Enter the 2018 Stingy Sailor DIY Project Contest

Did you do a project on your sailboat last year that you’re particularly proud of? Or did you make an ingenious improvement that you’d like to share with other skippers? I’ve received comments and emails from many of you who rolled up your sleeves and took on DIY projects large and small, simple and complex. Now’s your turn to show off some of your hard work for a chance to win prizes and worldwide acclaim!
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How to Replace Old Drain Tubing

I’m not a neatnik that needs everything to be squeaky clean and new. Well, maybe just a little. But if maintaining a part gets neglected to the point that it affects functionality, then the part needs to be repaired or replaced in my book. A good example of this is your sailboat’s cockpit scupper, galley, anchor locker, and other drain tubing.

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We’re Celebrating Our 1st Anniversary!

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It’s hard to believe it’s been a year since I started this blog. The projects alone have been a lot of work, but building this blog has also been worth the effort. It’s gone from an undiscovered notebook on the fringe of the blogosphere to the fastest growing DIY sailboat improvement blog in the world! Well, I can’t prove its the fastest growing, but the global thing is for real. It gets hundreds of hits from sailors around the globe every week. Many thanks to all my international visitors, especially the many Canadians who come by. What are you guys doing up there, expanding your navy?

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How to Rebuild a Rotten Battery Tray

The battery tray on Summer Dance was heavily water damaged. The nails holding the side pieces to the base had rusted away and the pieces pulled away easily by hand, leaving only the base. It was badly stained and rotted and gave off a very funky smell. Fortunately, the previous owner had installed a plastic battery box and screwed the strap anchors into the base, but it had to be replaced completely.

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Ergonomic Hatch Dog Knobs

One of the first things that you learn when you step into a C-22 cabin is to watch your head. With the pop top down, there’s only a little over 4′ of headroom and you will hit your head on something every time you turn around. Every C-22 owner probably has scars on their scalp from the ends of hatch dog bolts. They protrude nearly straight down at you from right over the galley and settee, where you spend the most time!

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How to Restore a Kenyon Alcohol Stove

The early Catalina 22 yachts offered a sliding galley option. After moving one of the starboard salon cushions, the galley can be slid forward from its storage space under the starboard cockpit seat. The galley is equipped with a Kenyon Homestrand two burner cooking stove. The stove uses pressurized alcohol for fuel and works on the same principle as the more popular Coleman white gas stoves and lanterns.

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Clean That Filthy Bilge!

When we first purchased Summer Dance, the bilge compartment where the anchor, its chain, and rode (rope) were stowed was badly stained. The gear had been put away drenched with sea water and allowed to rust down there. The anchor was encrusted with barnacles and some of the galvanizing had been eaten away to the bare metal, which also rusted. The chain links were rusted nearly into a solid mass. And the rode, besides its metal thimble being equally rusted, had soaked up rusty water and acted as a sponge to keep things rusting.

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