I see the light

Jan 4, 2006
6,444
Hunter 310 West Vancouver, B.C.
Would you like some of your old pennies back? I always got struck with them when they'd end up in my change and then nobody else would take them.
Sure, NOW you offer them back when we've stopped using them :(.

Could have boosted my retirement if you had offered them several years back but now, not so much. Anything else you want to get rid of ? ? ? ? Folding money is always good :p.
 
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Mar 6, 2008
1,078
Catalina 1999 C36 MKII #1787 Coyote Point Marina, CA.
To prevent corrosion add lanolin or lanacoat.
 
Oct 1, 2007
1,856
Boston Whaler Super Sport Pt. Judith
Hi all,

Its that time of year when I post one thing you may find useful on your boat. This year I have been reviving my LED flashlights by adding a new penny. Most of these lights have a battery pack with three AAA batteries and can’t maintain contact well enough for good lighting. I’ve been putting the new penny between the little spring and the negative end of the battery pack. The light is now stronger and doesn’t go out when you turn it around.

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Hi Tom:
Update on this. I did the penny trick and it worked for awhile but eventually my miriad of little lights all reverted back to their non functioning behavior. So in further troubleshooting I find that the problem is in the end cap, not the barrel which holds the batts. I by removing the cap and shorting the batts to the liner, the light comes on bright and strong every time. I believe the mechanism in the end cap wears out, and/or corrodes. I also find that tapping the end cap causes a dead light to come on. Interestingly, I find the more you use them, the better they work. I have 8 of these things now and all of them work, more or less reliably.
Stay tuned.
Rick
 
Aug 2, 2005
1,155
Pearson 33-2 & Typhoon 18 Seneca Lake
To "coin" a phrase.... this has certainly shown itself to be an enlightening set of posts. I can see clearly that you people are "brighter" than the average flashlight. I don't believe I saw anyone say, "A penny for your thoughts.", although "my two cents" did rear its pretty head!

If those comments offend anyone, I beg your pardon. Our electric service has been off since 11:38 last night. Fifteen hours in a chilly house in PA has taken its toll on me. I guess it was a bit of a reminder of the difficulties in Texas. It's all good now.
 

dLj

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Mar 23, 2017
3,373
Belliure 41 Sailing back to the Chesapeake
To "coin" a phrase.... this has certainly shown itself to be an enlightening set of posts. I can see clearly that you people are "brighter" than the average flashlight. I don't believe I saw anyone say, "A penny for your thoughts.", although "my two cents" did rear its pretty head!

If those comments offend anyone, I beg your pardon. Our electric service has been off since 11:38 last night. Fifteen hours in a chilly house in PA has taken its toll on me. I guess it was a bit of a reminder of the difficulties in Texas. It's all good now.
No offense here... I like bright responses...

We've had our power out for a bit also but not like you apparently... My boss was out of power and I offered to bring over a space heater I have that runs on 0 electricity... We're pretty darned cold at the moment so for most houses here that run their heat that require electric, that's a problem... I've actually got passive no-electric required abilities in my house - I attribute my propensity to self-sufficiency to being a sailor (see? I did bring it around to sailing....)

dj
 
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Jan 11, 2014
11,321
Sabre 362 113 Fair Haven, NY
No offense here... I like bright responses...

We've had our power out for a bit also but not like you apparently... My boss was out of power and I offered to bring over a space heater I have that runs on 0 electricity... We're pretty darned cold at the moment so for most houses here that run their heat that require electric, that's a problem... I've actually got passive no-electric required abilities in my house - I attribute my propensity to self-sufficiency to being a sailor (see? I did bring it around to sailing....)

dj
When living in cold climates, redundancy is important. Wood stove and gas furnace. Gas stove top. Gas hot water.

On Labor Day 1998, there was a strong frontal system that came through and took out power in our area. We were without power for about 4 days. Afterwards I bought a generator. Of course, I only used it twice afterwards.
 

dLj

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Mar 23, 2017
3,373
Belliure 41 Sailing back to the Chesapeake
When living in cold climates, redundancy is important. Wood stove and gas furnace. Gas stove top. Gas hot water.

On Labor Day 1998, there was a strong frontal system that came through and took out power in our area. We were without power for about 4 days. Afterwards I bought a generator. Of course, I only used it twice afterwards.
Yeah, I've thought of getting a generator. But I have a propane stove, an amazing wood stove that will heat the whole house. So my only need is water. If I know we're risking power outages, I'll fill my bath tub with water. There is a spring close to my house and I've got 2 - 5 gallon glass containers I used to make wine in that work great for drinking water. During one of the hurricanes a few years ago, we were without power for like two weeks. My younger daughter was at home at the time and with my kerosene lamps and all, she said it was the most fun not having electric had ever been! Hahahah... (OK, I'm not sure how to bring this one back to sailing.. LOL) I actually used to live in a house that had no electric, was totally off the grid. That's a long story...

dj
 

RoyS

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Jun 3, 2012
1,739
Hunter 33 Steamboat Wharf, Hull, MA
Regarding LED flashlights: I absolutely hate the flashing mode most have every other time you push the on button. Are these flashlights made for children to play spaceman or something? Do they all have to copy one another? And how about the perfect cylinder design so that they roll off of any flat surface you lay them on; or worse start rolling while you are anchored out and sleeping. Hard to find a good flashligh these days.
 
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Oct 22, 2014
20,992
CAL 35 Cruiser #21 moored EVERETT WA
@31seahorse , I enjoyed your wit and the capture of the light theme.

I am amazed. Not once were your chattering cold teeth evident in your typed message. But I imagine you were using one of those drawl Texan smiles as you thought about your text.
 
May 17, 2004
5,028
Beneteau Oceanis 37 Havre de Grace
Regarding LED flashlights: I absolutely hate the flashing mode most have every other time you push the on button. Are these flashlights made for children to play spaceman or something? Do they all have to copy one another? And how about the perfect cylinder design so that they roll off of any flat surface you lay them on; or worse start rolling while you are anchored out and sleeping. Hard to find a good flashligh these days.
Use headlamps. No more trying to balance the flashlight at just the right angle to point at the right thing, only to need to rebalance it to look at something new.

They are still unfortunately afflicted by the strobe modes though.
 

DArcy

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Feb 11, 2017
1,690
Islander Freeport 36 Ottawa
Use headlamps. No more trying to balance the flashlight at just the right angle to point at the right thing, only to need to rebalance it to look at something new.

They are still unfortunately afflicted by the strobe modes though.
I have a great headlamp with an actual switch and no strobe mode. Move the switch one way and then white light comes on, the other direction the red light turns on.
I think the strobe mode is for cyclists to make them more obvious in traffic. I really don't understand why so many flashlights have that feature and why I have to keep pushing the button to go through all the 15 different modes every time I turn it on.
 

Ward H

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Nov 7, 2011
3,645
Catalina 30 Mk II Barnegat, NJ
I have several flashlights with strobe mode and a few with red mode. I always try before buying and only go with the ones that after a few seconds turn off instead of moving to the next mode. Plus they turn on at the same mode when turned off. ACE Hardware is my favorite flashlight store.
 
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Jan 22, 2008
8,050
Beneteau 323 Annapolis MD
...Would you like some of your old pennies back? I always got struck with them when they'd end up in my change and then nobody else would take them. :)
IIRC years/decades ago, I read that stores MUST accept up to 25 pennies for a purchase. After all, they are a coin of the u.s. mint, thus legal tender.