Category: Accessories

Accessories, Outboard motor10 Comments

How to Make an Air Compressor-Powered Oil Extractor

$tingy Sailor

This project isn’t strictly for small sailboats or for boats in general. It’s a multi-purpose project that you can use for many jobs.

Do you change your own motor oil, not just in your outboard motor but in all your vehicles and power equipment? Do you still stoop down or lay on your back to remove the drain plug? Pour the used oil from a drain pan through a funnel into a different container for disposal? Clean your hands, drain pan, funnel, and garage floor or driveway when you’re through?

There’s a better way. Do it like a professional mechanic instead.

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Accessories, Product reviews2 Comments

Product Review: Black & Decker 12V Handheld Vacuum

$tingy Sailor

When it’s time to suck up all the dirt and debris that’s collected inside your sailboat since the last time you cleaned it, what do you do? Haul out a bulky, heavy shop vacuum? Wrestle with its big hoses and extension cords? Put it off because it’s too much of a hassle? Before I got this handy little vacuum, that’s what I did. Continue reading “Product Review: Black & Decker 12V Handheld Vacuum”

Accessories, Product reviews4 Comments

Product Review: Mr. Heater Portable Buddy Propane Heater

$tingy Sailor

It’s Autumn here in North America. Temperatures are sliding down to freezing at night in the northern states and many skippers are pulling their boats out for the winter layover. I can almost hear my Canadian readers shouting, “You’re about a month late, eh!” If you’re done sailing for 2015, I hope you made lots of great memories, sailed to some new destinations, made new friends, and learned a few things here on this blog that you were able to use on your boat.

If you’re not done yet and you don’t mind adding a clothing layer or two to stay warm, if you look forward to the yachties getting out of your way, if you welcome the stronger Fall breezes, if you’re hardcore, then you might be interested in a little cabin heat at dinnertime or to take the chill off in the morning before the coffee’s hot. Continue reading “Product Review: Mr. Heater Portable Buddy Propane Heater”

Accessories, Product reviews16 Comments

Product Review: Dometic 970 Series Portable Toilet

$tingy Sailor

There’s a television commercial that still plays occasionally in which a very honest-looking woman says “It’s time to get real about what goes on in the bathroom.” I like it because it’s probably the most truthful line in advertising to hit mass media in a decade.

You can ask Mrs. $tingy. Discussions around what goes on in the bathroom are near the bottom of my list of topics to discuss in polite company. Or rude company for that matter. I find them all to be pretty juvenile and worthless. But I’m usually a pretty serious guy, so there you go. Continue reading “Product Review: Dometic 970 Series Portable Toilet”

Accessories, Electrical, Trailer1 Comment

Speed Up Trailer Hookups with a Backup Camera

$tingy Sailor

This project isn’t on the boat at all but it can make getting the boat on and off the water faster and easier for the trailer sailor. I’ve used trailers for most of my adult life, so I’m pretty good at backing them up. But getting the hitch ball right under a coupler on the first try is next to impossible without some kind of aid, either human or otherwise. I’ve tried the antenna ball gizmos but they’re not accurate enough if you have a really heavy trailer that you can’t muscle into place. And bless her heart, the first mate tries to line me up right but it doesn’t work out most of the time, which means one or both of us can easily get frustrated. Not a good way to start or end a great cruise.
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Accessories, Cabin, Electrical14 Comments

Brighten up Your Cabin with LED Strip Lighting

$tingy Sailor

It seems that every C-22 owner upgrades their cabin lighting at some point. The original dome lights are not very bright or sturdy and their incandescent bulbs use a lot of battery power. In Summer Dance, the previous owner had replaced the two salon dome lights with the combination white/red LED lights from a certain Catalina parts dealership. They don’t use much power but they also don’t put out much light either.

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