Safety & Comfort Hacks for Life Aboard a Cruising Boat

Sometimes it’s the little things that make a BIG difference for life on board a cruising boat like Clarity. This week give you nineteen easy ideas that won’t cost much either. Most of these solved major issues we’ve had in the past.

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Nick's Books and Audiobooks:

Get Her on Board is about getting that significant other to buy into this cruising nonsense. People seem to like it. All proceeds go to our dog Sugar.
Book:

Live on the Margin is about making money on the go trading stocks and options. I co-wrote it with Pat Schulte of Bumfuzzle. People seem to like that one too. All proceeds donated to our boat.
Book:

Audiobooks:
Bumfuzzle - Just out Looking for Pirates.
You know these guys, and now you know me, so have a listen.

Bound for Distant Seas, by James Baldwin
James is the real deal and this his story of adventure aboard a small, simple boat.

[Chris-zoze]

I can't put my finger on EXACTLY what it is, but you two seem like genuinely good, happy people. Salt of the earth.

Thanks for lifting my mood this afternoon.

[IsThisAvailable]

Securing the dingy
If you're going to use two securing lines, I'd advise securing to two different locations for redundancy.

[getright]

Corrosion tip for your fishing lures - spray them with cooking spray/Pam etc. Won't rust and it won't run the fish off like petroleum based products. Thanks for sharing your tips and keep up the great channel!

[mooloolahmark]

Hi guys, love your show. One trick I learned is to put those little floats on important things like keys.

[rogerfair]

Here’s a couple more ideas.
1) To avoid losing ALL your electronics from a lightning strike we put a handheld GPS and VHF inside the microwave. It’s a perfect faraday cage. The regular oven is a possible second choice but the microwave is a better bet.

2) I can’t count the number of times I use my pocket flashlight everyday. It’s not something you think about but once you start carrying one you’ll be amazed how often you use the thing everyday.

3) When coming into a marina for the first time I always tie up at the fuel dock first if they have one. Even if I only take on a few gallons. First it’s usually the easiest dock to get in and out of. Second while you’re there you can walk over and inspect the slip they want to put you in. This practice has saved us $$$$ in damage twice when we turned down slips that weren’t safe for a mono sailboat to get into.

Great video guys. Your advice on WD 40 is spot on. But you might want to mention the stuff will displace water which is handy.

[tomrichmond]

Porta-Patch from WALEX. It's a instant fiberglass repair, no mixing, no mess. Just open the package and cut it to the size you need and apply. I have used it and it works great. Another Great Video!

[blackduck]

Excellent video (as always) A cleaning tip I got from a boat hostess who also works in a five star hotel and has 5 minutes per room to clean is: one cleaner for all surfaces, and that is dish washing liquid. On everything. It is especially good for cleaning stainless steel (makes sense as it cleans cutlery).

[timpsensky]

Best hack i've seen for the through hole plugs (per sailing lady K) is to keep them tethered at every through hole so it is always right there in an emergency.

Also, when I was in the Navy, we ate off of plastic cafeteria trays. In heavy seas, place an unfolded napkin on the table, add a few drops of whatever you are drinking to it, and set your tray on top of it. No more sliding around.

[guyh.]

"Losing your dinghy" sounds VERY personal! 🤣🤣🤣

[teeteevincent]

You two are so fun and charismatic, and very helpful !
My captain and I just bought a boat, and we are going to sail after hurricane season this year .

[garymorton]

Some things I have done with cable ties over the years: Buy black cable ties when possible. They are generally more sunlight resistant. And, don't be afraid to use a tie that is too long, and feel you have to cut it off. Go around whatever you are securing more than once. When it has to come off, cut it where it goes into the slot, shove out the little piece, and you can use the cable tie again. If you do want to remove the tail, twist it off with a pair of vicegrips. Leaves no sharp end.

[bongoslide]

Hack, As a white water kayaker, adopting a paddleboard stroke. its called a J stroke, as you stroke down the side of your paddleboard and when you come to the end of your stroke, turn the blade outwards to form a rudder, hold it there a little longer, this realigns your board as the beginning stroke slowly turns the boat, so you do not need to constantly swop from side to side with the paddle, also use your hips and back muscles to follow thus saving your arm as you can semi-lock your arm if hips and back rotate :)

[OnkelDude]

Our two favorite hacks for the boat - 1. to save water, we use a spray bottle to spritz off the soap when doing dishes, uses way less than just rinse under a faucet. 2. I highly recommend ear plugs when wanting to sleep. You might think you wouldn't hear someone or something, but you're wrong. Helps with a restful sleep while underway or at anchor with howling winds.

[hopoutside]

Hack #1: watch the O’Kelly’s! Can’t wait till we sail round the world too...it will happen. In the meantime, it’s fun to learn about all things sailing. Great work!

[BuckTravis]

Keeping track of the power on board can be confusing. Guests and children have a natural curiosity and may disturb the panel. Use dots from and office supplies store to mark circuit breakers for status. A dot next to a breaker indicating that is should be on when underway. I did my panels (220/110/24&12 volt) and reviewed them with Diane so she can know in a glance what needs to be on to run the boat in an emergency. 👌

[prolifedoc]

Johnson's Baby Shampoo for your masks. "No more tears" It will never irritate your eyes like some dish soaps can. When we have guests on our boat and several are snorkeling, we have a 5 gallon bucket half filled with fresh water with a squeeze of Johnson's Baby Shampoo. When people come back on board the masks and snorkels go in the bucket. Minimizes clutter, or lost masks, and they are ready to go at the next stop.

[terrypen]

3:00 knucklebump for Top Gun!!! Best movie ever!!!

[WillNGo]

Good tips. I just learned that the WD in WD-40 means Water Displacement. It was made for this purpose for rockets. It's also the best cleaner/prep for 'dry erase marker board' coating (I've tried them all including products made specifically for this - nothing works as well as WD-40.) I use it on my whiteboards at home and for the formica backs to the head doors on my boat which I use for To Do lists.
Those floor fans: wire a furnace filter any way you can to the back of the floor fan; turns it into an air filter and keeps the blades clean. 'wire any way you can' ? yep. A couple of years ago I made some temporary hack to the one still sitting on the floor of my office - it worked, I never bothered to 'upgrade' it.
The bike lock for the dinghy is a good idea. I never knew they came 12' long. My best security is at work when someone says, "You don't need to do that - here." This is a 'No one can out run a bear" situation. No bike lock or cable can hold up to good bolt cutters. I just need to be a bit faster than someone else, or have slightly more security than other dinghies.

[justincase]

Great stuff! Couple of points of feedback:

Dinghy Painters: Ensure you connect them to two different hard points on your boat. That way, not only does it halve the stress on each hard point, but if one fails, the other hard point (hopefully) holds.

WD-40: Fares poorly in most corrosion tests. Try searching YouTube for one of the several outstanding tests to see what works the best and lasts about 50 times longer than WD-40.

Fans: I've had four Lasko box fans for 7 years. On low they're quiet yet move far more air than the "small" fan you recommended, but they cost $10 less. Each. On high, they can easily ventilate 150 sq feet of floor space per minute. Oh, you have 1, 500 sq feet? That's 10 minutes.

Lightening: Check out both air-gap to grounds as well as the concept of using multiple grounds. By adjusting the air-gaps to multiple grounds so that no two grounds have the same air-gap, repeated strikes can travel -- and destroy -- different ground lines while leaving the others intact.

Dyneema: And it's lighter than water, so it floats!

Dinghy Dock Lock: Another consideration would be to use a GPS tracker that alerts you via cell phone if it's moved more than a set radius from your set point. That radius could be 5', 500', or whatever you want. Not only is it good for knowing if someone is stealing your dinghy, but also good for alerting you in case of an anchor drag (or a stolen boat!) while you're ashore.

[harryanderson]

I bag my prop when staying more than a few weeks at an anchorage or dock to stop growth on it. Sew from cheap plastic tarp (dark colors better to stop algae growth) with hole for shaft and slit at end and down to shaft hole. Sew on magnetic strips to close it along these slits. Put grommet in end opposite the magnetically closed slits with line that goes up to the engine shift lever. This reminds you that you only need to pull the line to remove the bag before using the engine. Dive on the prop and place the bag over it with magnetic strips facing aft to close the bag and bring the line up to the throttle. Simple, effective, and safely removed it needed. Let me know if you want a photo.