Usless items you have bought?

[Nostrodamus]

We have all bought various items for our boats thinking “that would be handy or that looks a good idea” but it reality it is a waste of money. What items have you bought that have been completely usless?

 

[Marsupial]

We have all bought various items for our boats thinking “that would be handy or that looks a good idea” but it reality it is a waste of money. What items have you bought that have been completely usless?

If by useless you mean have never been used and should have been thrown overboard then I ve spent thousands on life rafts, flares, dan bouys, MOB recovery systems and life lines and life jackets, EPIRBs, fire extinguishers an so on over the years and have yet to use any of it! so was it a waste of money?

 

[Nostrodamus]

If by useless you mean have never been used and should have been thrown overboard then I ve spent thousands on life rafts, flares, dan bouys, MOB recovery systems and life lines and life jackets, EPIRBs, fire extinguishers an so on over the years and have yet to use any of it! so was it a waste of money?

I know what you mean. I have a off shore container of various flares that came with the boat and are all well past there sell by date and now I am trying to work out what to do with them.

I also bought a cheap electric kettle once that could not be used without turning every other electrical item off for fear of blowing the marinas power.

 

[Csail]

Liferaft and flares.....never use them.

 

[DJE]

Brass oil-change pump.
Struggled for years with mess and burnt fingers then saw the light and bought a Pela.

 

[fergie_mac66]

Bought swimbo a hurricane lamp for a birthday . Its never burnt well it blows out and its given me no end of trouble !

 

[Twister_Ken]

Fenderstep.

Boat isn't as tall as I thought.

NASA Clipper Navtex.

Most unreliable box of sparks ever.

 

[Evadne]

When the grill burner grew so rusty that it wouldn't toast anymore we bought one of those toast making thingies that go on top of a pot burner. Useless, unless you like the taste of charcoal.

 

[Deleted member 36384]

An Opinel knife - looked sharp and robust with a fold away locking blade. A light dab of 3 in 1 should stop the blade rusting.

The wood became swollen such that it took a gorilla to move the blade. Then it rusted up anyway. A waste of time on a boat.

Many years later I tried another, the lock and blade were so loose that I nearly chopped my fingers off.

A signalling mirror in case an adventurous aviator is in the vicinity! Anyway, its de silvered now, so not much use.

A stack pack.

 

[Ubergeekian]

I don't know where the RDF set I bought second hand from Thomas Foulkes is and I don't care!

 

[Barnacle Bill]

Completely there with all the unused safety gear (including all the unused out-of-date medicines for the Category 0 coded boat) and I would love to work out how cost-effective all that expenditure is in terms of safety, somehow ...

The most useless boat-show purchase was a 'clever' folding ladder, that didn't really work with any weight on it, and then there was the collapsable danbuoy which literally fell apart on the clandlery floor ... and all those breathable waterproofs that leak after a year .... and how about those joke lights you attach to your horseshoe life-belts that don't work when the battery terminal corrodes very slightly in damp air ...

 

[Searush]

I bought a remaindered RDF from Ladyline in Liverpool in early 1980's, just before they went bust. Cost me a fiver & only ever picked up aero beacons & R4 forecasts. Still in a locker somwhere.

 

[White_Lady]

yes!

A small boaty washing machine!

Me Ebay and a bottle of wine is not a good mixture!!

 

[[10753]]

Spanners that allegedly undo any size nut - bought the set years ago - never found a nut they work on

 

[Twister_Ken]

And then, of course, there are the bendy anchors from Rocna!

 

[Allan]

And then, of course, there are the bendy anchors from Rocna!

Designed for anchoring across the tide?
Allan

 

[FullCircle]

Expensive winch handles. They fly over the side. In fact I only deploy my Chrome Harkens when trying to impress, and keep a close eye incase they launch themselves in a dash for freedom.
Cheap ones bought off ebay for less than a tenner tenaciously stay on the boat.

 

[Blueboatman]

Cheap antifouling. Repeat mistake as often as you wish.

 

[DanTribe]

I don't know where the RDF set I bought second hand from Thomas Foulkes is and I don't care!

Aah Thomas Foulkes! What a cavern of delights.
Their catalogue was compulsive reading and often took the rise out of themselves.
Two items I recall.
Ex WD sand goggles, issued to troops in North African desert " very handy when sailing in dusty areas"

Wim Woms, a loop of wire with a spring clip attached. "These must be very useful for something and we sell loads, but can't actually think what they're for"

 

[prv]

Inappropriate tenders are probably the thing I've wasted the most money on. An inflatable Canadian canoe - good piece of kit for its intended purpose, but not good for getting you to the pub dry - and a hard dinghy I planned to convert into a nester - decided it was really too big and heavy to manhandle on the foredeck, while not really big and stable enough as a boat to be worthwhile (eBay seller had overstated the length slightly). The 5'10" inflatable my Dad bought when we got the boat is also pretty rubbish, but I don't list it as a mistake since *maybe* it could get someone ashore if needed unexpectedly, and it's small, so it lives on board as our "Solent" tender.

I now have a decent sized Bombard and outboard to lash on deck for trips where I know a tender will be needed.

Pete