Tag: storage

Rigging3 Comments

Handy and Cheap Line Hangers

$tingy Sailor

When I first started sailing, I stored all my unused lines, sheets, and cords in a large plastic bag in the starboard lazarette. I knew there was a better way to organize them, but I hadn’t seen it yet. First, I came across some teak line caddys. And while I liked their design and the fact that the teak would look at home in Summer Dance, they wouldn’t afford a lot of storage for the amount of space that they would occupy. In a C-22, you have to maximize every cubic inch.

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Outboard motor17 Comments

15 Outboard Motor Maintenance Blind Spots You Can’t Afford to Miss

$tingy Sailor

I don’t know about you, but it’s hard for me to make the time to put away my outboard motor for the winter properly. There always seems to be a dozen other chores of higher priority at the same time. Besides winterizing Summer Dance, there’s other fair weather projects to wrap up.

It’s tempting to just store the outboard as-is and deal with it in the spring. Or to just do the minimum maintenance and turn a blind eye to the rest. Procrastinating is so easy. But I know life will be just as hectic in the spring if not more so. Either I’ll forget to do those other maintenance tasks altogether or the guilt of knowing the condition I left my motor in will haunt me. So I may as well roll up my sleeves and do it. I’ll be glad I did.

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Cabin1 Comment

Make a Door to Storage Space Under the V Berth

$tingy Sailor

Storage for gear, clothing, provisions, and sails is a universal problem with trailerable sailboats. I began solving my onboard storage dilemma with an under galley storage solution. This project is a repeat of that one but claims the unused space under the V berth in my Catalina 22, specifically on the starboard side next to the portable toilet.

It’s also different from that project in that I used different wood for this project. The first door that I made was out of stained Philippine mahogany. I made this one from Honduran mahogany with an oil and polyurethane finish instead of stain. The result is almost indistinguishable from teak, as you can see below.

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Tips6 Comments

Tips To Get Organized Below Deck

$tingy Sailor

It can be tempting to keep every possible item that you might ever need aboard your small sailboat. You know, Boy Scout style, ready for anything. But storage space is very limited and the more you keep aboard, the harder it is to find what you’re looking for. Getting organized below deck not only makes your sailboat more comfortable, especially for overnight trips, but it also makes your sailboat safer by eliminating clutter and excess weight.

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Accessories, Cabin, Product reviewsLeave a comment

Product Review: Smart Solutions Add-A-Drawer Kit

$tingy Sailor

In my never-ending quest to find the best storage and organization solutions for everything aboard Summer Dance, the hardest storage problems are the smallest items. Big items like life jackets and sails aren’t hard to find places to store because there aren’t a lot of options. But finding a home for little items like pens, pencils, keys, digital memory cards, maps, and registration paperwork can be tough. They need to be readily accessible yet securely stowed and water resistant. There aren’t a lot of options. Waitaminnit, didn’t I say that already?
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