Marine Improvisation

[DAKA]

Madboater got me thinking about all the kitchen utensils I have used in the past for the boat, what have you improvised ?


I used swmbos measuring jug for 2 T oil.......she caught me putting in the dishwasher and I had to buy her a new one

I empted a fairy liquid bottle into a cup to make a get you home hydraulic steering drip for a mate.

I used a duster as a 'Q' flag .

I filled an aluminium drinking flask for holding diesel ready for a quick filter change (got into trouble from my daughter, I didnt know there was a picture of Husher's rent boy on it)

And from the depths of the kitchen cupboard I used an everready bike light as an impeller puller.

What have you utilized either in an emergency or just being tight

 

[neale]

My mum still has in her kitchen drawer a knife with a crease half way along the blade. This has been like that for around 35 years after it was used as some sort of makeshift tool to get our old Seagull outboard going. I have no idea what the problem was, or how the knife was used, as I was only 8 years old but it still brings a smile to my face every time I see it.

 

[DAKA]

My mum still has in her kitchen drawer a knife with a crease half way along the blade. This has been like that for around 35 years after it was used as some sort of makeshift tool to get our old Seagull outboard going. I have no idea what the problem was, or how the knife was used, as I was only 8 years old but it still brings a smile to my face every time I see it.

Vent screw on the filler cap perhaps , the slot was made for your mum's kitchen knife

 

[Ripster]

Used knives on a few occasions for popping out the valve cover on the tender and scrapping various pieces of muck/paint from things. SWMBO once rumbled me using a desert spoon which I bent through 90 degs to scoop out the last of some coolant from a crevice in the bilge - then bent it back and washed it up - but she spotted the kink and scolded me accordingly. The other thing is using teatowels to mop up various fluids from the engine when my intended rag is too saturated, then trying to sneak them into the laundry.

 

[MystereMarcus]

Many years ago (I think I was about 6 or 7 at the time), it was the end of the season and we were taking the family boat out of the water for the Winter. My Mother and myself were stood with the trailer on the slipway while my Father and Brother brought the boat in. As they approached the slipway the engine stalled and wouldn’t restart, the tide was ebbing and they started to drift out to sea. Quick as a flash my Father disappeared into the cabin and returned with my Mother’s best frying pan which he used to paddle the boat to shore. It was a joke in our house for many years to keep a frying pan next to the liferaft – It did take several years for Mother to see the funny side though!
Madboater, I don’t recall if it was Teflon coated or not.

 

[Assassin]

PIB (polyisobutylene) tape, its rubberised and self vulcanises, great for burst rubber hoses and lasts for years. Some idiot punctured a top hose on my BMW and repaired it with this, did over 250,000 miles with it on.
Used it on many peoples boats as a temporary repair and for waterproofing electrical connections.

Epoxy putty, great stuff for many things, now much cheaper.

Multi tool, great thing to have aboard.