the filling process. This system takes most of the work out of keeping the deck clean.
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This article first appeared in the April 1, 1996 issue of Sea Magazine. All or parts of the information contained in this article might be outdated. |
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