'Marine' branded products are the best....... ?????????

[captainslarty]

\'Marine\' branded products are the best....... ?????????

Hi all fellow boatie types
Over the last few years Jayne and I have contemplated starting a website entirely devoted to removing the word 'MARINE' from products allowing the user to use over the shelf items for all sorts yachty...

Have you found products that are cheap, readily available and do the job.. without the dreaded word 'Marine' in the title...
Usually said products attract a 500% markup, plus vat, plus extra profit, plus vat again for the maker / distributer..

If so.. please post them here !

I will start with a few..........................................

Cleaning all things electrical on the outside.. ie.. plotters, laptop screens, instruments, outside of laptops, windows, metal work and the cat... ok ok, I lied about the cat /forums/images/graemlins/ooo.gif

Use.... DE-ICER spray... yes, the cheapo stuff available everywhere in the UK... it is the BEST screen cleaner known to man, will clean most things, anytime...

Painting fixed headlined panels... Cheapo Emulsion pain, vinyl type..

Decorating old bulheads with Melamine etc... wallpaper . Vinyl again.. excellent...

Protecting metal parts not usually visible... TEAK OIL (Tung oil is best) , buy it from hardwood flooring specialists, NOT swindleries.. Our cheapo generator is coated in it, no corrosion after 18 monthes at all, just try not to do the exhaust /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif

Changing fuel filters... fit a simple vaccum gauge 'tween the primary and secondary filter, with clean filters note the reading.. increases of vacuum indicate a partial blockage, no need to change otherwise.

Cabling for low voltage.. dont bother with the expensive 'Marine' grade, use normal household cabling of the correct current rating, must be flexible.. buy a quality soldering iron and tin the ends.. the last lot has lasted 28 years and is still going strong..

Data cabling in the boat.. ie nmea etc.. or instrument (non power handling... use cat5 network cable

Cleaning Fibreglass.. Household Paintbrush cleaner restorer.. excellent..

Cleaning teak... fairy liquid and water with a soft brush.. then use Tung oil..

Use softwood (pine) for all non structural packing pieces.. simply coat with tung oil or epoxy.

Epoxy.. many many types are available, there are products for laying hardwood floors - not the cheapo laminates, the real stuff, great for 99 % of repairs. below the waterline I do use branded or simply cheapo polyester.

Old firehose, like on the reel in hotels etc .. is the best (imho) line protector you can find, ask at the local firestation or next time you are in an hotel......... /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

Nylon line, buy in bulk at a ships chandler, or trawler outlet, not from you magazine outlet (Sorry magazine outlets !), buy in 100 mtr rolls. Use poly carbonate for mooring lines if you like. cheap and cheerful but works well. In bulk the price difference is negligable so use Nylon if possible.

Dont use bottled water !!! Eviian is Naiive spelt backwards (More or less) /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif..... use a good quality carbon silver filter available for household use, standard 10" membrane and housing.. if you have contaminated water use normal household bleach as a bug killer.. An aquarium 12v UV filter kills most things, a good addition.

The Library.. put a small sign up, books exchanged, one for one.. you never need to buy another.

There are many many more, but please add your best 'find'

Joe n Jayne
Yacht Ruddles

 

[Allan]

Re: \'Marine\' branded products are the best....... ?????????

One of the best discoveries on here has been Lidl! Lots of offers at the right prices.
Allan

 

[captainslarty]

Re: \'Marine\' branded products are the best....... ?????????

Must agree Allan, we get the offers from Lidl here in Spain, really good gear can be found.
Excellent tip

 

[Allan]

Re: \'Marine\' branded products are the best....... ?????????

SWMBO has a set of oilies which are very good. Breathable, fully waterproof (well tested this year), really well cut and a fifth the price of my Henry Lloyds. The material feels the same, just no Goretex label. I also have mooring ropes, fenders, other ropes, boltcroppers, plastic crockery, first aid kit and an emergency tool kit. I bought 3 tool kits, one for the boat, one for my car and one for my sons car. I have put an oily rag in each and sealed them with tape to stop them rusting, which has worked so far. The tools are not as good as my work tools but amazing quality for the price.
Allan

 

[Csail]

Re: \'Marine\' branded products are the best....... ?????????

Vinegar to clean toilet before leaving the boat.
Screwfix for most stuff.
Chilli powder in the antifoul
HP sauce on brass stuff

 

[FinesseChris]

Re: \'Marine\' branded products are the best....... ?????????

* Caravan shops: caravaners have similar domestic lives, more sense when it comes to shelling out £££. One example: of two solar-powered ventilators I have fitted, the crarvan one is still going well after 4 years, the "boaty" one packs up regularly, demands loving care with WD40, and then stops again..... It was also more expensive.
*TKMaxx for clothing: Gill/Musto/HH stuff at one third 'list price' often labelled 'last year's style'. Rain and spray don't change much in wetness from year to year, and while I agree that technical advances are made in clothing, I don't mind being 12 months behind*. They also do outdoor stuff -- shorts, trousers, tops, thermals, again at 50% less than Millets/climbing shops.

(*For street cred reasons, this advice to be ignored if you frequent Salcombe, or Cowes in early August.)
Chris

 

[captainslarty]

Re: \'Marine\' branded products are the best....... ?????????

Hi Chris... lol,,, Yes, it makes you wonder who buys floating rracing sunglasses hee hee
Yo can imagine the skippers response... to
I say Skipper, I think I have dropped my XYZ floating designer sunglasses in the briney, what ho ??, do you mind stopping ??

Insert reply here....................

 

[Twister_Ken]

Re: \'Marine\' branded products are the best....... ?????????

Bee and Queue - brushes, rollers, abrasives, glues, etc

Halfords - tools, polishes, electrics

Sainsburys - Fray Bentos!

 

[oughtoc]

Re: \'Marine\' branded products are the best....... ?????????

Hang on - floaty sunglasses have thier point. You'd never spot them if they went over whilst tunning up the channel anyway, but... every time I lean over the back of a tender to check the outboard / look at the big fish etc they plop right off and wait for me to fish them out. And yes I could use a piece of string, but half the the they're on top of my head

 

[pyrojames]

Re: \'Marine\' branded products are the best....... ?????????

Screwfix for all! Oh except Fray Bentos. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

 

[BlueSkyNick]

Re: \'Marine\' branded products are the best....... ?????????

how about Liveaboards wearing carpet slippers on board and on the pontoon, instead of expensive deck shoes?

 

[Danny Jo]

Re: \'Marine\' branded products are the best....... ?????????

1. Never pass a skip without having a look inside.

I'm a great fan of skip-fishing. Unfortunately, the best skips are located where the richest people* live, or keep their boats, so I don't often get the chance. On my regular visits to Oxford I make a point of trawling the skips lined up along Grafton street and roads off. New carpet offcuts, storage containers, timber in all shapes and sizes, and serviceable items such as barbeque equipment. There is nothing quite like the pleasure of recovering eight or nine 10" Spur shelving brackets in pristine condition from a skip, as I did once near Charing Cross.

For more boaty items, hang around the rubbish skips at one of the posher marinas for rope, tubing, fenders, etc. If you are lucky you may pick up last season's faded horse-shoe buoy. There is certainly no need ever to buy a kettle.

*Scotland excepted. If there are rich people there, they don't throw anything useful away.

2. Supermarkets, in evenings or in the hour or so before closing.

Bit of thread drift, I know, but if you're planning to cook up a Bolognese sauce before you sail, why pay full price for mince if there is some at less than half price about to go out of date? It has more flavour, anyway.

 

[Seagreen]

Re: \'Marine\' branded products are the best....... ?????????

Reclamation and salvage skips for very high quality timber. The local tip (sorry, recycling centre) for absolutely anything, especially old hand tools, blocks, anything at all.

Aldi for power tools, a local farmers supplies shop for any fixings brass or galvanised. Plastic containers, etc, etc.

Mates who work in high tech metalworking companies who will make expensive stainless steel and titanium bits for nothing more than a day's sailing!!! (I love these guys), and there's always Ebay, for the odd real bargain amongst the dross.