Liveaboard Tricks of the Trade

[GeoPowers]

Hey everyone!

In one week we will be celebrating our one-year anniversary of living aboard. Reflecting on the past year, it is amazing what we have learned. Really a lot of learning for us was learning what we DIDN'T know, but we did manage to pick up some good "tricks of the trade", too!

I thought it might be fun to start a thread where fellow liveaboards can share their favorite tricks for things that save them time/$/or work for life on a boat. This isn't a "how-to liveaboard" or "what you need onboard to liveaboard" thread, just somewhere we can swap ideas for the “little things”!

Here's a few to kick it off!

- We always hated having towels that got that funky smell after about a week in the head. They never dried out fully, and trapped “l’eau de toilet” smells. So, we switched to Aquitex microfiber towels from LL Bean- they dry you fast and dry out even faster. And for some reason, they don’t trap any odors- nice!!

- Uncle Ben’s ready packs have brought back starch into our meals. Potatoes and rice took too long with only 2 burners to work with. Now with these Uncle Ben’s packs, they are ready in 90 seconds in a microwave or a 2-3 minutes in a skillet. They are also nicely sized for a family of four.

- Getting underway early in the morning can involve lots of dew (or slushy dew for us up in the PNW!) on the dodger windows, making it tough to see. Using paper towels to get it off is a waste, and using a cloth or shammie can take a long time. We’ve found that using our shower squeegee works perfectly- it’s fast, gets all the dew off, and results in no waste!

- Corelle dinnerware is the only way to go!


Frank

[colemj]

Never use paper towels to dry or clean plastic (including lenses on glasses). They have a lot of clay in them that will leave scratches. We find the "Absorber" brand synthetic chamois to be perfect in wiping dew off the dodger windows (and deck, and portlights, etc).

We also like Corelle, but dropped a bowl and broke it once and that was the scariest thing - it shattered into hundreds of needle sized and needle sharp shards. Very small and very dangerous. Took me a long, careful time to go through the saloon with a magnifying glass picking up minute pieces. They were sharp enough to slice my fingers as I picked them up.

Also agree on the towels. We have a different brand, but similar type.

Mark

[texwards]

Congratulations on taking the 'live aboard' leap and making it to the year marker! For someone who has long planned on cruising, but always seems to find himself a step further from casting off - this is a very interesting thread. I'm excited to hear what others have to add!

[sarafina]

the good news is corelle rarely breaks the bad new is when it does is sucks.

and now for my little tip; I keep a zip bag of dryer lint ( a nice thick one from after I dry the towels) in a drawer. when I do get glass breakage (which I do because I HATE plastic glasses) I sweep up the big bits and then run that lint all over every surface that has glass dust and bits on it. picks it up like a charm.

[senormechanico]

We're not living aboard, but have in the past.
We use black bath and hand towels. Even with weak solar, they dry pretty fast.

[ActiveCaptain]

A couple of things we've learned:

- The green vegetable storage bags might seem like hype but using them doubles the length of time produce stays fresh. The secret with them is that the vegetables, lettuce, etc. must be dry when they are put into the bag.

- MagicEraser - This will clean just about anything. We've used it on our fenders, as well as, in the heads and galley. It'll often take difficult marks off gelcoat too.

- Gojo Natural Orange Pumice Hand Cleaner - We use this product to clean our inflatable dinghy. It's great! Simply rub it on and rinse it off and the dinghy looks practically new! It's important to get the "Orange" version as the others don't seem to do as good a job.

- Sweepa - The Sweepa is an amazing tool for removing dog hair from pretty much anything. It looks kind of like a rubber hair brush. We use it to clean hair off cushions, bedding, steps, and even to spot clean the carpets. There's also a sharp edger that lets you remove hair from hard to reach crevices.

- Rolling Cart - Most of you are familiar with these. They're the handcarts with two wheels and a telescoping handle that fold up flat for storage. We purchased one from West Marine when we first got our current boat and used it constantly, mostly for hauling groceries. It was about $30. This past year we found ones at Ocean State Big Lots in Belfast, Maine for $10 and decided to buy a second one. We should have bought all they had. If you don't have one get one today.

[kredix]

a nice jar with sealproof lid

[Off Tempo]

I enjoyed living aboard for over 8 years. I agree the new microfiber towels are much better than terry cloth; anything is. I mostly use the thin old cottom towels like my grandma embroidered on - flour sack type material. They are very absorbent, dry quickly, and take up little space.

[Randyonr3]

Pumps, pumps, and more pumps.. seems like every time I turn around, I'm changing out a water pump.. the pumps are OK but the switches go bad and because sureflow changes the design every year or so, I find myself buying a new pump.. and the shower sump pump goes sour..
But I found simple 12 volt transfer vain pumps at Harbor freight.. they sell for 29 dollars when on sale.. and for presure switches.. 15 dollars at ACE hwd.
I know, they dont say marine certified on them, but 45 bucks beats 150 anyday

[Bash]

Originally Posted by Randyonr3

Pumps, pumps, and more pumps.. seems like every time I turn around, I'm changing out a water pump..

...the only way to go is the Whale Gulper shower drain kit. It's pricey--$250 at WM--but it never clogs with hair, et cetera. Added bonus, it's actually a gray water tank for when you're in a no-discharge zone. I've gone from having to clean out my shower sump on a monthly basis, not to mention change the pump and/or switch every 18 months, doing absolutely no sump maintenance for more than two years now.

[Hudson Force]

We've been living aboard for 39 years and we don't know crap! We break glass, clog drains, use regular soap, get our towels wet, don't save dryer lint and carry stuff in bags! Who knew? 'take care and joy, Aythya crew

[GeoPowers]

Originally Posted by CaptForce

We've been living aboard for 39 years and we don't know crap! We break glass, clog drains, use regular soap, get our towels wet, don't save dryer lint and carry stuff in bags! Who knew? 'take care and joy, Aythya crew

Wow, 39 years! I'm sure you've got some really good ones that you probably take for granted after doing them for so many years!

Do you list 15 degrees when standing straight up on land?

[MarkJ]

Originally Posted by GeoPowers

Do you list 15 degrees when standing straight up on land?

I do!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I need a Bar to keep me upright!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[daedaluscan]

Rice in a pressure cooker.

1 cup rice, 1 1/2 cup water. Bring to pressure and then turn off. When it has dropped back to atmospheric pressure it is ready. Always good, easy on the propane.

[SabreKai]

Here ya go, over 3700 recipes for Eintopf. Eintopf is German for "one pot" which is all it takes to make these meals. My mother taught me some of them when I was a kid and they kept body n soul together thru college and after.

3784 Eintöpfe

Its all in German but you should be able to translate the pages via Babblefish.


Sabre