Useful items free or near free adapted for use on boat ...

Lost your end of spreader fancy sail protectors ?

Cheap and easy replacement .... tyhose plastic practice tennis balls .. you know the ones with all the holes in ... cut and fit .. couple of tie wraps and done.
 
Need a quick reckoner for True to Compass and back ?

Couple of 360 deg school protractors ... one on top of other .. small bolt through centre pivot hole... make it so its bit stiff to turn .... set one against other for variation +/- deviation ... instant read of either way ..
 
Rappey said:
I'm amazed at how many replace their battery's every 2 to 3 years regardless.
There are some great devices for testing a battery's health even when flat.
It's like Xmas when you find a pile of yuasa battery's in great working condition
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As I was coming out of my local bank branch, the alarm maintenance man was taking away two one-year old gel batteries- like the ones used on golf trolleys.

"Where are you taking those?"

"To the skip"

"No you are not - you are putting them in the boot of my car"

(The actual dialogue was more polite than that!)

I haven't found a nautical use for them yet but they make ideal starter batteries for my RC Glow engines
 
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davidej said:
As I was coming out of my local bank branch, the alarm maintenance man was taking away two one-year old gel batteries- like the ones used on golf trolleys.

"Where are you taking those?"

"To the skip"

"No you are not - you are putting them in the boot of my car"

(The actual dialogue was more polite than that!)

I haven't found a nautical use for them yet but they make ideal starter batteries for my RC Glow engines
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You're lucky they gave them to you !! Most things I see in UK and you say - instead of dumping - I'll have - the usual answer is : How much you give me .. or .. More than my Jobs worth !
 
Farm supplies for any rigging shackles.
Fabric shops for bits of coloured fabric for making signal and courtesy flags .
Engineering supplies for shafts, bearings V-belts and pulleys.. Drive chain ans sprockets for wheel steering.
I have 6 heads at home saved from boat yard skips. Don't ask
Irrigation suppliers for water pipe fittings.
Hydraulic and pneumatic suppliers for pipe fittings.
Steel scrap yards for bits of stainless steel.
Chain hoist and crane maintenance factories for old chain for anchor. These must be replaced every 5 years.
I have made extending boat hooks and hull cleaning brushes from extending poles for swimming pools nets and cleaning equipment.
 
Offcut of fan ducting, with a spare joining flange to hold the bag, made an excellent galley bin holder to fit on the back of a narrow door.
 
Refueler said:
I forgot about that ... I did same ... in fact I fitted same eBay buzzer to the 'ignition' circuit of the engine - so I know when alternator actually kicks in after start.
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I used a buzzer like that to tell me when I try to start my boat engine with it in gear. ( start gear interlock)
 
fredrussell said:
I bought a cheap Lidl paper shredder and now, instead of sailing, I just stay at home and feed twenty quid notes into it.
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:giggle:

Have to say that moving the boat to my private mooring over here has made a world of difference. No more mooring / marina fees ..
Annual boating cost for me ? including the Soviet Speedboat fuel etc .. less than 500 quid .. probably less than that ...
 
Poignard said:
I cut up an old mahogany dining table top that someone gave me to get timber to repair my coach roof.
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I did this in about 1970 to make the dagger boards and rudder blades of a Unicorn A-Class catamaran I was building.

My mother was horrified and said that it was a valuable antique. I asked her how, if it was so valuable, it had been in her garage for the previous 20 years of so!
 
Small bottle brush with the twisted wire cut down and fixed into a bicycle brake outer.
The only way to riddle out the entire length of a blocked galley sink drain pipe (a sink full of boiling water and fairy liquid helps.)
 
Non marine solar panels (ironically, also used for Nav aids) 50W at 35 euro a pop. Still looking good after 3 years. Best thing I ever fitted. Marine quality paint from the commercial paint supplier - without the 50 euro anchor on it. Stainless steel fittings from architectural railing supplier.
 
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