Cruising gadgets, knowledge, and ideas for the cruising sailor
If I’m going on a delivery, chartering, or racing long distance offshore and I’m responsible for the cooking, here’s one of the tricks I use. Buying spices can be expensive, and if you are on the boat for just one week, it can be wasteful too. So what I do is use a “pill dispenser” to bring some spices along
» Read moreThe correct name for this is “The Breathing Mobile Washer”. You may have seen one of these around the docks. My friend Becky De told me about this. It is an improvement over the plumbers toilet plunger. It is designed to really move the water around and agitate as well as a real washing machine. It really works well, for
» Read moreIf you are thinking about going cruising in the Bahamas or Caribbean you may want to have a Single Sideband radio aboard. This would allow you to listen to radio nets and broadcasts for weather. I would also allow you to talk to other boats further away than VHF range of about 25 miles. If you pair the radio up
» Read moreEggs in the Bag I think the Girl Scouts started this one. At least they are aware of it somehow. I’ve done it on several boat trips and I’ve been asked to post it here. I learned about it years ago from some sailing article. It is kinda neat. This is cooking your scrambled eggs in a Ziploc bag that
» Read moreSpray bottle – Want to save water when rinsing the dishes? We go this tip from another cruiser. We use a spray bottle to spray off our clean dishes instead of running them under the tap. It really works well and uses just a fraction of the water to rinse the dishes.
» Read moreDish Pegs – The problem was that while underway, and healed over, we couldn’t open the cabinet that housed our dishes or they’d all come sliding out. We installed 4″ high pegs in the cabinet shelf to keep these items from falling out on us. The pegs are easily removable, and can be configured in any way by drilling more
» Read moreThis is a good way to organize and not lose things in the refrigerator box. Lingerie Bags – for the guys that don’t know, these are small mesh bags that ladies put their frilly under things in when they go in the washer machine. They are about a two gallon size, have a nylon zipper, and are very sturdy. I
» Read moreHere is an idea on how to keep bottom paint on your prop longer. I generally get 14-18 months of a clean prop here in Florida which is about as bad as it gets in the marine growth department. After this time I’ll begin to get barnacles, and when removing small barnacles, I tend to also remove the paint on
» Read moreThis might be considered an essential. It’s high on the list anyway. You might want to consider installing a permanent, good quality water filter on your galley water supply. My wife is rather particular about the water she drinks, and her ice tea. She does not care for “boat tank” water, unless that is, it’s clean and it has been
» Read moreIf you are cruising long term, you know that finding paper towels can be difficult in the smaller villages. When you do find them, they are usually very expensive compared to back home. Plus, paper towel rolls take up a lot of storage space, and create a lot of trash. The alternative is a good chamois. There are many options
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