What's The Best Cheap $$ Upgrade You've Done??

[patrick]

LED head lamp and trouble lamp

Franklin, I got mine from REI. It is a Petzl brand and cost about $30 and another $4 for the red lense filter. Later I got another off brand at Big 5 for $10 at a sale. The Petzl unit is better but not $20 worth. I even use mine around the house when I am working on things where the light is bad like the electrical panel I just installed downstairs. It would probably help on car work too. There was also a 12 volt LED trouble light at Grizzly tools which was very nice but a little expensive. The big advantage of it is that you can bang it around without blowing the light bulb. It is also very low power and cool to the touch. I think that Fred should have one, too.

 

[Mike]

Tiller tamer

The Tiller Tamer: best $25 gadget on the market. Solo sailing is so much easier since I put one on my Oday 23.

 

[Liam]

?????

Hey... does anybody want to hear about my motorcycle helmet, flashlight, and duct tape invention?

 

[Bob B.]

My secret weapon!!

I sail alone quiet often in very light air. I have devised this secret weapon to replace my whisker pole. Please don't laugh as it works very well! It lifts the clew for good sail shape, works down wind & on a reach.I can apply this thing without leaving the cockpit & move it from side to side without going forward & messing around with the pole. The secret weapon consists of an old ski pole (everyone in Edmonton has one of these in the basement) & an angled chromed piece of tubing from an old baby stroller (lots of babies in Edmonton, must be the cold winters).I turned a piece of teflon or nylon to mount this thing into the jib sheet winches I have an extra sheet that I clip on to the genoa clew. It has a loop that fits over the end of the ski pole & I tie it off on a stern cleat. The location of this loop is critical to adjust the sail shape. The end of the ski pole will swing in an arc depending on how you want to adjust it for wind strength. This devise cost me CAN $0 which is about the same as US $0.Regards from Canada,Bob B.

 

[Terry Arnold]

LED headlamp

The headlamp I have is an Energizer brand, just two white and one red LED but evidently the lens acts to throw the beam. Other feature it has essential on a boat is swiveling in a vertical plane which helps so much looking into tight places on the boat. Mine was a gift but I googled up some information see link below about $15

 

[Tereza]

Cactus - outboard tilt lever pix

Have you got a picture or two of what you describe below?Thanks in advance!

 

[Mike M16608]

Try This Book

I got this for Christmas, and it's a fun, easy read. Couple hundred low tech tips submitted by CW readers over the years. Available from our favorite chandlery!In case I messed up the link - It's Cruising World's Workbench under Books then Maintenance in the Chandlery.

 

[higgs]

$9.99

12 pack of Fosters

 

[PaulK]

New Stanchions

It seems the P.O. had had various run-ins with other floating objects with sails, piers, and very heavy crewmembers (selected for that reason) climbing aboard. The stanchions were starting to look like soda straws 20 minutes after the root beer's empty - kinked, bent, and pretty beat. We found 1" #316 stainless steel pipe (used for commercial kitchens) for $2.00/lb at a nearby junkyard. We cut them to length and used the club's drill press for the lifeline hole, then capped them with purchased machined fittings to give them a more finished look ($5 ea) . 8 new stanchions for about $80.

 

[Richard Bryer]

2 best upgrades

Two best low cost upgrades I did-I made a cover or gate for the slot in the mast that the main slugs feed into. There used to be a stop there that you had to clamp on really tight or else it would pop out when you were trying to hook the reefing cringle onto the reefing hook. This covers the slot so the slugs can slide tight down to the tack point on the main. Used 1/8 ss, bent a fold then bent to fit the contour of the mast and track. Tapped two 10/24holes in the mast and screwed it down.Works like a charm.The other upgrade used the rest of the piece of SS I bought for 5$ to make a cover for the window I cut in the mast just above the base so the wiring can be pulled out and disconnected or reconnected when stepping or unstepping the mast- done every year at our club. Used to be a continual worry about hands underneath a dangling mast. Had to add wiring and connectors to lengthen the wiring so it would pull out. Used a piece of sill gasket foam under the cover and 4 10/24 screws to fasten. Take a look at Fred's pictures for how he did it, that is where I got the idea. Thanks Fred!

 

[Paul F]

reefing cringle aid

Make reefing easy by adding a "quick link" to the reefing cringle.

 

[Bob B.]

48" long traveler...C22

The previous owner had bolted a 2" X 6" plank across the cockpit seats to mount the traveler for mid boom sheeting. This was close to the companion way & a leg/knee knocker. The backstay bolt in the transom cap was cracking the fiberglas & looked to be pulling through. It only had a small washer under the cap & highly stressed the fiberglas. So I needed a new backstay point & traveler location. I through bolted the transom for 2 brackets & mounted the traveler & backstay brackets on them. It is made of two 48" pieces of 1/8" SS welded together to form a 45 degree angle iron with gussets to reinforce. Maybe overkill, but had to support the backstay without flexing. Notice on the Evinrude, the vertical pull modification.No cost for either modification!

 

[ed21]

My aching butt

No more after a set of closed cell foam cockpit cushions. About $50.All the better to enjoy that six pack of Fosters or any other libation.