Sailboat Gear - True Confessions

[JLR]

As winter sets in up here in the North, strolling the boat store aisles is the next best thing to cruising. I often find interesting the sailboat gear aisle, filled with pelican hooks, cam cleats etc. So, I was curious what uses our folks here on the HOF have made of sailboat gear. I found using cam cleats to hold the line used to let outriggers out to be invaluable. What have you found?

 

[Bob Bradley]

Not a Hatt use, an Old Town canoe use: They're also great for custom building anchor davits for canoes. We flyfish the West Branch of the Penobscot in Maine regularly, and the davit is invaluable for setting the anchor in the river current.

 

[jim rosenthal]

Lots of nice anchoring stuff, if that's your thing. If you're ever in Annapolis, you should make some time to visit Bacon's. Or if you are in FtL, Sailorman. They have a LOT of stuff.

 

[SeaEric]

These track slide things that we use to locate and hang fenders, are actually some sortof sailboat hardware.

 

[bigbill]

i used the cam cleats on my outriggers on my 46sf for many years.

 

[spartonboat1]

I have my dingy rigged on Weaver Davits attached to the swim platform. I used high strength lines running through several sailboater pulleys, including double blocks (to reduce the pulling effort), to raise and lower her, plus cam cleats to secure it in a upright position. All that has held, including in some huge following seas. That is over a 8-9 year period, so maybe due to replace the lines.

When I get it rigged, I have a "barn-door" rolling set of brackets on a frame, that I will rig with a portable electric lift, to raise and lower my 8D's at replacement time next summer, so I can do a 1-man show. I will post pictures, when I get it running.

 

[Jaxfishgyd]

My wife refuses to let me go to Sailors Exchange in St Augustine by myself anymore... Or when I do, she takes away my debit cards and only gives me $40 cash...... But there are a lot of neat things for sailboats I have and do use.....

 

[Jaxfishgyd]

But here is a bit of Stanley Paris's blog, who is sailing around the world right now... And shows why I am NOT a sailboater:

Genoa Furling Gives Way – Houston we had a problem

This blog is for sailors, but might be of interest to others.

At 4:30 am the winds freshened to 24-26 knots and I prepared to bring in the genoa and put out the jib and then take a first reef in the main. When furling the genoa, the furling line parted at the furling drum. How to get it furled now? Dropping the huge genoa to the deck and placing it below did not seem like a good option in the dark and with those winds – my being alone - not safe. Here is what I did.

I tacked thru the wind and then that placed the genoa against the shrouds and back winded. I then put out the jib to give some stability. Next I headed down wind with one sheet controlling the genoa against the shrouds. I took a four foot long rod (hydraulic handle) and placed it between the tack of the genoa and the rod right at the drum. Then, I manually furled in the genoa running back to the winch to ease the sheet and then forward to wind in some more. Repeated this at least a dozen times but finally got the genoa furled, tied off and then the boat was off in the SW direction, which was necessary to do my work. Still more work to do in placing the furling line back into the drum and stitching the knot so it does not untie again.

 

[Avenger]

I added a Davis Spar-Fly weathervane to my home TV antenna. Yes, I still have an antenna.

Unfortunately this may lead to passers-by thinking I'm a blow-boater, but it's slightly better than them thinking I'm a landlubber.

 

[bostonhatteras]

These track slide things that we use to locate and hang fenders, are actually some sortof sailboat hardware.

These tracks, genoa-t track-slides, whatever they are called are very useful. In addition to these I find pad eyes, movable or fixed, sail repair tape and self bonding rigging/chafe tape to be pretty good additions to the bag of tricks. The majority of 'sailboat' hardware though pertains to sail rigging, winches, non stretch colored lines and the very specific rudder/pedestal steering systems found on these boat. There isn't much overlap here so I find looking through the sail hardware more akin to assembling mental puzzles, figuring out how it all works together, than actually finding parts that are useful onboard motorboats. Even with the things that Ive found work on motorboats, most of it is for hanging fenders or relatively inconsequential tasks. The solar electrical generation was the domain of sail boats at one time but has become much more mainstream now. Seems only sailboats use wind power for this though. I do find their refrigeration systems interesting. Through the top icebox type food storage certainly isn't convenient but Ive always thought that these systems could be re-appropriated to make a nice wine cooler cabinet or some other thing that would make a sailboater gasp.
Funny how sailboaters love a big Hatteras motoryacht as the regatta committee boat isn't it!
Suggestion for the next topic; getting to the psychological root of the adversarial relationship sailboaters have with their own vessels engine.