Champers comes in handy!

[reeac]

During our first brief trip this season my wife was in the galley washing up the coffee cups when she wailed "it's crumbling in my hand!. When I enquired what "it" was she said that it was the galley sink drain valve. Fearing the worst I called her to the helm and dashed below to discover that it was simply the steel wheel of the gate valve, the valve itself looking OK. Fortunately I was able to rotate the remaining valve stem by hand but clearly we needed either a new valve or a replacement handle.

The situation was resolved a few days later when our daughter and family arrived bearing a bottle of champers for my birthday. I have now drilled the cork and it will become the "temporary" handle for the gate valve - cork, the new marine material - corrosion resistant, durable and buoyant ... can't go wrong!

 

[Poignard]

Good excuse for buying champagne (if one is needed, of course)

 

[prv]

There used to be a cork (ordinary wine, not champagne, that gives me heartburn) in my "scrapheap challenge" bag of bits.

It got used to block off the engine water pipe after I'd run it through with anti-freeze (it was siphoning/dribbling back otherwise).

Perhaps I should put a new one on board for future use?

Pete

 

[davidej]

We had to use one to plug the overflow from the holding tank while in Chatham marina.

 

[Poignard]

A wine bottle cork cut in half lengthways with a strip of abrasive paper wrapped round it makes a handy tool for sanding small areas.

 

[onesea]

Many years ago sailing a GP14 on Windmere the cork bung at the back of the boat went missing.

My crew got very perplexed about this, a short time later we sailed passed an anchored Mobo.

We sailed up to them in and I "Asked if they where drinking wine?" in quite a questioning voice.

They looked puzzeled and replied "yes"

I promptly asked if we could have there cork they obliged.

They did not know what to make of it as I stuck it in the whole and sailed off, with a much happier crew

Another reason to keep the wine locker topped up...

 

[VO5]

A wine bottle cork cut in half lengthways with a strip of abrasive paper wrapped round it makes a handy tool for sanding small areas.

Actually, it is an old clockmaker's trick.
Better to glue rectangles (rather than wrap around) of different grades of wet or dry and have an assortment handy.